Proceedings of the IASTED International Conference
Power and Energy Systems (AsiaPES 2013)
April 10 - 12, 2013 Phuket, Thailand
ASSESSMENT OF ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF STAND-ALONE SOLAR-PV
SYSTEM TO ELECTRIFY AGRI-FARMHOUSE: A CASE STUDY
Mukta M. Bannur,
Research Scholar
Department of Electrical & Electronics,
Basaveshwar Engineering College,
Bagalkot, Karnataka, India
mukta_bannur@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
Availability of abundant solar energy and acute power
shortage in Bijapur district draws attention to assess the
economic viability of the stand-alone solar PV system.
This paper presents a case study on economic viability
assessment of solar PV system for an Agri-farmhouse
located at Bijapur, North Karnataka, India. The economic
viability of a solar PV system is carried out using life
cycle cost computation based on solar radiation at
seasonal tilt angle, the days of autonomy, battery
replacements. The main objective of this study is to
estimate the unit electric cost of solar PV system to
electrify an Agri-farmhouse. It is found that estimated unit
electric cost and payback period for 2-days of autonomy
are highly reasonable economically viable for remote
rural electrification in global perspective.
KEY WORDS
Solar PV system, PV sizing, battery sizing, tilt angle,
life cycle cost, unit electric cost.
1. Introduction
Bijapur district is one of the foremost agricultural regions
of the North Karnataka, India. It is situated in Northern
dry zone-III. It is also considered as economically
backward region of North Karnataka, which requires
alternative activities to be taken up to improve living
standards of people [1]. The district experiences semi-arid
climate with extreme summers and chilly winters.
Incidence of drought occurs due to inadequate and erratic
distribution of rainfall in space and time. Further, due to
power crisis in the state, the rural areas have plunged into
virtual darkness, poor voltage regulation and unscheduled
load shedding scenario. Thus there is a need to develop
reliable electrical energy sources in the district for
productive uses and to raise the quality of life of people.
This necessitates the promotion of solar PV energy based
electricity generation.
Bijapur district is the best recipient of solar energy due to
its favourable location in the solar belt (11 031’ N to
18045’ and 74012’ E to 78040’E). The climatic conditions
in the region are highly suited for solar PV generation [2].
DOI: 10.2316/P.2013.800-107
Suresh H. Jangamshetti, Senior Member IEEE
Department of Electrical & Electronics,
Basaveshwar Engineering College,
Bagalkot, Karnataka, India
suresh.j@ieee.org
Thus, the stand-alone solar PV (SPV) system is
considered as promising alternative energy source to
justify the load profile of an Agri-farmhouse at a location
near Bijapur.
The SPV system is renewable energy based electricity
generator. This system converts the sunlight directly into
electricity by photovoltaic effect. The advantages of the
electricity which is produced from sunlight are: silent
with no pollution, no maintenance and no depletion of
natural resources [3]. The PV array is the most expensive
solar part of the SPV system [4]. The amount of generated
electricity is site dependent. It depends mainly upon the
module efficiency, solar radiation and ambient
temperature [5]. An analytical method for optimum sizing
of solar PV system has been discussed in [6], which is
based on load fraction and all energy produced by the PV
array passes into the battery capacity. In this discussion
the system designing is done without considering the
effect of battery replacements. In [7], a method for sizing
of PV array and battery capacity is discussed. It is based
on horizontal solar radiation and long term loss of load
probability. However the performance of SPV system
depends upon the optimum tilt angle. The proper selection
of tilt angle for the PV array maximizes its output.
Further, this selection minimizes the size of PV array and
battery capacity [8]. A simple approach of optimising size
of SPV system, based on life cycle cost, surplus and
deficit of energy flow have been presented in [9].
However in most of the published methods, sizing of PV
array and battery capacity are done without considering
site specific data. The performance of SPV system is
largely depends upon a number of factors; they are site
related [10]. Hence there is a need for investigation to
design a SPV system that can be viable from the
viewpoint of both performance and cost. Considering
these points, a SPV system design and economic analysis
is done using site specific solar data and local economic
parameters. The simple analytical method is used in sizing
of the PV array and battery capacity for fixed load
demand and days of autonomy. Here it is assumed that all
energy produced by the PV array passes through the
battery capacity.
64
The objective of this paper is to design a stand-alone SPV conditions are very much favourable for PV generation at
system to justify the load demand at test location, Bijapur. test location, Bijapur.
The assessment of economic viability of the SPV system
is carried out by evaluating life cycle cost (LCC) and unit Table-1
electric cost (UEC) at different days of autonomy. The Monthly average daily solar radiation and
economic viability of the SPV system is compared with temperature data.
utility grid connected system by estimating the payback Radiation Temp. (oC)
period. Month
(kwh/m2/d) High Low
Jan 4.39 35.2 08.2
2. System Design Feb 5.45 37.1 12.9
Mar 6.33 39.6 20.5
Apr 6.42 39.7 21.6
The block diagram of typical stand-alone SPV system is May 6.58 41.3 21.0
shown in Figure 1. The PV array and battery capacity Jun 5.20 34. 1 20.9
sizing is based on solar radiation, load demand and days Jul 3.92 33.2 20.3
of autonomy (continuous cloudy days). One of the main Aug 4.00 32.6 21.0
concerns in designing a stand-alone SPV system is Sep 4.12 33.3 18.5
reliability. The reliability is taken into consideration by Oct 4.25 33.1 19.3
fixing the days of autonomy. Thus the SPV system has to Nov 4.33 31.2 20.3
work without solar input, and load demand must be
justified at the expense of stored energy from the battery 2.2 Solar Radiation at Optimum Tilt Angle
capacity. The charge controller is a link between the PV
array and battery capacity. An inverter maintains flow of The optimum tilt angle is the inclination of PV array with
power between DC and AC components of the SPV horizontal plane, which collects most solar radiation. Thus
system. The SPV system configuration is site specific, PV array need to be tilted at the optimum angle to
since it largely depends on a number of parameters that maximize the performance of the SPV system. In order to
are site related. Thus the site meteorological solar data, maximize the PV array output at test location, it is
load profile, PV array, battery capacity and power necessary to tilt South facing PV array in a position to
conditioning units are the stand-alone SPV system’s capture more solar radiation. Thus this paper examines the
stimuli that influence the performance of the SPV system. theoretical aspects for selection of optimum tilt angle.
The modeling of subsystems is described in the following Optimum tilt angle is site specific; it depends upon
sections. latitude ∅ of the location, the declination angle δ of the
earth axis, the length of the day at sunset hour angle ω S,
and the Julian day n of the year. The optimum tilt angle
Load Profile

