Techno-Economics of Solar PV Systems on the Commercial Malls Rooftops

Abstract

In this paper, the feasibility of installing the PV systems on the rooftop of the shopping centers is investigated. Several case studies are proposed to cover a range of the rooftop area. Each case study contains two main options which include considering the load of the shopping center and exclude the load. The first case study aims to install a 2 MWp PV system according to the Saudi Arabia renewable energy regulation. The 2 MWp PV system is installed to be connected to the low voltage side. In this case study, the needed area to install the 2 MWp is 10,932 m2 which is less than the minimum range of the available area of the shopping mall (60,000 m2). The second case study aims to install the PV system to cover around 75% of the rooftop (60,000 m2). In addition, the feasible area to install the PV systems in the rooftop of the shopping centers are also investigated. Here, the area is found to be more than 8,430.8 m2 in case of the cost of the kWh is 0.07 SAR.