Design and Economic Analysis of a Grid-Connected Photovoltaic System in Saudi Arabia using PVsyst Software

Abstract

This paper presents the design and analysis of a grid-connected photovoltaic system (GCPV) in Al Juaima'h, Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The main objective of this study is to design the suitable GCPV system and investigate the potential of electricity costs and CO₂ emission reduction by using PVsyst software. The sizing of the proposed GCPV system has been conducted using mathematical calculation and PVsyst software. It shows that both calculation and simulation software obtained the same result of 1920 PV panels and 8 inverters required for the same location. Therefore, further analysis of the proposed 960 kWp GCPV system has been simulated in PVsyst software. From the simulation, it found that the system performances of PV array generation is 1649.9 MWh/year, energy injects into the grid is 1616.9 MWh/year, performance ratio is 82.3%, payback period is 6.9 years and CO₂ reduction is 29878.2 t. Therefore, the proposed GCPV system can provide significant electricity cost saving and CO₂ reduction to the consumer.