Simple item page
 

Comprehensive Energy and Economic Analysis of Selected Variants of a Large-Scale Photovoltaic Power Plant in a Temperate Climate

cris.lastimport.scopus2025-10-23T06:56:13Z
cris.virtual.author-orcid#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
cris.virtual.author-orcid0000-0002-7750-9265
cris.virtual.author-orcid#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
cris.virtual.author-orcid#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
cris.virtualsource.author-orcid#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
cris.virtualsource.author-orcid#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
cris.virtualsource.author-orcid723cb16b-5343-4f7e-a53a-308ccdb5aae2
cris.virtualsource.author-orcid#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
dc.abstract.enIn recent years, solar energy has emerged as one of the most advanced renewable energy sources, with its production capacity steadily growing. To maximize output and efficiency, choosing the right configuration for a specific location for these installations is crucial. This study uniquely integrates detailed multi-variant fixed-tilt PV system simulations with comprehensive economic evaluation under temperate climate conditions, addressing site-specific spatial constraints and grid integration considerations that have rarely been combined in previous works. In this paper, an energy and economic efficiency analysis for a photovoltaic power plant, located in central Poland, designed in eight variants (10°, 15°, 20°, 25°, 30° PV module inclination angle for a south orientation and 10°, 20°, 30° for an east–west orientation) for a limited building area of approximately 300,000 m2 was conducted. In PVSyst computer simulations, PVGIS-SARAH2 solar radiation data were used together with the most common data for describing the Polish local solar climate, called Typical Meteorological Year data (TMY). The most energy-efficient variants were found to be 20° S and 30° S, configurations with the highest surface production coefficient (249.49 and 272.68 kWh/m2) and unit production efficiency values (1123 and 1132 kWh/kW, respectively). These findings highlight potential efficiency gains of up to approximately 9% in surface production coefficient and financial returns exceeding 450% ROI, demonstrating significant economic benefits. In economic terms, the 15° S variant achieved the highest values of financial parameters, such as the return on investment (ROI) (453.2%), the value of the average annual share of profits in total revenues (56.93%), the shortest expected payback period (8.7 years), the value of the levelized cost of energy production (LCOE) (0.1 EUR/kWh), and one of the lowest costs of building 1 MWp of a photovoltaic farm (664,272.7 EUR/MWp). Among the tested variants of photovoltaic farms with an east–west geographical orientation, the most advantageous choice is the 10° EW arrangement. The results provide valuable insights for policymakers and investors aiming to optimize photovoltaic deployment in temperate climates, supporting the broader transition to renewable energy and alignment with national energy policy goals.
dc.affiliationWydział Inżynierii Środowiska i Inżynierii Mechanicznej
dc.affiliation.instituteKatedra Inżynierii Biosystemów
dc.contributor.authorThom, Dennis
dc.contributor.authorBugała, Artur
dc.contributor.authorBugała, Dorota
dc.contributor.authorCzekała, Wojciech
dc.date.access2025-10-03
dc.date.accessioned2025-10-03T06:19:53Z
dc.date.available2025-10-03T06:19:53Z
dc.date.copyright2025-08-07
dc.date.issued2025
dc.description.abstract<jats:p>In recent years, solar energy has emerged as one of the most advanced renewable energy sources, with its production capacity steadily growing. To maximize output and efficiency, choosing the right configuration for a specific location for these installations is crucial. This study uniquely integrates detailed multi-variant fixed-tilt PV system simulations with comprehensive economic evaluation under temperate climate conditions, addressing site-specific spatial constraints and grid integration considerations that have rarely been combined in previous works. In this paper, an energy and economic efficiency analysis for a photovoltaic power plant, located in central Poland, designed in eight variants (10°, 15°, 20°, 25°, 30° PV module inclination angle for a south orientation and 10°, 20°, 30° for an east–west orientation) for a limited building area of approximately 300,000 m2 was conducted. In PVSyst computer simulations, PVGIS-SARAH2 solar radiation data were used together with the most common data for describing the Polish local solar climate, called Typical Meteorological Year data (TMY). The most energy-efficient variants were found to be 20° S and 30° S, configurations with the highest surface production coefficient (249.49 and 272.68 kWh/m2) and unit production efficiency values (1123 and 1132 kWh/kW, respectively). These findings highlight potential efficiency gains of up to approximately 9% in surface production coefficient and financial returns exceeding 450% ROI, demonstrating significant economic benefits. In economic terms, the 15° S variant achieved the highest values of financial parameters, such as the return on investment (ROI) (453.2%), the value of the average annual share of profits in total revenues (56.93%), the shortest expected payback period (8.7 years), the value of the levelized cost of energy production (LCOE) (0.1 EUR/kWh), and one of the lowest costs of building 1 MWp of a photovoltaic farm (664,272.7 EUR/MWp). Among the tested variants of photovoltaic farms with an east–west geographical orientation, the most advantageous choice is the 10° EW arrangement. The results provide valuable insights for policymakers and investors aiming to optimize photovoltaic deployment in temperate climates, supporting the broader transition to renewable energy and alignment with national energy policy goals.</jats:p>
dc.description.accesstimeat_publication
dc.description.bibliographyil., bibliogr.
dc.description.financepublication_nocost
dc.description.financecost0,00
dc.description.if3,2
dc.description.number15
dc.description.points140
dc.description.versionfinal_published
dc.description.volume18
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/en18154198
dc.identifier.issn1996-1073
dc.identifier.urihttps://sciencerep.up.poznan.pl/handle/item/5161
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/15/4198
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationenvironmental engineering, mining and energy
dc.relation.ispartofEnergies
dc.relation.pagesart. 4198
dc.rightsCC-BY
dc.sciencecloudnosend
dc.share.typeOPEN_JOURNAL
dc.subject.enphotovoltaic power plant
dc.subject.enmulti-criteria evaluation
dc.subject.enphotovoltaic potential
dc.subject.eneconomic analysis of RES investments
dc.titleComprehensive Energy and Economic Analysis of Selected Variants of a Large-Scale Photovoltaic Power Plant in a Temperate Climate
dc.title.volumeSpecial Issue Development of Distributed Energy Systems Based on Renewable Energy Sources—Current Status and Development Prospects
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.issue15
oaire.citation.volume18