PV Charge Battery Inverter (βopt) is estimated from a relation given by [11];

Array controller capacity

2. System Design ∅ r (1)

Figure1. Block diagram of a SPV system.
2.1 Site Meteorological Data
Solar radiation is a primary driver for a SPV system to
generate electricity. The necessary data required to design
the SPV system is collected from Regional Agricultural
Research Station (RARS) Bijapur, Karnataka, India.
According to RARS, Bijapur is located in the Northern
median region (16049’ N, 75043’ E). An ambient
temperature stays high during the year between 31.2°C to
41.3°C with sunshine duration of about 9 hours. The solar
data collected from RARS is the solar irradiance
(Watt/m2) on horizontal surface at an interval of 15 min.
In order to thoroughly investigate the performance of the
SPV system, the data is statistically processed. The
processed monthly average daily solar radiations incident
on horizontal surface (Gt) and temperature at the region
are presented in Table-1. The maximum and minimum
solar radiations observed are 6.583kWh/m2/d and 3.920
kWh/m2/d respectively. It is observed that, these
where Season factor (SF) is given by an equation (2), the δ
and ωs are obtained by the relations (3) and (4)
respectively.
( ⁄ )
0 1 (2)
* ( )⁄ + (3)
( ∅ ) (4)
The positive and negative values of SF in equation (1)
indicate correction of latitude during the winter and
summer months respectively. The optimum tilt angles are
evaluated at the average day of the months of year 2011.
The month-wise average optimum tilt angles, season-
wise (winter, summer and rainy) and annual fixed average
optimum tilt angles are shown in Figure 2.
The amount of solar radiation incident on the inclined
surface is different from that on a horizontal surface. The

65
polynomial approximation of the solar radiation (Gβ) at In order to estimate the performance of tilted PV array,
optimum tilt angle ( ) is given by an equation [12]; the solar radiation at season-wise optimum tilt angle is
considered in SPV system design methodology.

