Kelleher, J. and Ringwood, John (2009) A computational tool for evaluating the economics of solar and wind microgeneration of electricity. Energy, 34 (4). pp. 401-409. ISSN 0360-5442

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Abstract

This paper presents a method, implemented as a freely available computer programme, which is used to estimate the economics of renewable microgeneration of electricity from wind and solar energy sources. A variety of commercial small wind turbines and photovoltaic (PV) panels are considered and combined with raw energy data gathered from a variety of locations. Both residential and holiday home user profiles are available and options are selectable concerning feed-in tariffs (if available), government incentive schemes and the cost of capital borrowing. The configuration of the generation setup, which can consist of wind, PV and combination of wind/PV, is fully selectable by the user, with a range of appropriate default data provided. A numerical example, based on Irish data, is presented, which suggests that payback periods for solar and wind microgeneration systems can vary greatly (2.5–500 years), depending on the location, installation and economic variables.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Postprint version of original published article available in Energy Vol.34 No.4, pp.401-409 (doi:10.1016/j.energy.2008.10.009)© 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. The authors are grateful for the supply of data from Met Eireann, the Irish Meteorological Office and EirGrid, the Irish transmission system operator.
Keywords:	Microgeneration; Wind power; Solar power; Payback period; Economics;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > Electronic Engineering
Item ID:	2766
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2008.10.009
Depositing User:	Professor John Ringwood
Date Deposited:	13 Oct 2011 14:04
Journal or Publication Title:	Energy
Publisher:	Elsevier
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/jou... http://www.elsevier.com
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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