Design, modeling and cost analysis of 8.79 MW solar photovoltaic power plant at National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan Show others and affiliations
2024 (English) In: Scientific Reports, E-ISSN 2045-2322, Vol. 14, article id 25351Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Climate change, as a critical global concern, has fueled our efforts to address it through different strategies. In response to the critical worldwide issue of climate change, we suggested a Photovoltaic (PV) system at the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Islamabad, Pakistan (latitude: 33.724530 N, longitude: 73.046869, terrain elevation: 552 m). Islamabad is located in a region blessed with enormous solar resources, boasting a daily horizontal solar irradiance of 1503.45 kWh/m2 and an average daily solar irradiance of 5.89 kWh/m2, with an exceptional solar fraction of 98.99%. The ambient air temperature, averaging 23.21 °C, reaches its maximum in June and its minimum in December. Our research thoroughly evaluates the system’s performance, accounting for various losses and utilizing modern PVsyst software. Over the course of 18 years, our PV system is expected to save 75,478.60 tons of CO2, the equivalent of planting 348,754 teak trees. Furthermore, the cost of energy generation is an affordable 0.0141 US $/kWh, much lower than traditional rates, including the Sherif cost of 0.028$/kWh. Along with the performance research, we conducted a detailed cost analysis, projecting the starting cost and cash flow, and discovered that the plant would be in surplus within 12 years of installation. Our system is positioned to generate 11,270,771 kWh/year with a respectable performance ratio (PR) of 76.2% and a Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) of 16%. Our findings not only highlight the potential of renewable energy but also provide important insights for future sustainable energy programs.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages Springer , 2024. Vol. 14, article id 25351
Keywords [en]
Photovoltaic, Photovoltaic power plant, PV syst software, Cost analysis
National Category
Energy Systems
Identifiers URN: urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-45896 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-74187-w ISI: 001342770900116 PubMedID: 39455613 Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85207825293 OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hig-45896 DiVA, id: diva2:1909133
Funder University of Gävle 2024-10-302024-10-302024-11-15 Bibliographically approved