( ) 2.3 Load Profile

(5)
The details of load data at Agri-farmhouse are listed in
60 Table-2. There are three types of loads: random,
50
predictable and constant loads. The load profile depends
upon the application. The actual load profile for typical
Tilt angle in degrees

40
day at 30 min time resolution over 24 hours is shown in
30 Figure 4. The monthly utility energy consumption at
20 Agri-farmhouse, in the year 2011 is shown in Figure
10 5.The total energy consumption (kWh) in a day is given
0
by the equation;
Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
-10
Monthly tilt Seasonal tilt Yearly tilt ∑ ( ) (6)

Figure 2. Month-wise, season-wise, annual fixed average where PL is the power rating, T is number of operating
tilt angle for each month of a year. hours per day of electric equipment listed in Table-2.

The monthly average daily solar radiation (Gm), seasonal Table-2

average daily solar radiation (Gs) and annual average Daily average energy consumption load data.
daily solar radiation (Ga) at month-wise, season-wise and Electric Daily
Rating T PL
annually- fixed average optimum tilt angles respectively Equipment
(W) (Hrs/d) (W)
consutn.
are shown in Figure 3. &Quantity (kWh/d)
CFL-3 11 8 33 0.264
CFL-3 5 6 15 0.090
Radiation in kWh/m2/d

8 Tub light-2 40 6 80 0.480

Fan-2 60 7 120 0.840
6 Mix grander-1 75 0.5 75 0.037
Television-1 100 5 100 0.500
4 Refrigerator-1 100 24 100 2.400
Water pump-1 1470 1.5 1470 2.205
2
Other 5 2 10 0.010
0
Total 1998 6.814
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Horizantal Monthly Seasonal Annual 2

1.8
Figure 3. The Gt, Gm, Gs, Ga solar radiation. 1.6
Power (kW)

1.4
1.2
When the PV array is adjusted at month-wise optimum tilt 1
0.8
angle, the monthly average daily solar radiation is found 0.6
to be 5.596 kWh/m2/d. Similarly for season-wise and 0.4
0.2
annual average tilt angles, the solar radiation is 5.465 0
kWh/m2/d and 5.28 kWh/m2/d respectively. The
0:30
1:30
2:30
3:30
4:30
5:30
6:30
7:30
8:30
9:30
10:30
11:30
12:30
13:30
14:30
15:30
16:30
17:30
18:30
19:30
20:30
21:30
22:30
23:30

percentage increase in monthly average daily radiation

Time of day
from horizontal surface to month-wise, season-wise and
annual-fixed average tilted surface are 11.58%, 10.63% Figure 4. Load profile of farmhouse at 30 min time
and 7.07% respectively. Hence it is observed that, resolution over 24 hours.
radiation is high at month-wise tilted PV array as
compared to seasonal and annual optimum tilt angles. 2.4 Subsystems Sizing
But, the adjustment of array position on month-wise is not
feasible for cost reasons. Hence it is reasonable to adjust Component selection and system design plays an
the array position seasonally to optimize the PV array important role in the SPV generation. The mathematical
output. Thus the optimum tilt angle of South facing array models of subsystems such as PV array, battery capacity,
has to be changed three times in a year: i.e. charge controller and inverter to present the performance
• For summer season ( March-June) it should be 7o, of SPV system, are described below:
• For rainy season (July-October) it should be 17o.
• For winter season (rest of the months) it should be 43 o.

