Investigating the Cost-Effectiveness of Solar Electricity Compared to Grid Electricity in the Capitals of Middle Eastern Countries: A Residential Scale Case Study
Despite of being rich in fossil fuels, the Middle East is currently the main energy consumer and is projected to have the highest growth in energy demand in the world. Due to its great potential in the Middle East, solar energy can play an important role in the plans of energy decision-makers in the...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Hindawi Limited
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | International Journal of Photoenergy |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/8028307 |
| _version_ | 1797839231577489408 |
|---|---|
| author | Sepehr Shahgholian Mahdi Taheri Mehdi Jahangiri |
| author_facet | Sepehr Shahgholian Mahdi Taheri Mehdi Jahangiri |
| author_sort | Sepehr Shahgholian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite of being rich in fossil fuels, the Middle East is currently the main energy consumer and is projected to have the highest growth in energy demand in the world. Due to its great potential in the Middle East, solar energy can play an important role in the plans of energy decision-makers in the region. According to the studies done so far, no study has been done to show the potential benefit of using home-scale solar systems in the Middle East. Therefore, in this work for the first time, the potential of solar electricity production in the capitals of Middle Eastern countries has been studied using HOMER V2.81 software. The investigations are technical, economic, energy, and environmental, and the studied solar system is connected to the national electricity grid. The results showed that in Nicosia, due to the sale of electricity to the grid, the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is equal to -0.759 $, which is the lowest price for produced electricity and leads to a return on investment time of 5.69 years for this system. The solar fraction for the Nicosia station is 92%, which prevents the emission of more than 8 tons of CO2 pollutants during the year. The highest value of LCOE with the amount of $0.25 is related to Sana’a, whose investment return time, solar fraction, and annual CO2 emission prevention amount are 14.1 years, 53%, and 1162 kg, respectively. Ranking analysis was done on the results of 5 outputs of the HOMER software as well as 3 other influential parameters using 4 multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) methods. TOPSIS, GRA, WSM, and AHP methods were used, and the final ranking of each station was considered the average of the 4 methods. According to the results, Cyprus and Kuwait stations were the best and worst, respectively. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:54:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-feb6f2cd16e84983bf1fcb1d74bf8f60 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1687-529X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:54:43Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Hindawi Limited |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Photoenergy |
| spelling | doaj.art-feb6f2cd16e84983bf1fcb1d74bf8f602023-04-26T00:00:04ZengHindawi LimitedInternational Journal of Photoenergy1687-529X2023-01-01202310.1155/2023/8028307Investigating the Cost-Effectiveness of Solar Electricity Compared to Grid Electricity in the Capitals of Middle Eastern Countries: A Residential Scale Case StudySepehr Shahgholian0Mahdi Taheri1Mehdi Jahangiri2Energy Research CenterEnergy Research CenterEnergy Research CenterDespite of being rich in fossil fuels, the Middle East is currently the main energy consumer and is projected to have the highest growth in energy demand in the world. Due to its great potential in the Middle East, solar energy can play an important role in the plans of energy decision-makers in the region. According to the studies done so far, no study has been done to show the potential benefit of using home-scale solar systems in the Middle East. Therefore, in this work for the first time, the potential of solar electricity production in the capitals of Middle Eastern countries has been studied using HOMER V2.81 software. The investigations are technical, economic, energy, and environmental, and the studied solar system is connected to the national electricity grid. The results showed that in Nicosia, due to the sale of electricity to the grid, the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is equal to -0.759 $, which is the lowest price for produced electricity and leads to a return on investment time of 5.69 years for this system. The solar fraction for the Nicosia station is 92%, which prevents the emission of more than 8 tons of CO2 pollutants during the year. The highest value of LCOE with the amount of $0.25 is related to Sana’a, whose investment return time, solar fraction, and annual CO2 emission prevention amount are 14.1 years, 53%, and 1162 kg, respectively. Ranking analysis was done on the results of 5 outputs of the HOMER software as well as 3 other influential parameters using 4 multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) methods. TOPSIS, GRA, WSM, and AHP methods were used, and the final ranking of each station was considered the average of the 4 methods. According to the results, Cyprus and Kuwait stations were the best and worst, respectively.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/8028307 |
| spellingShingle | Sepehr Shahgholian Mahdi Taheri Mehdi Jahangiri Investigating the Cost-Effectiveness of Solar Electricity Compared to Grid Electricity in the Capitals of Middle Eastern Countries: A Residential Scale Case Study International Journal of Photoenergy |
| title | Investigating the Cost-Effectiveness of Solar Electricity Compared to Grid Electricity in the Capitals of Middle Eastern Countries: A Residential Scale Case Study |
| title_full | Investigating the Cost-Effectiveness of Solar Electricity Compared to Grid Electricity in the Capitals of Middle Eastern Countries: A Residential Scale Case Study |
| title_fullStr | Investigating the Cost-Effectiveness of Solar Electricity Compared to Grid Electricity in the Capitals of Middle Eastern Countries: A Residential Scale Case Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigating the Cost-Effectiveness of Solar Electricity Compared to Grid Electricity in the Capitals of Middle Eastern Countries: A Residential Scale Case Study |
| title_short | Investigating the Cost-Effectiveness of Solar Electricity Compared to Grid Electricity in the Capitals of Middle Eastern Countries: A Residential Scale Case Study |
| title_sort | investigating the cost effectiveness of solar electricity compared to grid electricity in the capitals of middle eastern countries a residential scale case study |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/8028307 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sepehrshahgholian investigatingthecosteffectivenessofsolarelectricitycomparedtogridelectricityinthecapitalsofmiddleeasterncountriesaresidentialscalecasestudy AT mahditaheri investigatingthecosteffectivenessofsolarelectricitycomparedtogridelectricityinthecapitalsofmiddleeasterncountriesaresidentialscalecasestudy AT mehdijahangiri investigatingthecosteffectivenessofsolarelectricitycomparedtogridelectricityinthecapitalsofmiddleeasterncountriesaresidentialscalecasestudy |