Business Case for Photovoltiac Power Systems for High Energy Industrial Consumers in South Africa

The utilization of green technologies has become an important issue in the emerging power sector owing to the global increase in power demand and technological advancement that has resulted in a rapid reduction of renewable energy components’ costs. The use of photovoltaic (PV) as a feasible supplemental energy source to coal-based power plants is investigated in the study. A PV is designed using basic engineering principles and PVGIS tool to determine the validity of the model by using some key economic indicators such as net present value (NPV) of the system, levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and discounted payback period. The results from the economic analysis show that the system is economically viable for a high industrial energy consumer. The significance of the work shows that the use of PV as a prospective alternative to electricity from the grid is viable. This has reduced the strain on the grid and carbon emission.