An Economic Analysis of Solar Photovoltaic Installations in … · 2016-04-06 · Bryan Hosford...
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Bryan Hosford 10105735 M.Eng. Research Project 2014/2015
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An Economic Analysis of Solar Photovoltaic Installations in Ireland Bryan Hosford and Reena Cole
Department of Mechanical, Aeronautical and Biomedical Engineering
University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Abstract
This paper conducted an economic analysis of the viability of five solar photovoltaic installations in County Tipperary,
Ireland. Economic barriers along with policy recommendations are also discussed in detail in order to incentivise solar
photovoltaics installations in Ireland. Using costings, solar photovoltaic energy output data and solar radiation data it is also
investigated how Irish financial aids compare with European scenarios. It was concluded that the installations are
economically feasible, however there is a need for widespread financial aids to be introduced in Ireland to ensure solar
photovoltaic are economically viable, in line with European financial scenarios for solar photovoltaics.
Keywords: Renewable energy; Solar photovoltaics; Economic viability; Ireland
Nomenclature
A Total PV array area m2
𝐸1 Single solar PV panel power kWp
E PV energy output kWh
𝐸𝑎 Annual PV energy output kWh
𝐸𝐸 PV energy available for export kWh
𝐸𝐻 Hourly PV energy output kWh
𝐸𝑚 Monthly PV energy output kWh
𝐸𝑟 Recorded monthly PV energy
output
kWh
𝐹 Future value of money €
H Global solar radiation kWh/m2
𝐻𝑚 Global solar radiation for month
required kWh/m2
I Initial investment €
i Inflation rate %
𝐿𝐴 Annual electricity
load/consumption
kWh
𝐿𝐻 Hourly electricity
load/consumption
kWh
n Nominal interest rate %
𝑃 Electricity export profit €
𝑃𝐿1 Single solar PV panel area m2
PR Performance ratio -
PV Sum of discounted cashflows €
𝑟 Solar panel yield %
𝑟𝑖 Real interest rate %
𝑆 Savings €
𝛽𝑖 Annual benefit in the year i €
1. Introduction
The introduction of renewable energy technologies, such as
solar photovoltaics (PVs), to the Irish fuel mix is essential
for the energy future and security of the country. The Irish
Government responded to Directive 2009/28/EC (a
directive to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, increase
energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy all by
20% by 2020) by setting a target of 40% of gross electricity
consumption to originate from renewable sources by 2020
[1]. The usage of solar PV in Ireland has been sparse
however and there is a need for more solar PV installations
to be introduced to help meet the 40% target.
Findings on the state of energy in Ireland show that
greenhouse gas emissions, as of 2013, are 17% above 1990
levels and the cost of all energy imported to Ireland was
€6.7 billion, thus causing strain on the Irish economy and
energy security [2].
Figure 1 shows the flow of energy in electricity generation
in Ireland in 2013.
Figure 1: Flow of Energy in Electricity Generation in Ireland in 2013 [3].
Figure 1 shows the generation of electricity from solar PVs
is non-existent nationally in Ireland and fossils fuels still
account for a large percentage. For instance the share of
fossil fuels for electricity generation in Ireland was 82.6%
in 2013 [2].
It will be seen in this paper that the potential of solar PV is
not being realised in Ireland. Tipperary local authority has
currently installed a total of 193kW of solar PV from
Tipperary Energy Agency (TEA), which is the largest
project of its type in Ireland [4]. Solar PV output data was
received from TEA for a number of these installations from
December 2014 to July 2015 along with annual global solar
radiation data from Met Eireann.
1.1. Objectives
Using the solar PV output data from the Tipperary solar PV
installations (Nenagh Civic Offices, Clonmel County Hall,
Clonmel Fire Station and Clonmel Machinery Yard) and
the global solar radiation data, an economic analysis of the
viability of solar PV installations will be presented in this
paper. This will be carried out in both economic and data
analysis sections. Irish economic barriers in conjunction
It is hereby declared that this report is entirely my own work, unless otherwise stated, and that all sources of information have been properly acknowledged and referenced. It is also declared that this report has not previously been submitted, in whole or in part, as part fulfilment of any module assessment requirement.
Signed: _____________________ Date:
Bryan Hosford 10105735 M.Eng. Research Project 2014/2015
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with policy recommendations will be presented also in this
paper, with emphasis on incentivising small and large scale
consumers to utilise solar PV. Using costings for the solar
PV installations in this paper it will also be investigated
how the Irish grant and subsidies scenario compares to
scenarios throughout selected countries in the EU.
2. Literature review
The literature review in this paper will discuss solar PV
technology in Ireland and generally. This information will
be presented under the following headings: Solar PV in
Ireland, Support Strategies Available for Solar PV
Installations and the heading Solar PV Technology. For a
more detailed literature review the interim report for this
paper can be consulted [39].
2.1. Solar PV in Ireland
This section will outline the argument that there is fantastic
potential for solar PV systems in Ireland. Solar PV in
Ireland will be investigated under two headings which are
The Case for Solar Energy in Ireland and the Current Solar
PV situation in Ireland.
2.1.1 The Case for Solar Energy in Ireland
Wexford experiences 78% of the global solar radiation
levels of Madrid meaning solar PV installations are suitable
under Irish conditions [5]. Global solar radiation levels in
Ireland are also equivalent to the levels in the majority of
the UK and northern Europe, as can be seen in Figure 2,
where solar PV is being embraced. For example the UK, as
of June 2015, has an installed capacity of 7.75 GW for
solar PVs [6] and 1.4 TWh of solar PV energy was
generated from July 2012 to June 2013 [7].
Figure 2: Yearly Total of Global Horizontal Radiation in Europe [8].
Solar module prices in the EU have reduced by 42% since
2011 from €0.96/w (per watt) to €0.56/w unlike traditional
energy prices in the EU which have risen by 27% in the
same period [5]. It is also projected that installation costs
will fall by 29% by 2020 and this will make solar PVs a
cheaper source of electricity than onshore wind [5]. Solar
PV has potential to help reach targets for renewable energy
consumption and would also compliment wind energy as
peak energy output for solar energy occurs during midday
hours while peak wind energy output occurs during night
hours [9].
It is estimated that by 2020, over 20% of Ireland’s energy
production could easily be generated by solar PV [10]. Also
0.02% of Irelands total land area could provide 1,260,000
megawatt hours of solar PV energy thus providing 382,000
Irish households with power annually and in turn reducing
carbon emissions by 652,000 tonnes [10].
2.1.2 Current Solar PV Situation in Ireland
Ireland at present has no energy policy provision in place
for using solar PV as a renewable energy resource [10]. As
of 2013 Ireland ranks 26th out of 27 EU member states for
the production of energy from solar PV [10].
