Residential Photovoltaic Profitability with Storage under the New Spanish Regulation: A Multi-Scenario Analysis

Bruno Domenech, Gema Calleja and Jordi Olivella
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Bruno Domenech: Institute of Industrial and Control Engineering (IOC), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya—BarcelonaTech (UPC), 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Gema Calleja: Institute of Industrial and Control Engineering (IOC), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya—BarcelonaTech (UPC), 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Jordi Olivella: Institute of Industrial and Control Engineering (IOC), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya—BarcelonaTech (UPC), 08034 Barcelona, Spain

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: In recent years, solar price drops and regulations have helped residential users to invest in grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) facilities. In Spain, a novel law promotes self-consumption by discounting electricity fed into the grid from the utility bill. However, the performance of PV-based facilities depends on diverse factors. The contribution of this paper is to evaluate the techno-economic performance of such installations for different considerations linked to the Spanish law. A simulation model is used to examine different representative cities, load profiles and alternative objectives: maximising profitability and self-sufficiency. For profit maximisation, results show that load profile variations entail PV size changes up to 5 kWp for the same location, together with huge economic and self-sufficiency differences. In contrast, the solar radiation and compensation rate have a more limited influence. For self-sufficiency maximisation, the economic performance drops close to EUR 0, as benefits are used to double the PV size, buy batteries and reach close to 70% self-sufficiency. Finally, a sensitivity analysis shows a limited impact of the utility tariff and the technology cost on the PV size, but a relevant influence on the benefits. These results can help investors and families to quantify the risks and benefits of domestic self-consumption facilities.

Keywords: residential solar photovoltaic; self-consumption; battery storage; self-sufficiency; techno-economic analysis; Spain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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