DESIGN & RELIABILITY OF SOLAR PV SYSTEM AS SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SOURCE FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF LARKANO

Abstract

Pakistan is facing an acute energy crisis due to the increasing energy demand in various sectors, and the load shedding of electricity has become a prevalent concern. Therefore, this study was conducted at the University of Larkano, Sindh, Pakistan, to investigate and propose a solar photovoltaic (PV) system for supplying electricity to fulfill the energy needs during load shedding while also lowering the operating cost of installed diesel generators that are used for backup during load shedding. Likewise, this study aimed to ascertain the reliability of a solar PV system in terms of shading risk to examine losses of PV modules, saving of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, actual energy production during the lifespan, payback period, levelized cost of energy (LCOE), solar PV system life cycle cost, and average unit cost. PVsyst software version 6.6.3 was employed for the design and reliability of the proposed photovoltaic (PV) system. The total energy requirement of the light appliances for replacement with solar PV system was 717.94 kWh/day. Moreover, the results showed that all the buildings of the engineering campus required a 178.8kWp PV system, with 596 modules that will produce 8573.25MWh during a 30 yrs lifespan. Similarly, when all types of energy losses were considered, the total energy supplied to the end user was obtained 201.32MWh/yr., with an average unit cost of 0.06 USD$/kWh and a performance ratio of 55.51%, which is satisfactory. In addition, the proposed solar PV system electrification will save approximately 2,968.9 tons of carbon dioxide CO₂ throughout its lifetime, with a payback period of 8.5 yrs., LCOE of 0.032 US$/kWh, life cycle cost (LCC) of 275,191 US$. Likewise, electricity purchased from SEPCO is 2.5 times costly than the suggested solar PV system unit cost, while electricity generated from diesel generator sets is 3.33 times more expensive.