In Ireland Solar PV is currently not being offered under the
Government REFIT (Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff)
scheme provided by the Sustainable Energy Authority of
Ireland (SEAI) [11]. There is approximately 1MW of solar
PV capacity installed in Ireland, enough to power 300
homes, however none of the installations are utilised for the
national grid [10]. Looking at Figure 3 where solar PV
installed capacity is represented in watts per inhabitant
(w/inhabitant), it is evident that other countries in Europe
are embracing solar PV unlike Ireland [12]. Darker colours
in Figure 3 indicate higher w/inhabitant installed.
Figure 3: European Installations per Inhabitant [13]
2.2 Support Strategies Available for Solar PV
Installations
This section will investigate certain support strategies
available for solar PV installations. These will be
investigated under two headings which are Support
Strategies for Solar PV Installations in Ireland and Support
Strategies for Solar PV Installations in the EU. Support
strategies such as Feed in Tariffs (FiTs) are available and
these are payments to energy users for generating
electricity from solar PV and other renewable energy
technologies, even if the electricity is utilised by the
producer [14].
2.2.1 Support Strategies for Solar PV Installations in
Ireland
There is very limited support for solar PV installations in
Ireland with ESB Electric Ireland currently being the only
electricity supplier that offers a FiT rate of €0.09 for each
kWh of electricity produced for solar PV systems and this
is only for domestic systems [15] [16]. There was a
supplement provided by ESB Electric Ireland for electricity
exported onto the grid for domestic solar PV systems but
this ceased in early 2013 [15].
There were certain grants available for commercial PV
installations under SEAI’s Better Energy Work Places
programme, now replaced with The National Energy
Performance Contracting Framework [17]. These grants
were available for up to 35% of capital costs for private
companies and 50% for public buildings, with the latter
being received for the TEA installations [18].
2.2.2 Support Strategies for Solar PV Installations in the
EU
FiT rates are currently available in 20 EU countries [19]. In
France rates are offered for building-integrated, simplified
building integrated and for any type of installation and
these rates depend on power ratings and for PV systems up
to 12 MW [19]. Tax credits are also available in France
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(50% of the costs of materials) along with reduced VAT of
7% [ref]. The French FiT rates can be seen in Table 1. Table 1: French FiT Rates [19]
Type of Installation
Classification
Rated Power
(kW)
FiT (€/kWh)
Education or health Building integrated 0-9 €0.3159/kWh
Education or health Building integrated 9-36 -
Education or health Simplified building
integrated
0-36 €0.1817/kWh
Education or health Simplified building
integrated
36-100 €0.1727/kWh
Other buildings Building integrated 0-9 €0.3159/kWh
Other buildings Simplified building
integrated
0-36 €0.1817/kWh
Other buildings Simplified building
integrated
36-100 €0.1727/kWh
Any type - 0-1200 €0.0818/kWh
In Germany FiT rates were implemented in 2004 and this
enabled Germany to have the highest installation rates per
inhabitant in the world [20]. Contracts for the rates in
Germany last 20 years and these rates decrease by a
monthly base rate of 1%, which is subjective to installation
size, to incentivise rapid deployment of solar PV
installations. [19] [20]. The rate of decrease is reviewed
and modified in quarter segments annually to factor in the
increase or decrease of installed PV capacity [19]. Table 2
shows the FiT rates for Germany which are accurate as of
November 2013 [21]. Table 2: German FiT Rates [21]
Rated Power
(kW)
Installed in, at or on Building
Noise Protection Wall
Freestanding Facility
<10 €0.1407/kWh €0.0974/kWh
10.01 - 40 €0.1335/kWh €0.0974/kWh
40.01 – 1000 €0.1191/kWh €0.0974/kWh
1000.01-10000 €0.0997/kWh €0.0974/kWh
In the UK a number of incentives are also available for
solar PV [21]. Large-scale PV plants in the UK are not
widespread but there is a high level of solar PV
installations in the private and commercial sectors and at
the end of 2011 there were approximately 230,000 solar
projects [22]. FiT and quota systems are available and to be
eligible for FiT rates installations up to 5MW are required
to undertake an accreditation process [19]. Rates are
available for a period of 20 years for systems installed
beyond the 1st of August 2012 [21]. Table 3 shows FiT
rates available for PV installations. In the UK an export
tariff is also available for solar PV energy producers and
this can also be seen in Table 3. Table 3: UK FiT Rates and Export Tariff [21]
Installation size
(kW)
Higher Rate
Medium Rate Lower Rate
≤ 4 €0.1779/kWh €0.1601/kWh €0.0818/kWh
4 - 10 €0.1612/kWh €0.1451/kWh €0.0818/kWh
10 - 50 €0.1501/kWh €0.1350/kWh €0.0818/kWh
50 - 150 €0.1325/kWh €0.1193/kWh €0.0818/kWh
150 - 250 €0.1268/kWh €0.1141/kWh €0.0818/kWh
250 - 5000 - €0.0818/kWh -
Export Tariff - €0.0554/kWh -
It is evident that there is more support, through incentives
and subsidies, for solar PV in EU countries. There is only a
domestic FiT rate offered in Ireland by one electricity
supplier as discussed previously while nationwide FiT rates
and other incentives are offered by EU countries. If
nationwide FiT rates and incentives were offered in Ireland
it would make the technology more attractive
2.3 Solar PV Technology
In this section it will be discussed how solar PV systems
operate and are connected to national grids under a number
of headings. These headings include An Overview of Solar
PVs, The Photoelectric Effect and Grid Connected PV
systems.
2.3.1 An Overview of Solar PVs
Solar PVs operate by converting direct light into electricity.
Solar PV systems have numerous advantages such as that
the technology is modular (suitability for expansion), has a
significant lifetime (25 years) and is carbon neutral during
operation [23]. The solar PV installation in Nenagh Civic
Offices in County Tipperary, Ireland, which was installed
by TEA can be seen in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Nenagh Civic Offices Installation
The process of conversion takes place in a solar PV cell
which is typically constructed of semiconductors such as
silicon [24]. PV cells are constructed as a group into more
sizeable DC (Direct Current) electrical units referred to as
PV panels and a series of PV panels are known as a PV
array. Arrays and systems are connected to an inverter and
these inverters are then connected to the electricity grid to
create an in phase AC (Alternating Current) output [24].
When electricity load/consumption is high in buildings, the
output from the PV installation is utilised and if there is any
excess of PV power this could potentially be exported onto
the local electricity grid.
2.3.2 The Photoelectric Effect
Due to the photoelectric effect electrons become charged
and are caused to mobilise due to the energy of light falling
on the solar PV cell and these mobile electrons in the semi-
conductor cause an electrical charge to flow [25]. This
electrical field is enabled by introducing impurities, in a
process known as doping, in silicon with elements such as
phosphorus or boron to create n-type (negative) or p-type
(positive) zones [23]. The composition of a silicon solar
cell can be viewed in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Silicon Solar Cell Composition [26]
The solar silicon cell in Figure 5 is comprised of a p-type
silicon layer which has been lightly doped with boron and
an n-type silicon layer which has been highly doped with
phosphorous [27]. When light envelopes the cell a tension
V is detected between the p-n junction due to electron-hole
pairs being generated. Current I can be sent externally once
a load resistor is applied [27].
