ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY, PROFITABILITY AND MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS OF 432 KW ROOFTOP SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER PLANT

Abstract

Energy plays a key role in both the economic growth & prosperity of the country. It determines the pace of development of the developing countries. There is a close relation between the Energy & future growth of a nation. Not only in India but also in the whole world, there is a never-ending and diverging need for energy. Since, ancient times, the energy are derived from one source or another. In much older periods, the demand for light & fuel was met with traditional sources like wood or animal dung or waste plants. Later they got replaced by coal, water & nuclear energy which were then available in abundance. But, as the time goes on, the limitations & drawbacks are stepping forward making the hunt for alternative sources of energy a must, considering the future generation & their needs with a long term vision. As its high time to think upon the quality of the environment, more and more awareness is generating for making the use of the environment friendly resources and products. Though sunlight is considered to be a “convincing solution” to the “need for clean, abundant, cheaper, renewable and environment friendly source of energy,” solar energy currently provides only about 0.01 percent of the total electricity supply needs; this indicates the huge scope of solar SPV in a sub-tropical country like India and rest of the world. Further, recent market trends, regulatory pressures, consumer incentives, and rapid technological advancements are together driving solar energy costs drastically down relative to conventional fossil fuel-derived energy. Now Solar Power is more affordable to common people as compared to the previous era and the only thing, which is missing, is the awareness to be spread about this environment friendly and clean source of energy. Compared to conventional and other renewable energy sources, solar power is especially attractive because it can be easily scaled up Solar electricity can also be generated nearer to consumers and even on site, which greatly reduces or eliminates transmission costs and losses. It always available to us as ready to use source of energy in the daytime. Furthermore, the increasing adoption of variable pricing or net metering schemes also favours solar electricity. Under these schemes electricity rates are higher when peak demand is highest and this generally correlates to when more solar energy is available and electric output highest. Solar PV/module costs are also presently being lowered through higher volume production, improved manufacturing techniques, and alternative solar technologies, reduced size of solar V | P a g e panels due the lesser use of semiconductor material and increased efficiencies of the solar panels. Total costs of installed system of Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) systems are further being minimized through economical “balance-of-system” components such as inverters through improved design and installation techniques. Fundamentally, the solar industry as a whole has advanced and grown to the point where solar solutions are not only an environment friendly option but also a cost effective too. The Ministry of Power (MoP) has an obligation to promote and support co-generation technologies and renewable sources for Power generation under the supervision of Nodal agencies and henceforth it will play a major role in mainstreaming renewable energy sector with other conventional energy sources in India. In view of the efforts of government and favourable government policies in renewable sector has compelled various agencies and institutions to look forward in this regard. Delhi technological University has took a step forward and decided to have a SPV rooftop system of 432 KW power. Assuring robust project design, reliability and best support, M/s Hero Future Energies Limited got this opportunity to implement a 432 kW SPV power Plant under the supervision and guidance of the esteemed professors on the rooftops of the buildings of the Delhi Technological University. This research work brings out the technical details & overall cost mitigating this pioneer project. The total power to be produced by the solar cells will be 432 kW. The cell technology, which is being used, is crystalline type. The main objective of this project is to study the economic feasibility and practicality of the of the rooftop solar power systems, also to assess the environmental impact of these type of SPVs. Now days we are in the era of rapid development, which require exponential growth of energy demand. Due to this increasing energy demand the burden on fossil fuels is rising which is a major concern for the sustainable development and healthy environment. Therefore, to avoid this huge concern a way out is to be required some reliable, renewable and clean energy sources is required. Solar power is one the best solution of this problem and must be focused to make it more practical and accessible to the common people. Keeping this thing in mind this particular project related to 432 KWp rooftop solar photovoltaic power plant installed at the campus of Delhi Technological University is chosen so as to enhance the understanding in the practicality of the PV modules and to analyse their design and feasibility in the real world. VI | P a g e As we, all are aware that government is also serious in this regard & has taken many game changer decisions in this field like subsidised solar panels, industry favoured policies for the SPV manufacturers etc. Government of India has recently started JNNSM program to promote solar projects in India. Under this program, many policies are coming in MW scale project as well as in roof top level. Most of industries are running on conventional sources like coal-based energy, diesel sets etc. According to this policy, any industry, commercial, domestic can plan to set up a solar project for their captive consumption. For this purpose, they can use their un-utilized space like space available on roof, sheds, BIPV etc. Till the time all rooftop policies are for captive consumption only. Some of state governments have started some initiatives for net metering policy. Under this scheme, if any solar project has excess generation (which is more than their individual load demand), they can feed that generation to utility grid. This scheme will take some time to finalize. All solar projects that are to be implemented under this policy will be mounted on roofs; sheds etc. only and total power generation from solar will be used in-house only. There is a huge potential available for generating solar power using unutilized space on wastelands, shedding and rooftops around buildings. In fact, small quantities of power generated by each individual household, industrial building complex, commercial building complex or any other type of building can be utilized to partly fulfil the power requirement of the building occupants and surplus, if available, can be fed into the grid. The rooftop SPV systems on building’s rooftops can be installed to substitute DG’S for operation during load shedding. As an advantage setting up the grid interactive solar power plants on the rooftops would help in reducing the consumption of diesel fuel during the day time in the areas where grid power is intermittent. If the grid power is continuous, the solar power generated will be utilized along with the grid power and accordingly the proportionate amount of grid power usage will be reduced. During minimum load periods (e.g. during weekends, holidays etc.), the excess/surplus power generated from solar systems (SPVs) could be fed into the grid. In turn, the State Government can compensate the consumer for the exported/traded power as per policy. Connectivity of these projects to the grid also has to be in agreement with the prevailing CEA guidelines or policy by the State regulators/ DISCOMs. VII | P a g e The work for making DTU a clean energy developing university was assigned to M/s Hero Solar Energy Pvt. Ltd. Who is pioneer in this field and has working parallel on many other projects like as follows: 1. Indraprastha University (GGSIPU, Dwarka, Delhi) 2. Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology (NSIT, Dwarka, Delhi) Delhi Technological University (DTU) until 1962, the college was under the direct control of Ministry of Education, Government of India. But, in 1963 the administration/command of the college was handed over to Delhi Administration. Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) was under the direct administrative control of Department of Technical Education & Training, Govt. of NCT of Delhi. For academic purposes, the college was initially affiliated to University of Delhi since 1952. Whereas, from July 2009, the Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) has become Delhi Technological University (DTU) vide Delhi act 6 of 2009. The erstwhile Delhi College of Engineering has functioned/operated from its historic Kashmiri Gate Campus for about 55 years and has shifted in 1996 to its lush green sprawling campus of 164 Acres at Bawana Road, adjoining Sector-17, Rohini, Delhi-110042. Its shifting to its new campus has added new dimensions of research and triggered innovations in plenty, which has received high national and international acclaim. As Delhi Technological University (DTU), it has the desired self-sufficiency to outshine and shape itself as a world class Technological University. Now DTU is heading towards the green and clean energy university title. Therefore, it was decided to conduct detailed study on this rooftop SPV system to analyse its mathematical analysis, feasibility and profitability.