Feasibility Analysis of 5, 8 and 10 kW Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems in Saudi Arabia

In Recent years, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have shown interest in introducing renewable technologies at a larger scale. Residential sector consumes about 50% of the country’s total electricity production. Therefore, introducing PV technology in residential sector could aid the country to tackle its fast growing power demand, and carbon emission problem. The present study, examines the financial viability of Grid-Connected Residential Photovoltaic (GCPV) systems in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Economic assessment have been carried for several grid-connected PV capacity. We analyze the potential energy generation and cost effectiveness for hypothetical 5, 8, and 10 kWh PV sizes under several financial scenarios. Renewable Energy Project Analysis Software (RETScreen) has been employed to evaluate the PV models. The results show that, residential PV system is infeasible at the current electricity tariff. It has been estimated that electricity tariff has to increase at least by 750%, or by 350% (with 50% of the capital investment provided by government as incentive) for GCPV to be cost effective. However, providing feed in tariff at a rate of 100$/MWh for GCPV owners seems more financially attractive. In addition, installing 5, 8, and 10 kW PV capacity could avoid 6, 10, and 12 tons of CO2, from being released to the atmosphere, respectively. In general, several economic, political and social issues need to be resolved, in order to create a successful market for PV technology in KSA. Keywords: Photovoltaic system, Feasibility analysis, RETScreen software