66

225
200
175
kwh/month
150
125
100
75
50
25
0 yield PV generator efficiency as given below:
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
Figure 5. Monthly energy consumption at Agri-
farmhouse.
2.4.1 PV Array Sizing
The amount of electricity generated from the PV module
is mainly dependent on solar radiation and ambient
temperature at test location. PV module electric
characteristics quoted by manufactures are at standard test
conditions (STC): an irradiance of 1000 W/m2, gathering
of air mass is 1.5 AM at ambient temperature of 25 0C.
STC rarely prevail on location. When the PV modules are
installed in the field, the output must be de-rated
accordingly [12]. The method of estimation of the amount
of electricity generated from PV module is discussed in
this section.
The daily average energy (Pm) generated from a tilted PV
module, is given by;
where, ηg is the PV generator efficiency, Am is the PV
module surface area (m2).The PV generator efficiency is
represented by [13];
, ( )-
where, is the PV module reference efficiency, ηpt
maximum power point tracking efficiency, is de-
rating factor for dirt/soiling, Tc is the PV cell
temperature (oC), Tr is the PV cell reference temperature
(oC) and βt is the temperature coefficient of efficiency.
The PV module reference efficiency is given by;
where Ip and Vp are the current and voltage of module at
peak power, 1000 W/m2 is the solar irradiance at
reference conditions. The PV cell temperature is given by;
(10)
where, Ta is the ambient temperature (°C), UL is the
overall heat loss coefficient (W/m2/°C), τ is the
transmittance and α is the absorption coefficient of PV
cell. The overall heat loss coefficient (τα/UL) is
estimated from the nominal operating cell temperature
(NOCT) is given by;
(11)
Substituting equations (10) and (11) in equation (8) will
[ ( )
( )(
)]
(12)
The energy output from the PV array must be capable of
sustaining the load demand and power conditioning unit
losses on daily basis. The daily average output energy
from the PV array, for a given load profile is given by
[14];
(13)
where PA is PV array output in kWh/d, ηw is the PV
array wiring efficiency, ηb is the efficiency of the
battery, ηcc is the charge controller efficiency, ηc is the
cabling efficiency. The number of modules of PV array
is estimated by an equation;
(7)
(14)
The PV modules are most expensive solar components
of SPV system. The various PV modules with different
make and model are locally available in India. Based on
(8)
the local climatic conditions, Jain Photovoltaic Multi
Crystalline Silicon Modules (JJ-M series), are
considered for the performance and economic analysis of
the SPV system. Characteristics and unit price of
modules obtained from manufacturer are listed in Table-
3, (Rs. is Indian Currency). In the SPV system design, it
is assumed that, there is no deterioration and defect in
PV modules, they can work 20 years without break.
(9) The summary of PV array configurations for load demand
of 7.5 kWh/d at estimated radiations Gt, Gm, Gs, and Ga
are listed in Table-4. It is clearly observed that output
energy of each module, number of modules, cost and
surface area (m2) of PV array vary proportionately with
different solar radiations. The PV array cost and surface
area are different for each module type at same radiation.
It is also observed that, JJ-M660-285Wp module has
better output, less cost, and less surface area as compared
with M660-240Wp. Apart from the above parameters the
number of modules in an array remains same at all four
solar radiations. Thus the array configuration with 285
Wp module is viable for all the months of a year.
67
Since the stand-alone SPV system is required to be
mounted on roof top, the surface area of the PV array is
another important parameter also to be considered. Thus
the module JJ-M660 285Wp is most suitable
economically viable for the test location. It is considered
in the system design and economic analysis.
Table-3
Characteristics of the JJ-PV Modules with unit price
(2011)
(16)
where Ah is Ampere-hour, Vr is voltage rating of battery.
Battery lifetime is mainly governed by the DoD and
ambient temperature at a test location. Thus in this paper,
Power build lead acid tubular battery is considered in the
SPV system design and economic analysis, as it is
suitable to the local climatic conditions.

