Modelling and analysis of a photovoltaic system for a local business in Windhoek, Namibia

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Renewable Energy

Photovoltaic (PV) technology generates electricity from light. There are two types of PV technologies in the market: traditional monofacial solar cells, which capture light on their front side, and emergent bifacial solar cells, which capture light on both their rear and front sides. Studies focusing on the performance of bifacial solar modules in Windhoek have not yet been conducted, so their potential advantages in this loca tion are unknown. The study aimed to model and evaluate the PV systems based on monofacial and bifacial silicon (Si) technologies. This feasability study was conducted for a business in Windhoek, Namibia. The evaluation was conducted by assessing the specific yield, performance ratio criteria, and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for the systems modelled within the same specified location using the PVsyst soft ware. The systems are a bifacial single-axis tracking PV system, a bifacial fixed-tilt PV system, a monofacial single-axis tracking PV system, and a monofacial fixed-tilt PV system, all with similar technical parameters. The results showed that the en ergy production of the single-axis tracking bifacial system is higher than that of the monofacial system; however, there is no statistically significant difference between the two. On the other hand, the fixed-tilt bifacial PV system significantly outperforms the fixed-tilt monofacial PV system. Additionally, the single-axis tracking monofacial PV system has the shortest payback period of 3 years, 2 months with an ROI of 35.62%, while the fixed-tilt bifacial PV system has the longest payback period of 3 years, 8 months and an IRR of 31.50%. The system that performs the best financially is the single-axis tracking monofacial PV system with an LCOE of N$ 0.85/kWh