2.3.3 Grid Connected PV Systems
Solar PV systems, such as the systems installed by TEA
can be connected to the local electricity grid and they can
also include energy storage capabilities [25]. Most systems
are typically installed on rooftop buildings as they enable
substantial power to be generated and these are referred to
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as decentralised medium-sized grid connection units [25].
A simple schematic of a rooftop system can be viewed in
Figure 6.
Figure 6: Schematic of a Rooftop Solar PV System [28] The two types of grid-connected solar PV systems are
Decentralised and Central, with Decentralised grid-
connected PV systems being evaluated in this paper.
Decentralised grid-connected PV systems are placed in
close proximity to power demand centres and are intended
to meet local electricity needs, however they can also
provide the electricity needs of a sole building [29]. Excess
energy produced is exported onto the local electricity grid
and if there are FiTs available and export tariffs it may be
more desirable to export all power generated [29].
3. Theoretical Analysis
This section outlines any theory or equations that were
utilised in this paper. There are three headings in this
section which are the Prediction of Solar PV Energy
Output, General Financial Calculations and the heading
Payback Period, NPV and IRR.
3.1 Prediction of Solar PV Energy Output
Hourly and monthly global solar radiation data was
requested and received from Met Eireann so that the energy
output could be predicted from each of the solar PV
installations [30]. The energy output from each of the PV
installations was predicted from August until December as
energy output was not recorded over this period. PV energy
output was predicted by the following [31]:
𝐸 = 𝐴𝑟𝐻𝑃𝑅 [1] The solar panel yield in percentage is found by [31]:
𝑟 =𝐸1
𝑃𝐿1 [2]
Solar PV energy output was also calculated for the months
not recorded by:
𝐸𝑚 = 𝐸𝑎 × 𝐻𝑚 [3]
where 𝐻𝑚 is a percentage of the annual solar global
radiation for the month required (from 1981-2014 [32]).
The annual solar PV energy was calculated by:
𝐸𝑎 =∑ 𝐸𝑟
∑ 𝐻𝑚 × 100 [4]
Solar PV energy output that could be potentially exported
onto the local electricity was calculated by:
𝐸𝐸 = 𝐸𝐻 − 𝐿𝐻 [5]
3.2 General Financial Calculations
The annual electricity cost was found by:
𝐿𝐴 × 𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 [6]
where the unit price is in €/kWh.
The annual value of PV production is calculated by:
𝐸𝑎 × 𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 [7]
The 1 year unit price can be found by:
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝑉 𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡
𝐸𝑎 × 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 [8]
where the grant rate is 50% and the 1 year unit price is in
€/kWh. The 1 year unit price can then by utilised to predict
the 10 year and 20 year unit prices by:
1 𝑌𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑌𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 [9]
The cost per kW installed of PV for each site is calculated
by:
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝑉 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 [10]
where the total cost of installation is in € and the total PV
capacity installed is in kW.
The annual % saving in euro can then be found by:
𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑉 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡 × 100 [11]
The 10, 20 and 25 year unit price can then be predicted by:
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 ×𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑌𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 ×𝐸𝑎 [12]
3.3 Payback Period, NPV and IRR
Three techniques will be utilised to assess the economic
viability of the solar PV installations which are payback
period, NPV (net present value) and IRR (internal rate of
return).
The payback period does not consider the time value of
money [33]. The longer the payback period the greater the
risk for investors [33]. The payback period is found by:
∑ 𝛽𝑖 ≥ 𝐼𝑛𝑖=1 [13]
𝛽𝑖 is found by [15]:
𝛽𝑖 = 𝑆 + 𝑃 [14]
NPV assesses a project by comparing the future cash flows
with the initial investment and once NPV becomes positive
the project becomes profitable [33].
NPV is found by:
NPV = PV – P [15]
Discounted cashflow is calculated by:
𝐹
(1+𝑟)𝑛 [16]
The real interest rate 𝑟𝑖 is found by [33]:
𝑟𝑖 = 𝑛 − 𝑖 [17]
IRR is useful as it evaluates a project by calculating an
interest rate that is compared against the minimum return
required and this is the interest rate for which the NPV is
zero [33].
4. Methodology
This section will discuss the methodology for the analysis
of the economic viability of solar PV installations in
Ireland through three headings which are Data Acquisition,
Calculation of Annual Solar PV Output and Potential for
Exporting Energy and the heading Economic Analysis.
4.1 Data Acquisition
The solar PV data was recorded in hourly, daily and
monthly increments and this information was then inputted
into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. The data was retrieved
from an online personal webpage for the two Nenagh
installations and for the Clonmel installations the data was
extracted manually from the inverter. For the Online
personal webpage the solar PV energy output is recorded
through the use of the inverter and power meter. This data
is then sent to a server where it is collected and stored on a
central database and it can then be extracted. A schematic
of the collection process can be seen in Figure 7.
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Figure 7: Schematic of Solar PV Data Collection Process for Online Personal
Webpage [33]
4.2. Calculation of Annual Solar PV Output and Potential
for Exporting Energy
Solar radiation data was taken from the closest Met Eireann
synoptic station to Nenagh and Clonmel (where the
installations are located), which was the Gurteen College
synoptic station as can be seen in Figure 8. Monthly Solar
radiation data can be seen in Appendix A.
Figure 8: Met ��ireann Synoptic Stations in Ireland [34]
Hourly and monthly solar PV energy output was calculated
from August to December using Equations 1, 2 and 3 and
the annual solar PV energy output was then calculated
utilising Equation 4. Technical specifications for each
installation can be seen in Appendix B, while monthly solar
PV energy output for each installation can be seen in
Appendix C. Once the annual solar PV output was
calculated this value was then sent to another Microsoft
Excel spreadsheet to carry out financial calculations.
The total energy available for export was calculated
utilising Equation 5 and for this equation the hourly
electricity consumption in kWh for the Nenagh installations
was calculated by averaging the 2012-2014 Meter
Registration System Operator (MRSO) data, however
MRSO data was not available for the Clonmel installations
[35]. The hourly energy output from the solar PVs was then
calculated using actual and predicted data and the energy
output was predicted from August until late December
using Equation 1. Annual solar radiation data was received
from Met Eireann from 2005 until 2014 and this was
averaged [30].
4.3 Economic Analysis
A number of financial calculations were carried out
utilising the equations in Section 3.2 and the results were
compared with calculations from Tipperary Energy
Agency.
