Techno-Economic Design and Assessment of a Grid-Connected PV System for a Government Building in Baghdad

This study presents the economic and technical design, as well as the performance evaluation, of an ۸۴۳ kW grid-connected photovoltaic solar system installed on a government building in Baghdad, Iraq. The system was modeled using PVsyst software based on site-specific climate data and a detailed load study. Due to the lack of legislation governing bidirectional meters in Iraq, the system was designed for self-consumption without exporting any surplus electricity to the grid. The system is expected to produce approximately ۱,۳۷۹ MWh in the first year, with an initial performance ratio of approximately ۸۰ percent and an annual degradation rate of ۱ percent under hot, dry climate conditions. The economic analysis was conducted using the financial module in the PVsyst program, where the average levelized cost of energy was ۰.۰۱۹ per kilowatt-hour, with a payback period of approximately four years when adopting a public sector discount rate of ۱.۵ percent. Sensitivity analysis also confirmed the impact of financial assumptions and degradation rates on the project's feasibility. Over an operational lifetime of up to twenty-five years, the system is expected to contribute to reducing approximately twenty-five thousand tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The results show that rooftop solar energy systems can provide economically viable and environmentally sustainable solutions for supplying energy to public sector buildings in Iraq.

Keywords:

Photovoltaic System , Grid&ndash , Connected , Economic Analysis , Renewable Energy , PVsyst Simulation