Make & Model M636 M660 M660 2.4.3 Power Conditioning Units Sizing
Peak power (Wp) 140 240 285
Charge controller is required to safely charge the batteries
Peak power voltage (Vp) 18.25 30.70 36.40
and to maintain longer lifetime for them. It must be
Peak power current (Ip) 7.68 7.83 7.83 capable of carrying a short circuit current from the PV
Open circuit voltage
21.90 36.61 43.90
array. The size of a controller is given by [15];
(Voc)
Short circuit current (Isc) 8.15 8.35 8.33 (17)
NOCT (o/c) 45±2 45±2 45±2
Surface area (m2) 0.982 1.639 1.955 where CC is the controller size in Amperes, Ns is the
Price incl. tax (Rs.) 19121/- 31650/- 37584/-
number of modules in series in an array, Isc is the short
circuit current of PV module, and 1.2 is the safety factor
of probable enhanced current. Inverter is a power
Table-4 converter; it maintains the power flow between AC and
PV Array configurations at Gt, Gm, Gs, Ga. DC components of the PV system. It must be capable of
PV Solar Module Num. PV PV handling the total power of the AC Loads. The size of the
Mod Radiation Output of Array array inverter is selected at 20% more than the total power of
uel in in Modul Cost Area
kWh/m2/d kWh/d es in (m2 the AC loads listed in Table-2 .
Lakhs
140
Gt= 4.928 0.587 20 3.6925 19.64 The charge controller and inverter sizing is based on array
Gm= 5.540 0.651 18 3.3232 17.67 configuration, battery capacity and total AC load power
Wp
Gs= 5.429 0.639 18 3.3232 17.67
Ga= 5.106 0.606 20 3.6925 19.64
demand. The specifications of batteries, charge controller
Gt= 4.928 0.928 14 4.4310 22.94 and inverter used in the system design, are listed in Table-
240
Wp
Gm= 5.540 1.030 14 4.4310 22.94 5. The battery capacities for different days of autonomy
Gs= 5.429 1.011 12 3.7980 20.31 are estimated and are listed in Table-6. For a test location,
Ga= 5.106 0.958 12 3.7980 20.31
the selection of system components and subsystem sizing
Gt= 4.928 1.134 10 3.7584 19.55
285 such as PV array, battery capacity, charge controller and
Gm= 5.540 1.258 10 3.7584 19.55
Wp inverters based on the result obtained from the
Gs= 5.429 1.236 10 3.7584 19.55
Ga= 5.106 1.170 10 3.7584 19.55 computation method are listed in Table-6.

Table-5
2.4.2 Battery Capacity Sizing Component specifications and unit price (2011)

Battery capacity is energy storing part of the stand-alone Model Price Including
SPV system. The reliability of the SPV system depends Rating
&Make Tax (Rs.)
upon the battery capacity. It is estimated based on days of
Battery 12V,180Ah 15,625/-
autonomy at the location. In this paper, it is assumed that
(Power build
the whole electricity generated from PV array passes lead acid) 12V,200Ah 16,700/-
through the battery capacity. Accordingly the Charger
approximation of battery capacity is given by; controller 48V,60A 10,050/-
(STECA)
(15) 24 V DC
Inverter
230V, 50Hz 19,800/-
(SUKAM)
2.5kW
where Bwh is the battery storage capacity in kWh, Nc is the
days of autonomy, DoD is maximum permissible depth of
discharge of the battery. The number of batteries (NB) of
SPV system configuration is estimated by a relation;

68
 Table-6 (20)
Stand- alone SPV system Configurations.
All these costs have the following specifications as ;
Number of days of
System components autonomy
• The initial investment cost is high.
1 1.5 2 3
• Replacement cost is considerably high (Battery).
PV Module • Maintenance costs are low (1.5% of Cpv + 1.5% of Cb).
PV 285 285 285 285
(Wp)
array • There are no fuel costs.
Number 10 10 10 10
Battery Battery (Ah) 200 180 200 200
Bank Number 06 10 12 18 3.1.1 Initial Capital Investment
Charge controller (A) 60 60 60 60
Inverter (kW) 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 ICI of SPV system, includes the cost of PV modules,
batteries, charge controller, inverter, necessary
accessories and the cost for installation is given by;
3. Economic Analysis
(21)
Economic analysis is an indispensable step in stand-alone
SPV system design [13]. Several methods are used to where
evaluate different economic options for SPV system. The Cpv=Number of modules multiple unit price of module,
UEC of energy generated is often preferred as an Cb= Number of batteries multiple unit price of battery,
economic viability indicator for SPV system. An UEC Cc=Unit price of charger controller,
analysis is needed to compare the ultimate delivered cost Cin=Unit price of inverter,
of technologies with different cost structures. The method Cist=10% of Cpv
of estimation of UEC is discussed below;
3.1.2 Battery Replacement Cost
The UEC is the ratio of the product of life cycle cost
(LCC) with capital recovery factor (CRF) to the energy The life of battery is considered as 5-years. Thus the
generated per year. It is the unit cost of electricity (kWh) battery capacity has to be replaced 3-times along the
generated from the stand-alone SPV system. It is given by system life time. The BRC for first group of batteries
[16]; replaced after 5-years is Rb1 at n=5 is given by [16];

