Profitability Assessment of Residential Photovoltaic Battery Systems in Japan Using Electric Power Big Data

Tomonori Honda, Akito Ozawa and Hiroko Wakamatsu
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Tomonori Honda: Global Zero Emission Research Center, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Team, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo 135-0064, Japan
Akito Ozawa: Global Zero Emission Research Center, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Team, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo 135-0064, Japan
Hiroko Wakamatsu: Global Zero Emission Research Center, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Team, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo 135-0064, Japan

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-22

Abstract: Residential photovoltaic (PV) battery systems are key technology in the design of low-carbon and resilient energy systems; however, limited research has assessed their profitability. This study aims to evaluate the economic performance of PV battery systems for end-users. The evaluation takes geological, technological, and socio-economic factors into consideration, thereby making the evaluation more comprehensive. We used PV power generation data and power consumption data of more than 40,000 all-electric houses in Japan. We performed scenario analyses with a sensitivity analysis. The results showed that residential PV battery systems were highly profitable when their storage battery operation modes were appropriately utilized at the end of the purchase period for solar power generation in Japan’s feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme. The profitability, however, varied across regions. The results also indicated that the PV self-consumption rate was more than 50% when charging the battery with surplus power. The results of the sensitivity analysis suggested that the unit prices of grid electricity and the purchasing price of surplus power after the FIT scheme had a significant effect on the profitability of residential PV battery systems.

Keywords: residential photovoltaic; smart-meter data; photovoltaic self-consumption; sensitivity analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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