Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
considerably higher than those with savings accounts. For example, a fl ash of
lightning or a storm can completely destroy a system. If the insurance does not
pay for the damage, the investment is then lost. Another thing that can happen is
that the output is lower than projected. There may be various reasons for this. The
PV system could be the victim of poor planning, over the years a tree could
grow so that it shuts out the sun, a fl ock of birds could regularly be using the module
for target practice or the solar radiation may be lower than during the previous
20 years due to fl uctuations in the climate. Ultimately, it is the operator of the
photovoltaic system who is responsible for dealing with all these risks. A return
of at least 6% is therefore quite appropriate for an investment not driven by
idealism.
Figure 5.17 shows the resulting production costs of a photovoltaic system based on
net investment cost. The assumption made in the calculations is that 2% of the
investment cost is for operating and maintenance costs each year and the economic
lifetime of the system is 20 years. The different coloured lines represent the calcula-
tions for various specifi c yields. In Germany these are normally under 1000 kilowatt
hours per kilowatt peak (kWh/kW p ). For a return of 6% the production costs are
around 38 cents per kilowatt hour with a net investment cost of 3500 euros per kilo-
watt peak with a specifi c output of 1000 kWh/kW p . An idealist might be satisfi ed
with 25 cents per kilowatt hour and no return. If the output is 1500 kWh/kW p at a
location in California, at 25 cents per kilowatt hour a return of even 6% can be
achieved.
1.1
1.1
700
750
800
850
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950
1000
1100
1200
1500
2000
kWh/kW p
700
750
800
850
900
950
1000
1100
1200
1500
2000
kWh/kW p
1
1
0.9
0.9
0.8
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0.6
0.6
0.5
0.5
0.4
0.4
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0.2
0.2
0.1
0.1
return 0 %
return 6 %
0
0
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000
net investment costs in
net investment costs in
/kW
p
Figure 5.17 Electricity production costs based on net investment costs and specifi c yield for a return of
0% (left) and 6% (right).
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