A number of financial scenarios were then investigated for
each installations which included the SEAI grant that was
available to certain public buildings, the French FiT rate
scenario, the German FiT rate scenario, the UK FiT rate
and export tariff scenario and a scenario without any grants
or subsidies. The European subsidies can be seen in section
2.2.2 while an SEAI grant of 50% of capital costs was
available for the installations in this paper. For each of the
scenarios it was investigated how payback period, NPV and
IRR could affect the installations over the 25 year lifetime
[36]. Payback period, NPV and IRR where calculated
utilising equations in Section 3.3 and the costings for each
of the installations can be seen in Appendix B. The nominal
interest rate was taken as 4.99% which is a green loan
available from Bank of Ireland [37] and the average
inflation rate was taken as 2.26% which was the average
inflation rate between 2001 and 2010 [15]. It was also
investigated how varying and constant electricity unit
prices would affect savings. Electricity prices are predicted
to increase on average of 4.75% each year for the
foreseeable future due to increasing oil prices and this
value was taken for varying electricity unit price
calculations in this paper [38]. It was also investigated for
the Nenagh installations how much CO2 emissions were
avoided since the sites became operational.
5. Results and Discussion
Section 5 will outline and discuss the results for each
installation through four headings which are Solar PV
Energy Output and Solar Radiation, Financial Comparison
of Installations and the heading Payback Period, Net
Present Value and Internal Rate of Return.
5.1 Solar PV Power Output and Solar Radiation
In this section it was investigated how 2015 solar radiation
levels compared to average solar radiation levels (1981-
2014) and also daily solar PV energy output for the Nenagh
Civic Offices installation will be presented [30]. It will also
be shown in this section how monthly solar PV output,
calculated using 2015 solar radiation data, compares to
solar PV output calculated using actual data. Figure 9
shows 2015 solar radiation levels compared to average
solar radiation levels for the Gurteen College synoptic
station in North Tipperary [ref].
Figure 9 shows that solar radiation levels were above
average for January, March, April and June and below
average for February, May and July. Due to some months
being above average for solar radiation this may cause the
annual prediction of solar PV energy output to be
overestimated compared to other years. However solar
radiation levels for recent years has been above 1981-2010
solar radiation averages [30].
Figure 9: Comparison of 2015 Solar Radiation Levels and Average Solar
Radiation for Gurteen College, Ireland [30]
Daily solar PV energy output from December 2014 to July
2015 can be seen for the Nenagh Civic Offices installation
in Figure 10.
0 50 100 150 200
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
2015 Solar Radiation
Average Solar Radiation(1981-2010)
Solar Radiation (kWh)
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Figure 10: Daily Solar PV Energy Output from December 2014- July 2015 for
the Nenagh Civic Offices Installation
Figure 10 shows that the PV energy output fluctuates
heavily throughout the year due to weather conditions and
varying solar radiation levels. The highest energy output
occurs during summer months while the lowest occurs
during winter months. It is noticeable that the pattern of
Figure 10 closely follows the pattern of Figure 9 from
January to July and this means that solar PV energy is
predictable over monthly periods, more so than wind
energy. The predictable pattern enforces the argument that
solar PV energy could be utilised in conjunction with wind
power as highest wind energy output occurs during night
hours and winter months, while solar PV energy is the
opposite [9].
Figure 11 shows monthly solar PV energy output for the
Nenagh Civic Offices installation including actual and
predicted data and also data calculated utilising 2015 Met
Eireann solar radiation data.
Figure 11: Comparison of Monthly Solar PV Energy Output using 2015 Met
��ireann and Actual and Predicted Data for Nenagh Civic Offices
It is clear from Figure 11 that monthly solar PV energy
output using 2015 solar radiation data closely follows the
pattern of the actual and predicted data. Solar PV energy
output for the Clonmel County Hall, Clonmel Fire Station
and Clonmel Machinery Yard Installations can be seen in
Appendix C and the same patterns can be seen for each
installation as Figure 10 and 11.
5.2 Financial Comparisons of Installations
All of the data for the 5 installations (Nenagh Civic
Offices, Clonmel County Hall, Clonmel Machinery Yard
and Nenagh Leisure Centre) was received from TEA.
Additional financial information for each installation, with
exception of Nenagh Leisure Centre, can be seen in
Appendix D. Table 4 shows a comparison of the financial
calculations in this paper and the TEA calculations for each
installation including PV annual kWh production, annual
value of PV production, annual % savings and the 10, 20
and 25 year unit prices.
Table 4 shows that the calculations in this paper for PV
annual kWh production, annual value of PV production,
annual % savings and the 10, 20 and 25 year unit prices
were higher than the TEA calculations for each installation.
Table 4: Comparison of Financial Calculations for Each Installation
This may be as a result of TEA calculations utilising
predicted data solely compared to actual data in this paper.
Also solar radiation has been above average this year so far
compared to 1981–2010 averages, however solar radiation
has been consistently above average in recent years so TEA
calculations may have under predicted solar PV energy
output. The MRSO data for the Nenagh Civic Offices site
also indicated a higher annual electricity load than the
annual electricity load utilised for TEA calculations. It can
also be seen from Table 4 that there is significant annual
cost savings on electricity once an installation becomes
profitable and this is without a FiT rate or export tariff. The
unit price (including the grant) also decreases substantially
throughout the life of the installation increasing the
attractiveness of the technology.
5.3 Payback Period, Net Present Value and Internal Rate
of Return
This section will discuss the payback period, NPV and IRR
for each installation under different scenarios. These
scenarios investigate different situations in which different
grants or tariffs could affect the financial feasibility of each
installation. These scenarios include No SEAI grants or
Tariffs, an SEAI grant of 50% (available for the
installations in this paper), a domestic ESB Electric Ireland
FiT rate, a French FiT rate, a German FiT rate or a UK FiT
rate in conjunction with an export tariff. Under these
scenarios payback period, NPV and IRR will be
investigated with constant and varying unit electricity price
for each installation. Also note with exception of the
Nenagh Civic Offices installation the UK export tariff was
not included due to unavailable MRSO data for the
Clonmel sites.
The payback period in years for each scenario can be seen
in Table 5 for constant and varying electricity unit price.
It can be seen in Table 5 that the payback period for each of
the scenarios with varying electricity unit price is lower
than the payback period for constant electricity unit price
and this increases the economic viability of the solar PV
installations. Electricity unit price is predicted to increase
on average by 4.75% annually for the foreseeable future
due to increasing fossil fuel prices and therefore this again
reinforces the argument that it is essential that Ireland
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
J F M A M J J
Ener
gy O
utp
ut
(kW
h)
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
July
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Energy Output(kWh)
Monthly Solar PV OutputUsing 2015 Met EireannData OnlyMonthly Solar PV OutputIncluding Actual andPredicted
Bryan Hosford 10105735 M.Eng. Research Project 2014/2015
7
increases its energy security by introducing renewable
energy technologies to the national grid such as Solar PV
[38].
In regards to the different scenarios of subsidies and rates
investigated it is clear that the French FiT rate scenario has
the most favourable payback period closely followed by the
other scenarios with exception of the no SEAI grants or
tariffs scenario which lags far behind for each case and
installation. Table 5: Payback Period for Constant and Varying Electricity Unit Price
Graphs of payback period for each installation and scenario
can be seen in Appendix E.
