Technical and Economic Viability Assessment of Different Photovoltaic Grid-Connected Systems in Jordan

In this work, the technical and economical evaluation of the application of different Photovoltaic (PV) on grid systems was studied based on experimental results and theoretical models. Six types of 20 kWp PV grid-connected systems working at Applied Science Private University, Jordan were involved in study. The Six types of different PV systems studied were: Poly-Crystalline South directed (Poly S), Mono-Crystalline South directed (Mono S), Mono-Crystalline East West directed (Mono EW), Poly-Crystalline East West directed (Poly EW), Thin-Film directed to the south, and a Concentrated PV type with automatic two axes tracking (Con Tracker). For the 20-kWp grid connected systems, the yearly production, the yearly savings, the initial investment costs and the Operating & Maintenance (O&M) costs were estimated, evaluated and compared to get the most beneficial investments by using different economical methods. Con Tracker system presented the most feasible system with higher Net Present Value (NPV) (71733.06 JD), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) (45%), and short Payback Period (PBP) (3 years) than those values of Thin-Film with NPV (42638.15 JD), IRR (37%) and PBP (3 years), Poly S with NPV (44887.23 JD), IRR (34%) and PBP (3 years), Mono S with NPV (48267.89 JD), IRR (33%) and PBP (3 years), Mono EW with NPV (40998.52 JD), IRR (29%) and PBP (4 years), finally Poly EW with NPV (35793.14), IRR (28%) and PBP (4 years).