Techno-Economic Analysis of Using Solar PV System for Auxiliary Power in a Power Plant

Abstract

Qatar considered among the countries with the largest per capita electricity consumption. Most of the electricity in Qatar generated in power plants, which use natural gas as the fuel. Qatar has initiated plans to utilize renewable energies to produce 20% of electricity needs by 2030. In this study, the feasibility of using electricity generated by a solar PV system in a power plant is studied through technical and economic analysis. The solar PV system is designed to produce about 15 MW of electricity to feed the power plant auxiliary systems. In this study, a collection of data on power consumption, gas consumption, irradiation and area available for installing solar PV was used to size the maximum capacity of the solar system. Then the cost of installing and utilizing the solar PV system is analyzed. This cost analysis was carried out by first calculating the investment cost of the proposed design and the net present value (NPV). The net present value calculations were done for different scenarios. The first scenario is increasing power plant power capacity. The second scenario is KAHARAMAA to invest 15%, and the third scenario is KAHRAMAA to introduce support initiatives by increasing the cost of electricity by 15 %. The fourth scenario is selling the gas surplus globally. The net present value of all scenarios was found as -$32,717,799, -$23,100,399, -$26,797,148, and $1,353,192 respectively. The study concludes that a solar PV system in Qatar is technically feasible, but a support initiative should be considered. This is due to the low current prices of natural gas and electricity tariffs. This project recommends increasing electricity prices to reflect its actual economic cost. Moreover, the government, along with the power plants, shall invest in utilizing a solar PV system in power plants to reduce gas consumption. So that the saved gas can be exported for income. Those recommendations are proposed to make renewable energy technology adoption in Qatar more feasible.