The net present value (NPV) for each scenario can be seen
in Table 6 for a constant and varying electricity unit. Table 6: NPV for Constant and Varying Electricity Unit Price
Once the NPV of an installation is positive it becomes
profitable and it is clear from Table 6 that for each scenario
this is the case. Again similarly to the payback period due
to increasing electricity prices it enables the installations to
become more economically feasible compared to if the
electricity unit price remains constant. Once again the
French scenario is the most profitable closely followed by
the UK, German, domestic ESB and the SEAI grant of 50%
scenarios.
The internal rate of return (IRR) for each scenario can be
seen in Table 7 for a constant and varying electricity unit
price. Table 7: IRR for Constant and Varying Electricity Unit Price
IRR rates are ranked from highest to lowest and once again
the French scenario offers the most profitability.
Looking at the financial results for payback period, IRR
and NPV it is noticeable that the financial viability of the
installations in this paper is greatly enhanced by the SEAI
grant and it is equal if not better than some of the rates and
tariffs available in Europe. However this grant is no longer
available under SEAI’s Better Energy Work Places
programme [11]. The ESB FiT rate of €0.09/kWh is also
only available for domestic systems and it is the only
electricity provider in Ireland that offers this rate.
For the majority of installations in Ireland there are no
SEAI grants or tariffs available along with no FiT rates.
The payback period would have been double if there were
no grants available for the installations making them barely
economically viable as almost half of the installations
lifespan would have expired before they became profitable.
When looking at Irelands European counterparts this
payback period would have been at least 4 – 5 years less.
Also when looking at NPV and IRR for each installation it
is evident that the SEAI grant allows the installations to be
substantially viable similar to the European scenarios but
with no grants, FiT rates or export tariffs IRR and NPV is
drastically reduced thus significantly impacting economic
viability.
Ireland needs to embrace solar PV technology as gross
electricity consumption from renewable energy
technologies is only 20.1%, well below the target of 40%.
Also the cost of all energy imported to Ireland was €.6.7
billion, as of 2013, putting huge strain on the Irish
economy [2]. Although there has been substantial
investment in wind technology in Ireland, development of
Bryan Hosford 10105735 M.Eng. Research Project 2014/2015
8
solar PV has been sparse. To incentivise the introduction of
solar PV there needs to be legislation introduced by the
Irish Government for a FiT rate or other grants and
subsidies to reduce payback period, NPV and IRR for
installations. For example the domestic ESB FiT rate of
€0.09/kWh could be offered by every electricity supplier
and to commercial installations also. There needs to be a
larger quantity of green loans available with significant
improvement in sums provided as the Green loan rate from
Bank of Ireland, utilised for calculations in this paper, only
has a €100m fund available for all applications in Ireland
[37].
It is clear from the calculations of payback period, NPV
and IRR that European scenarios for installing solar PV are
more favourable and these calculations are without grants
offered by these countries. The subsidies and FiT rates
offered by France, the UK and Germany has caused these
countries to become world leaders in terms of solar PV and
Ireland could learn lessons from these countries to
incentivise solar PV technology.
5.4: Potential for Export and 𝑪𝑶𝟐 Emissions Prevented
This section will discuss the potential for exporting
electricity along with avoided CO2 emissions from the
Nenagh Civic Offices and Nenagh Leisure Centre
installations. Figure 12 (a) and (b) shows the PV energy
output and electricity consumption for the 1st of January
and the 9th of June 2015 for the Nenagh Civic Offices
Installation. It can be seen from Figure 12 that there is no
potential for export of PV energy on the 1st of January
while there is potential on the 6th of June.
Figure 12 (a) Comparison of PV Energy Output and Electricity
Consumption on the 1st of January and (b) on the 6th of June both for
the Nenagh Civic Offices Installation
There would typically be little or no potential for export
during winter months while there would be potential in
months from late spring to early autumn due to increased
solar radiation levels. For the Nenagh Civic Offices
installation only 0.56% of solar PV energy output would be
available for export and the majority is utilised internally
while for the Nenagh Leisure Centre installation 3.98% of
PV energy is available for export. The rate of export is
subjective to the ratio of PV energy output to electricity
consumption so an installation of similar size on a smaller
building would have a larger potential for export. There
needs to be an export tariff introduced in Ireland, similar to
the UK, to incentivise PV installations as there is currently
no payment for solar PV energy exported onto the local
grid.
As of late July, since the Nenagh Civic Offices installation
became operational on the 22nd December 2014 a total of
8.8 tonnes equivalent of CO2 have been avoided and for the
Nenagh Leisure Centre installation 8.04 tonnes of CO2
equivalent have been avoided since the 12th March 2015. If
there was an increase of installations of this size in Ireland
it would help reduce national CO2 emissions which are
17% above 1990 levels.
6. Conclusions
The calculations in this paper for PV annual kWh
production, annual value of PV production, and the 10, 20
and 25 year unit prices were more favourable than the
Tipperary Energy Agency calculations for each installation
increasing the economic viability. Payback period NPV and
IRR were more favourable when varying electricity unit
prices were utilised compared to constant electricity unit
prices for each installation, increasing the economic
viability of installations compared to other technologies. It
is essential that Ireland introduces a higher percentage of
renewable energy technologies, such as solar PV, to help
reach a target of 40% electricity consumption from
renewable energy technologies by 2020 and to increase
Ireland’s energy security. The installations are
economically viable for each scenario investigated however
there needs to be widespread grants, subsidies, FiT rates
and export tariffs available in Ireland as payback period is
too high and NPV and IRR are too low if they are not
available. There is also a need for a larger quantity of green
loans available from lending institutions. The Nenagh Civic
Offices installation avoided 8.8 tonnes of CO2 and for the
Nenagh Leisure Centre installation 8.04 tonnes of CO2 have
been avoided and if there was an increase of installations of
this size in Ireland it would help reduce CO2 emissions
which are 17% above 1990 levels.
7. Recommendations for Future Work
There are a number of recommendations to advance the
work carried out in this paper. It would be favourable to
record the solar PV output data over one year and then
carry out the financial analysis for each installation as the
data in this paper was only recorded over a period of 8
months.
It was also noticed during the progression of this study that
there has been no study carried out in Ireland into how an
increased percentage of solar PV energy would affect the
national fuel mix and electricity grid so this would be
desirable.
8. Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Paul Cullen, an energy engineer with
Tipperary Energy Agency, who supplied all of the solar PV
energy output data and installation information for this
paper. Without Paul none of this paper would have been
possible. I would also like to thank Tipperary Energy
Agency for allowing access to the installations. Finally I
would like to thank Dr. Reena Cole for all of her invaluable
advice.
