An Economic Analysis of Residential Photovoltaic Systems with and without Energy Storage

<p>Residential photovoltaic (PV) systems serve as a source of electricity generation that is separate from the traditional utilities. Investor investment into residential PV systems provides several financial benefits such as federal tax credit incentives for installation, net metering credit from excess generated electricity added back to the grid, and savings in price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from the PV system generation versus the increasing conventional utility price per kWh. As much benefit as stand-alone PV systems present, the incorporation of energy storage yields even greater benefits. Energy storage (ES) is capable of storing unused PV provided energy from daytime periods of high solar supply but low consumption. This allows the investor to use the stored energy when the cost of conventional utility power is high, while also allowing for excess stored energy to be sold back to the grid. This paper aims to investigate the overall returns for investor’s investing in solely PV and ES-based PV systems by using a return of investment (ROI) economic analysis. The analysis is carried out over three scenarios: (1) residence without a PV system or ES, (2) residence with just a PV system, and (3) residence with both a PV system and ES. Due to the variation in solar exposure across the regions of the United States, this paper performs an analysis for eight of the top solar market states separately, accounting for the specific solar generation capabilities of each state. A Microsoft Excel tool is provided for computation of the ROI in scenario 2 and 3. A benefit-cost ration (BCR) is used to depict the annual economic performance of the PV system (scenario 2) and PV + ES system (scenario 3). The tool allows the user to adjust the variables and parameters to satisfy the users’ specific investment situation. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Industrial Engineering (MSIE)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2017

Author dc:creator

• Kizito, Rodney Moses

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Pohl, Edward A.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Rainwater, Chase E.
• Balda, Juan C.

• Energy storage
• Photovoltaic
• Residential PV
• Solar
• Energy Systems
• Industrial Engineering
• Oil, Gas, and Energy

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2385

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.uark.edu:etd-3925