Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) in Europe, Rational Feed-In Tariffs and Subsidies

Hassan Gholami and Harald Nils Røstvik
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Hassan Gholami: City- and Regional Planning Group, Institute of Safety, Economics and Planning (ISØP), Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Stavanger, 4021 Stavanger, Norway
Harald Nils Røstvik: City- and Regional Planning Group, Institute of Safety, Economics and Planning (ISØP), Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Stavanger, 4021 Stavanger, Norway

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Building integrated photovoltaics is one of the key technologies when it comes to electricity generation in buildings, districts or urban areas. However, the potential of building façades for the BIPV system, especially in urban areas, is often neglected. Façade-mounted building integrated photovoltaics could contribute to supply the energy demand of buildings in dense urban areas with economic feasibility where the availability of suitable rooftop areas is low. This paper deals with the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) of building integrated photovoltaic systems (BIPV) in the capitals of all the European member state countries plus Norway and Switzerland and presents a metric to investigate a proper subsidy or incentive for BIPV systems. The results showed that the average LCOE of the BIPV system as a building envelope material for the entire outer skin of buildings in Europe is equal to 0.09 Euro per kWh if its role as the power generator is considered in the economic calculations. This value will be 0.15 Euro per kWh if the cost corresponding to its double function in the building is taken into the economic analysis (while the average electricity price is 0.18 Euro per kWh). The results indicate that the BIPV generation cost in most case studies has already reached grid parity. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that on average in Europe, the BIPV system does not need a feed-in tariff if the selling price to the grid is equal to the purchasing price from the grid. Various incentive plans based on the buying/selling price of electricity from/to the main grid together with LCOE of the BIPV systems is also investigated.

Keywords: building integrated photovoltaics; BIPV; levelised cost of electricity; LCOE; solar energy potential; building skins; building envelope materials; net present value; NPV (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 (9)

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