0
10
20
30
40
00:00 12:00 00:00
Po
wer
(k
Wh
)
PV Output Electricity Consumption
0
10
20
30
40
00:00 12:00 00:00
Po
wer
(k
Wh
)
PV Output Electricity Consumption
(a)
(b)
Bryan Hosford 10105735 M.Eng. Research Project 2014/2015
9
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[22] Torbati, Y. (2012) ‘UK wants sustained cuts to solar panel tariffs’, Reuters [ONLINE], available:
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idUKTRE8180XS20120209 [accessed 20 Jan 2015]. [23] Krauter, S. C. W. (2006) Solar Electric Power Generation:
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[25] Markvart, T. (1994) Solar Energy, Chichester: John Wiley & sons Ltd.
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[27] Chen, C, J. (2011) Physics of Solar Energy, Hoboken: John Wiley &
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[28] Solartwin (2014) Solar PV (Electric) Power Systems – All the useful basic info. [ONLINE] Available
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[32] Walsh, S. (2010) 'A summary of climate averages for Ireland, 1981-
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Appendix A
A-1
APPENDIX A: Monthly Global Solar Radiation Data
Table A-1: Monthly Global Solar Radiation Data for Gurteen College [30]
Period Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual
1981-2010
(MJ/𝐦𝟐)
71.90 128.50 246.80 387.60 509.00 502.20 478.60 408.40 296.00 117.80 89.50 57.00 3,293.30
2012 (MJ/𝐦𝟐) 70.29 113.13 260.93 370.45 503.42 420.29 411.02 415.16 303.33 157.84 99.50 58.83 3,184.19
2013 (MJ/𝐦𝟐) 69.42 131.18 206.32 424.99 503.42 558.77 602.50 408.00 282.70 193.96 98.45 56.97 3,536.68
2014 (MJ/𝐦𝟐) 73.45 131.21 255.60 419.98 430.96 541.53 498.06 419.89 340.89 180.35 99.46 59.30 3,450.68
2015 (MJ/𝐦𝟐) 82.25 121.75 305.28 488.01 461.61 560.22 462.59
2015
(kWh/𝐦𝟐)
22.85 33.82 84.80 135.56 128.23 155.62 128.5
2015 Average
Annual (%)
2.44 3.62 9.07 14.50 13.71 16.64 13.74
Average Solar
Radiation
1981-2014 (%)
2.12 3.74 7.23 11.90 14.50 14.99 14.73 12.29 9.10 4.81 2.88 1.73
Average
kWh/m2 (1981-
2014)
19.97 35.69 68.56 107.67 141.39 139.50 132.94 113.44 82.22 32.72 24.86 15.83 914.81
Appendix B
B-1
APPENDIX B: Technical Specifications and Costings of Solar PV Installations
Table B-1: Technical Specifications of Solar PV Installations [36]
Location No of Modules PV Measured
Area (𝐦𝟐)
Peak Power
(kWp)
Predicted kWh
Generated per
Annum
(kWh)
Annual Yield
(kWh/kWp)
Performance
Ratio
(Yield/reference
Yield)
Nenagh Civic
Offices
180 297.18 45 40,815 907 .9
County Hall
Clonmel
140 225.40 35 33,486 957 .96
Clonmel
Machinery Yard
104 171.40 26 21,736 836 .84
Clonmel Fire
Station
60 99.06 15 14,280 952 .95
Nenagh Leisure
Centre
180 297.18 45 37,035 823 .82
Table B-2: Additional Technical Specifications of Solar PV Installations [36]
Location Azimuth
Angle
(°)
Inclination
(°)
No of
Inverters
Active Power
Ratio
(%)
Energy Usability Factor (%) Line Losses (in % of PV
energy)
Nenagh Civic
Offices
-22
10
2
82.2
99.9
0.37
County Hall
Clonmel 0
(South) and 90
(West)
30 (South) and 30 (West)
2
85.7
99.9
0.44
Clonmel
Machinery
Yard
90 (East
and West)
10 (East and West)
2
80.8
100
0.43
Clonmel Fire
Station
-30
25
1
100
100
0.19
Nenagh
Leisure
Centre
-100 (East)
and 80 (West)
2 0 (East and
West)
2
75.6
99.9
0.55
Table B-3: Costing’s for Solar PV Installations [36]
Location Complete PV
System Including
Installation
Structural
Design Survey
and Report
Fully Certified
Health and
Safety Report
Site Accessibility
Total Cost
Excluding VAT
Nenagh Civic
Offices
€58,078
€1,700
€720
-
€60,498
Clonmel
Machinery Yard
€32,210
€1,550
€720
€1,220
€34,240
Clonmel Fire
Station
€20,268
€1,800
€780
€2,100
€24,948
Clonmel County
Hall
€44,631
€1,800
€900
€3,200
€50,531
Nenagh Leisure
Centre
€51,126
€1,550
€720
€780
€54,176
Appendix C
C-1
APPENDIX C: Monthly Solar PV Energy Output for Each Installation
Table C-1: Monthly Solar PV Energy Output for Nenagh Civic Offices
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Estimated
Annual Energy
Output
Including
Actual
and
Predicted
(kWh)
1,328
1,897
3,972
5,585
5,433
5,901
5,134
5,439
4,027
2,130
1,273
764
44,275
Energy
Output
Using
Met
��ireann
Data
(kWh)
925
1,369
3,433
5,489
5,192
6,301
5,203
Table C-2: Monthly Solar PV Energy Output for Clonmel County Hall
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Estimated
Annual Energy
Output
Including
Actual
and
Predicted
(kWh)
1,083
1,508
3,152
4,727
4,328
4,795
5,383
4,491
3,325
1,758
1,051
947
36,555
Energy
Output
Using
Met
��ireann
Data
(kWh)
756.40
1,119
2,807
4,487
4,245
5,151
5,152
Figure C-1: Comparison of Monthly Solar PV Energy Output Using 2015 Solar Radiation Data and Actual and Predicted Data for
Clonmel County Hall
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Energy Output (kWh)
Monthly Solar PV Output Using2015 Met Eireann Data Only
Monthly Solar PV OutputIncluding Actual and Predicted
Appendix C
C-2
Figure C-2: Daily Solar PV Energy Output from Dec 2014 – July 2015 for Clonmel County Hall
Table C-3: Monthly Solar PV Energy Output for Clonmel Fire Station
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Estimated
Annual Energy
Output
Including
Actual
and
Predicted
(kWh)
446
635
1,392
2,122
1,964
2,200
2,397
1,999
1,480
783
468
385
16,275
Energy
Output
Using
Met
��ireann
Data
(kWh)
325
481
1,208
1,931
1,826
2,217
1,831
Figure C-3: Comparison of Monthly Solar PV Energy Output Using 2015 Solar Radiation Data and Actual and Predicted Data for
Clonmel Fire Station
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Ene
rgy
(kW
h)
0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Energy Output (kWh)
Monthly Solar PV Output Using2015 Met Eireann Data Only
Monthly Solar PV OutputIncluding Actual and Predicted
Appendix C
C-3
Figure C-4: Daily Solar PV Energy Output from Dec 2014 – July 2015 for Clonmel Fire Station
Table C-4: Monthly Solar PV Energy Output for Clonmel Machinery Yard
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Estimated
Annual Energy
Output
Including
Actual and
Predicted
(kWh)
451
757
1,882
3,144
3,210
3,574
3,501
2,921
2,162
1,143
684
340
23,775
Energy
Output Using
Met ��ireann
Data (kWh)
498
738
1,851
2,960
2,799
3,398
2,806
Figure C-5: Comparison of Monthly Solar PV Energy Output Using 2015 Solar Radiation Data and Actual and Predicted Data for
Clonmel Machinery Yard
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Ene
rgy
(kW
h)
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Energy Output (kWh)
Monthly Solar PV Output Using2015 Met Eireann Data Only
Monthly Solar PV OutputIncluding Actual and Predicted
Appendix C
C-4
Figure C-6: Daily Solar PV Energy Output from Dec 2014 – July 2015 for Clonmel Machinery Yard
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Ene
rgy
(kW
h)
Appendix D
D-1
Appendix D: Financial and Technical Calculations for Each Installation Table D-1: Financial and Technical Calculations Including Calculations from TEA
Site Annual kWh
Consumption
Unit Price
(€/kwh)
Annual
Electricity
Cost
1 Year Unit Price
(€/kwh) Not Inc.