(18) . / (22)

where CRF is given by an equation; Similarly BRC of other two groups of batteries Rb2 and
Rb3 are evaluated at n=10 and 15 respectively. The total
0 . /1 BRC over lifetime of SPV system is given by;
(19)
0 . /1
(23)
where eo is the escalation/inflation rate, d is the discount
rate, N is the lifetime of the SPV system in years. The The additional installation cost for battery replacements is
method of estimation of LCC is described in the following not considered in BRC analysis.
subsections.
3.1.3 Operation and Maintenance Cost of the System
3.1 Life Cycle Cost Analysis
The net present value of all O&M costs in a dynamic
The LCC analysis takes into account the combined costs economic environment is given by equations (24a and
of initial capital investment (ICI) Co, present value of 24b) [17];
operation & maintenance (O&M) cost Com, the battery
replacement cost (BRC) Rb, fuel cost (Cf) over the SPV ( )( )[ ( ) ]
system lifetime. The stand-alone SPV system life time is
the lifetime of the PV module used in SPV system design. (24a)
It is 20-years for JJ-PV modules. The lifetime of the (24b)
battery is considered as 5-years for economic analysis.
Whereas, rest of the components of SPV system are where Com is the O&M cost, and OM is the first-year
assumed to last for entire system life time with no O&M cost of SPV system.
depression in their performance. LCC of stand-alone SPV
system is given by;

