Utilizing solar photovoltaic systems in educational facilities to achieve a zero bill campus: The Sulaiman Al-Rajhi University case

Abstract

One of the primary things damaging the environment is the use of energy. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), electricity is the main source of energy in educational buildings. To conserve the environment, significant efforts are now being made to reduce energy use in general and electricity use in particular. To be sustainable, it is also vital to research the possibilities of employing solar energy in the higher education sector since it is also accessible in the KSA. The main motives behind this study are the low prices of photovoltaic (PV) solar systems globally and the existence of a new government system to benefit from solar energy in the KSA. The utilization of PV solar energy at Sulaiman Al-Rajhi University in the Qassim region was examined in this article. Two scenarios were considered: scenario 1, in which the entire roof of the buildings is covered by a PV system, and scenario 2, for securing electricity so that it is a nearly zero-bill campus (nZBC). The yield factors calculated for scenarios 1 and 2 are 1896  and 1922 kWh/kWp, respectively, while the capacity factor is 21.6% for scenario 1 and 21.9% for scenario 2. For scenarios 1 and 2, the systems produce 2,160,181 and 10,199,253 kWh of electrical energy annually, respectively. The production in the second scenario is about 113% of the load to reach an nZBC, compared to the first scenario's coverage of about 24% of the load. The levelized cost of energy was found to be between 0.026 and 0.028 $/kWh, with a simple payback period of 10 years for scenario 1 and 8.1 years for scenario 2. Additionally, the proposed systems’ environmental benefits were noted.