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Title: Analysis of Pricing Trends and Grid Parity of Photovoltaic Systems
As an alternative, cleaner energy source, solar power is becoming a much bigger player in how electricity is generated and consumed. To assess how economically-viable solar power is in comparison to other forms of electricity, factors such as the return on investment (ROI) can be calculated. In addition, based on the average lifetime of an average photovoltaic (PV) system, energy purchase reduction, and revenue that can be generated by selling excess electricity back to the power grid, the economic viability of solar energy can be determined. The capital and commissioning cost of a PV system will continue to be a major factor in how viable a PV system will be. Thus, observing the trend in PV system costs over the past years will yield a point of grid parity, when solar becomes competitive with existing forms of energy generation, and show the most beneficial time frame for the customer to install the PV system. This paper seeks to provide some insight on how economic using solar energy can be.
Authors:
; ;
Award ID(s):
1659882
Publication Date:
NSF-PAR ID:
10090868
Journal Name:
2018 CIGRE US National Committee (USNC) Grid of the Future (GOTF) Conference
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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