Techno-economic feasibility of grid-independent residential roof-top solar PV systems in Muscat, Oman
File(s)AlSaclawi, ECM, 2018 accepted.pdf (2.25 MB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Al-Saqlawi, J
Madani, K
Mac Dowell, N
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Oman is a country characterised by high solar availability, yet very little electricity is produced using solar energy. As the residential sector is the largest consumer of electricity in Oman, we develop a novel approach, using houses in Muscat as a case study, to assess the potential of implementing roof-top solar PV/battery technologies, that operate without recourse to the electricity grid. Such systems target the complete decarbonisation of electricity demand per household and are defined in this study as grid-independent systems. The approach adopted starts with a technical assessment of grid-independent systems that evaluates the characteristics of the solar panel and the battery facility required to provide grid-independence. This is then compared to a similar grid-connected system and any techno-economic targets necessary to enhance the feasibility of residential roof-top PV systems in Muscat are identified. Such an analysis was achieved through developing a detailed techno-economic mathematical model describing four sub-systems; the solar panel DC source, the grid-independent sub-system, the grid-connected sub-system and the economic sub-system. The model was implemented in gPROMS and uses real hourly weather and climate conditions matched with real demand data, over a simulated period of 20 years. The results indicate that, in the context of the system studied, grid-independent PV systems are not feasible. However, combined with a sufficiently high electricity price, grid-independent systems can become economically feasible only with significant reductions in battery costs (>90% reductions).
Date Issued
2018-12-15
Date Acceptance
2018-10-08
Citation
Energy Conversion and Management, 2018, 178, pp.322-334
ISSN
0196-8904
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
322
End Page
334
Journal / Book Title
Energy Conversion and Management
Volume
178
Copyright Statement
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This manuscript is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Subjects
0906 Electrical And Electronic Engineering
Energy
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2018-10-18