69
4. Results and Discussion found to be not more than 2-days in the region. Thus the
stand-alone SPV system suitable to justify an Agri-
The work presents a case study for an Agri-farmhouse farmhouse load demand for 2-days of autonomy is listed
located at Bijapur, North Karnataka, India. The reliable in Table-8.
stand-alone SPV system is designed to satisfy the load
demand at Agri-farmhouse. The monthly energy Table-7
consumption of farmhouse in the year 2011 is shown in Economics of stand- alone SPV system.
Figure 3, (data collected from HESCOM Bijapur). Economic Number of days of autonomy
Accordingly the annual electric energy consumption at parameters. 1 1.5 2 3
farmhouse is 2452 kWh, and the daily average load
ICI (Lakhs) 5.43 5.99 6.10 7.44
demand is 6.71 kWh. Hence the stand-alone SPV system BRC(Lakhs) 2.29 3.57 3.82 6.88
is designed to satisfy the daily average load demand of 7.5 LCC (Lakhs) 8.86 10.70 11.06 15.46
kWh, to enjoy uninterrupted power supply in all UEC (Rs) 20.80 25.10 26.00 36.26
circumstances. The various parameters that are used in Payback period
SPV system design and economic analysis are, Tr= 250C, 5 12 15 51
(Years)
βt= 0.0040C-1, ηd= 0.92, ηw= 0.95, ηc= 0.94, ηcc= 0.95, ηi=
0.96, ηb= 0.80, DoD = 0.83, d= 10%, e0= 7%. Table-8
Stand-alone SPV system and its economics for daily
In this paper the SPV system is designed based on
meteorological solar data collected from RARS Bijapur. load demand of 7.5 kWh.
The statistically processed solar potential is listed in Sl.No System configuration and economics
Table-1. Which designates, the solar potential is strongly
acceptable for PV installation exploitation in the regions 1 PV array 285 Wp,10 modules,
configuration 2×5=10
of Bijapur district. The performance of SPV system
2 12V, 200 Ah, 12
depended on climatological conditions and PV array tilt Battery capacity
Batteries 2×6=12
angle at test location. In this paper seasonal-wise optimum 3 Charge controller 48V, 60 A
tilt angles are considered in the PV array design steps.
4 Inverter 24V, 2.5 kW
Hence the optimum tilt angle of South facing array need
5 LCC Rs. 11.06 Lakhs.
to be changed three times in a year: βopt=70(summer
6 UEC Rs. 26.00/-
season), βopt=170(rainy season), βopt=430(winter season). It
yields monthly average daily solar radiation of 5.429 7 Payback period 15-years.
kWh/m2.
The economic viability of the designed stand-alone SPV
The cost effective energy system design is always system is compared with the utility grid connected system
accepted by the rural community. The cost of PV system located at a distance of 0.75 km from 11kV HT line; it is
is big disadvantage since the solar PV module is the most listed in Table-9. It is evident from the analysis that, the
expensive part of the PV generation. The proper sizing LCC involved in extension of HT- transmission line is
methodology and selection of suitable PV module in the 9.32 Lakhs for load demand of 7.5 kWh/d. This LCC is
system design reduce the overall cost of generation. In fixed which does not vary even when the load demand is
this paper the JJ-M660-285 Wp PV module are considered less than 7.5 kWh/d. In case of stand-alone SPV system,
for their high module efficiency. The reliability of the the LCC is Rs. 9.88 Lakhs for same load demand. The
system is decided by the battery capacity. The battery LCC of stand-alone SPV system for a load demand less
capacity varies proportionally with the continuous cloudy than 7.5 kWh reduces proportionately. Similarly LCC for
days in the location. The life time of battery is assumed to extension of 3 kms HT line is Rs. 13.43 Lakhs to satisfy
be 5-years for economic analysis. Thus battery capacity the same load demand at new location. But LCC of stand-
has to be replaced by every 5-year during life time of SPV alone SPV system remains same for same load demand at
system. Hence battery replacements cost is also major new location. Thus the designed SPV system is
contributor toward cost of generation economically viable for remote rural electrification.
Besides the cost, the environmental benefits of renewable
The economic analysis is carried out by estimating ICI, sources and power crisis in the region are likely to
BRC, LCC and UEC for different days of autonomy is facilitate the widespread use and acceptance of this
listed in Table-7. It is evident from the analysis that, the system. If the government provides subsidies for the
major portion of LCC is covered by cost of PV array and installation of the SPV system, the designed SPV system
battery capacity. The cost of PV array is fixed at specified would attract the people all over the district. Thus the
load demand but the cost of battery capacity varies enormous solar potential in the region can be utilized to
directly with days of autonomy. Since the designed SPV mitigate the acute power shortage in Bijapur district.
system is site specific, it is observed from the local
climatic conditions that, the continuous cloudy days were

70
 Table-9
Economics of grid connected Agri-farmhouse system.
Sl.No. Components Cost (Rs.)
Laying single circuit 11kV, 3Ph, 4
1 wire, 9 mtr support with span of 50 746334/-
mtr HT line for 0.75 km
Erection of 25kVA, 11kV/430V
2 98914/-
single pole mounted transformer.
3 ISD for 2 kW 660/-
4 Single phase meter 1190/-
Supervision charges 10 % of
5 27987.5/-
Estimated cost
Total cost for extension of HT line
6 from 11kV feeder to Agri- 932650/-
farmhouse.
7
Utility energy cost per year
12050/-
including T&D loss of 6.6% .
5. Conclusion
The case study shows, the location under investigation is
having rich solar potential. Hence it is most suitable for
PV installation exploitation. UEC analysis is the enhanced
method for measuring the merit of economic viability of
stand-alone SPV system. It also enlightens the rural
community about the viability of the system for their
usages. The UEC estimated in this study designates, the
designed SPV system is viable for remote rural
electrification. Further the cost of generation can be
reduced by 50%, if R&D improvements are made to
reduce the cost of Solar PV to Rs. 65/- per Wp and module
efficiency is increased to 22%. Then PV system option
would be techno-economically viable for rural
electrifications.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to thank the Authorities of Regional
Agricultural Research Station Bijapur, HECSOM Bijapur
and Poweredge Electronics Bijapur, Karnataka, India, for
providing appropriate information for the research.
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