AUTHOR=Ahmad Monib , Khattak Abraiz , Kashif Janjua Abdul , Alahmadi Ahmad Aziz , Salman Khan Muhammad , Ullah Nasim 

TITLE=Techno-economic feasibility analyses of grid- connected solar photovoltaic power plants for small scale industries of Punjab, Pakistan

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Energy Research

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/energy-research/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2022.1028310

DOI=10.3389/fenrg.2022.1028310

ISSN=2296-598X

ABSTRACT=<p>The globally soaring energy prices and electricity shortfall are major hurdles in the economic development of Pakistan. To cope with periodic power outages, small and medium enterprise (SME) business owners have to fall back on alternate power sources such as backup generators and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), which further increase the per kWh cost of electricity, power quality issues, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. On the contrary, grid-tied solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are not only economical and sustainable but support the national power grid to mitigate environmental emissions. This study aims to investigate and compare the techno-economic viability of grid-connected solar photovoltaic power plants for the manufacturing SME sector in four different districts of Punjab, Pakistan. Based on the technical, financial, and environmental indicators, a detailed techno-economic, sensitivity, and GHG emission analysis is conducted using RETScreen Expert software. The research findings clearly show that the proposed solar PV projects for all four locations are technically, financially, and environmentally viable, however, Sargodha as compared to other sites is the most feasible location with the highest capacity factor of 17.8 %, highest internal rate of return 14.9 %, lowest payback period 7.7 years, and least levelized cost of electricity 8.5 ¢/kWh. For validation, the simulation results are compared with performance metrics from PV plants erected in various parts of the world. Applying the same research approach to the whole industrial sector of Punjab recommends adding 13,469 MW of PV capacity to satisfy the industry’s 20446.21 GWh annual energy consumption and to cut emissions by 90,17,581 t <inline-formula id="inf1"><mml:math id="m1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">C</mml:mi><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">O</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math></inline-formula> per year. This research work presents guidelines for researchers to evaluate the feasibility of suitable PV technologies for the SME sector thereby helping investors to have a holistic view of potential investment zones.</p>