Grant
10 Year Unit Price
(€/kwh) Not Inc.
Grant
20 Year Unit
Price (€/kwh)
Not Inc. Grant
Cost Per kW
Installed
Nenagh Civic
Offices
503,168 €0.1556 €78,293 €0.8037 €0.0804 €0.0402 €1,579.59
Nenagh Civic
Offices (TEA Calculations)
503,168 €0.1556 €76,199 €0.8718 €0.0872 €0.0436 €1,579.59
Clonmel
County Hall
265,000 €0.1556 €41,234 €0.8175 €0.0818 €0.0409 €1,707.69
Clonmel
County Hall (TEA
Calculations)
265,000 €0.1556 €41,234 €0.8937 €0.0894 €0.0447 €1,707.69
Clonmel Fire Station
110,300 €0.1711 €18,872 €0.9441 €0.0944 €0.0472 €2,048.83
Clonmel Fire
Station (TEA
Calculations)
110,300 €0.1711 €18,872 €1.0795 €0.1080 €0.0540 €2,048.83
Clonmel Machinery
Yard
212,480 €0.1556 €33,062 €0.8493 €0.0849 €0.0425 €1,553.20
Clonmel Machinery
Yard
212,480 €0.1556 €33,062 €0.9516 €0.0952 €0.0476 €1,553.20
Appendix E
E-1
Appendix E: Payback Period
Figure E-1: Payback Period under Different Scenarios for Nenagh Civic Offices (Constant Electricity Unit Price)
Figure E-2: Payback Period under Different Scenarios for Nenagh Civic Offices (Varying Electricity Unit Price)
-€100,000
-€50,000
€0
€50,000
€100,000
€150,000
€200,000
€250,000
€300,000
€350,000
0 5 10 15 20 25
Bal
ance
(€
)
Time (Years)
No SEAI Grants or Tariffs
SEAI Grant (50%)
Domestic ESB FiT Rate (€0.09/kWh)
French FiT Rate (€0.1727/kWh)
German FiT Rate (€0.1191/kWh)
UK FiT Rate (€0.1325/kWh) and Export Tariff (€0.0554/kWh)
-€100,000
€0
€100,000
€200,000
€300,000
€400,000
€500,000
0 5 10 15 20 25
Bal
ance
(€
)
Time (Years)
No SEAI Grants or Tariffs
SEAI Grant (50%)
Domestic ESB FiT Rate (€0.09/kWh)
French FiT Rate (€0.1727/kWh)
German FiT Rate (€0.1191/kWh)
UK FiT Rate (€0.1325/kWh) and Export Tariff (€0.0554/kWh)
Appendix E
E-2
Figure E-3: Payback Period under Different Scenarios for Clonmel County Hall (Constant Electricity Unit Price)
Figure E-4: Payback Period under Different Scenarios for Clonmel County Hall (Varying Electricity Unit Price)
-€100,000
-€50,000
€0
€50,000
€100,000
€150,000
€200,000
€250,000
€300,000
0 5 10 15 20 25
Bal
ance
(€
)
Time (Years)
No SEAI Grants or Tariffs
SEAI Grant (50%)
Domestic ESB FiT Rate (€0.09/kWh)
French FiT Rate (€0.1727/kWh or €0.1817/kWh)
German FiT Rate (€0.1191/kWh or €0.1335/kWh))
UK FiT Rate (€0.1325/kWh) and Export Tariff (€0.0554/kWh)
-€100,000
-€50,000
€0
€50,000
€100,000
€150,000
€200,000
€250,000
€300,000
€350,000
0 5 10 15 20 25
Bal
ance
(€
)
Time (Years)
No SEAI Grants or Tariffs
SEAI Grant (50%)
Domestic ESB FiT Rate (€0.1727/kWh)French FiT Rate (€0.1727/kWh or €0.1817/kWh)German FiT Rate (€0.1191/kWh or €0.1335/kWh))UK FiT Rate (€0.1325/kWh) and Export Tariff (€0.0554/kWh)
Appendix E
E-3
Figure E-5: Payback Period under Different Scenarios for Clonmel Fire Station (Constant Electricity Unit Price)
Figure E-6: Payback Period under Different Scenarios for Clonmel Fire Station (Varying Electricity Unit Price)
-€40,000
-€20,000
€0
€20,000
€40,000
€60,000
€80,000
€100,000
€120,000
0 5 10 15 20 25
Bal
ance
(€
)
Time (Years)
No SEAI Grants or Tariffs
SEAI Grant (50%)
Domestic ESB FiT Rate (€0.09/kWh)
French FiT Rate (€0.1727/kWh or €0.1817/kWh)
German FiT Rate (€0.1191/kWh or €0.1335/kWh)
UK FiT Rate (€0.1325/kWh) and Export Tariff (€0.0554/kWh)
-€40,000
-€20,000
€0
€20,000
€40,000
€60,000
€80,000
€100,000
€120,000
€140,000
€160,000
€180,000
0 5 10 15 20 25
Bal
ance
(€
)
Time (Years)
No SEAI Grants or Tariffs
SEAI Grant (50%)
Domestic ESB FiT Rate (€0.09/kWh)
French FiT Rate (€0.1727/kWh or €0.1817/kWh)
German FiT Rate (€0.1191/kWh or €0.1335/kWh))
UK FiT Rate (€0.1325/kWh) and Export Tariff (€0.0554/kWh)
Appendix E
E-4
Figure E-7: Payback Period under Different Scenarios for Clonmel Machinery Yard (Constant Electricity Unit Price)
Figure E-8: Payback Period under Different Scenarios for Clonmel Machinery Yard (Varying Electricity Unit Price)
-€50,000
€0
€50,000
€100,000
€150,000
€200,000
0 5 10 15 20 25
Bal
ance
(€
)
Time (Years)
No SEAI Grants or Tariffs
SEAI Grant (50%)
Domestic ESB FiT Rate (€0.09/kWh)
French FiT Rate (€0.1727/kWh or €0.1817/kWh)
German FiT Rate (€0.1191/kWh or €0.1335/kWh)
UK FiT Rate (€0.1325/kWh) and Export Tariff (€0.0554/kWh)
-€50,000
€0
€50,000
€100,000
€150,000
€200,000
€250,000
0 5 10 15 20 25
Bal
ance
(€
)
Time (Years)
No SEAI Grants or Tariffs
SEAI Grant (50%)
Domestic ESB FiT Rate (€0.09/kWh)
French FiT Rate (€0.1727/kWh or €0.1817/kWh)
German FiT Rate (€0.1191/kWh or €0.1335/kWh)
UK FiT Rate (€0.1325/kWh) and Export Tariff (€0.0554/kWh)
Appendix F
F-1
Appendix F: Turnitin Originality Report
Turnitin Originality Report Bryan Hosford by Bryan Hosford From Final Paper (MEng Research Project 2014-15)
Processed on 05-Aug-2015 2:08 AM IST ID: 559534553 Word Count: 6898
Similarity Index
12% Similarity by Source Internet Sources:
4% Publications:
5% Student Papers:
10%
sources:
1 2% match (student papers from 12-Dec-2014) Submitted to University of Limerick on 2014-12-12
2 1% match (student papers from 06-Feb-2015) Submitted to University of Limerick on 2015-02-06
3 < 1% match (student papers from 12-Sep-2013) Submitted to University of Limerick on 2013-09-12
4 < 1% match (student papers from 13-Apr-2015) Submitted to Birkbeck College on 2015-04-13
5 < 1% match (student papers from 18-Nov-2014) Submitted to University of Ulster on 2014-11-18
6 < 1% match (publications) Li, Z.. "Domestic application of solar PV systems in Ireland: The reality of their economic viability", Energy, 201110
7 < 1% match (student papers from 12-Mar-2015) Submitted to Florida Gulf Coast University on 2015-03-12
8 < 1% match (student papers from 27-Apr-2015) Submitted to Coventry University on 2015-04-27
9 < 1% match (student papers from 22-Apr-2013) Submitted to University College London on 2013-04-22
10 < 1% match (student papers from 06-May-2014) Submitted to Aston University on 2014-05-06
11 < 1% match (student papers from 25-Jun-2015) Submitted to University of Derby on 2015-06-25
Appendix F
F-2
12 < 1% match (student papers from 27-Apr-2015) Submitted to University of Bath on 2015-04-27
13 < 1% match (Internet from 23-Dec-2010) http://www.termpaperslab.com/essay-on-risk-analysis-investment/23286.html
14 < 1% match (student papers from 05-Jun-2015) Submitted to Curtin University of Technology on 2015-06-05
15 < 1% match (student papers from 20-Aug-2012) Submitted to University of Limerick on 2012-08-20
16 < 1% match (student papers from 25-Apr-2014) Submitted to Swansea Metropolitan University on 2014-04-25
17 < 1% match (student papers from 23-Apr-2012) Submitted to The University of Manchester on 2012-04-23
18 < 1% match (student papers from 16-Apr-2013) Submitted to Napier University on 2013-04-16
19 < 1% match (student papers from 15-Apr-2015) Submitted to University of Worcester on 2015-04-15
20 < 1% match (Internet from 20-Jun-2013) http://www.blurtit.com/q5442456.html
21 < 1% match (publications) Campoccia, A., L. Dusonchet, E. Telaretti, and G. Zizzo. "An analysis of feed’in tariffs for solar PV in six representative countries of the European Union", Solar Energy, 2014.
22 < 1% match (publications) Gray, P.J., R.M. O’Higgins, and C.T. McCarthy. "Effect of thickness and laminate taper on the stiffness, strength and secondary bending of single-lap, single-bolt countersunk composite joints", Composite Structures, 2014.
23 < 1% match (student papers from 12-May-2014) Submitted to Dublin City University on 2014-05-12
24 < 1% match (student papers from 05-May-2014) Submitted to National University of Ireland, Maynooth on 2014-05-05
25 < 1% match (Internet from 14-Jan-2014) http://www.met.ie/UserMediaUpl/file/Irelands_Climate_25092013_LR.pdf
26 < 1% match (publications) Foley, Aoife, Barry Tyther, Patrick Calnan, and Brian Ó Gallachóir. "Impacts of Electric Vehicle charging under electricity market operations", Applied Energy, 2013.
27 < 1% match (student papers from 27-Mar-2015) Submitted to Cardiff University on 2015-03-27
28
Appendix F
F-3
< 1% match (student papers from 18-Aug-2012) Submitted to Western Governors University on 2012-08-18
29 < 1% match (Internet from 10-Nov-2008) http://www.beingboring.com/old/source/blather_0404.html
30 < 1% match (publications) Zahabiyoun, B., M. R. Goodarzi, A. R. Massah Bavani, and H. M. Azamathulla. "Assessment of Climate Change Impact on the Gharesou River Basin Using SWAT Hydrological Model", CLEAN - Soil Air Water, 2013.
31 < 1% match (student papers from 21-Aug-2012) Submitted to University of Limerick on 2012-08-21
32 < 1% match (Internet from 26-Feb-2014) http://sob.nilebasin.org/pdf/Chapter_2_Water%20resources.pdf
33 < 1% match (publications) Adachi, Chris, and Ian H. Rowlands. "The Role of Policies in Supporting the Diffusion of Solar Photovoltaic Systems: Experiences with Ontario, Canada’s Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program", Sustainability, 2009.
34 < 1% match (publications) Huld, Thomas, and Ana Amillo. "Estimating PV Module Performance over Large Geographical Regions: The Role of Irradiance, Air Temperature, Wind Speed and Solar Spectrum", Energies, 2015.
35 < 1% match (student papers from 12-Oct-2006) Submitted to Colorado Technical University Online on 2006-10-12
36 < 1% match (publications) Saunders, M., B. Tobin, C. Sweeney, M. Gioria, G. Benanti, E. Cacciotti, and B.A. Osborne. "Impacts of exceptional and extreme inter-annual climatic events on the net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange of a Sitka spruce forest", Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 2014.
37 < 1% match (publications) Srinivasan, Radhakrishnan, Vijay Singh, Ronald L. Belyea, Kent D. Rausch, Robert A. Moreau, and M. E. Tumbleson. "Economics of Fiber Separation from Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) Using Sieving and Elutriation", Cereal Chemistry, 2006.