Reimbursement of PV System Deploy: Case Study of a South Africa's Industry

For almost a decade, the deployment of PV systems has been gaining ground worldwide, but in South Africa, many citizens and investors are still resisting the trend due to the high costs of installation and the materials. Usually, to convince investors in this domain, researchers will evaluate the return of investment of the PV system. However, their evaluation is often based on the data collected online and provided by the PV manufacturer. This study based on an existing grid of a south african industry located in Midrand has helped compare its new grid with the old ones and evaluate the profitability in terms of cost after a certain number of years. The newly installed system is characterized by the electrical power installation of 998 kW with energy storage of 140 kW. The data used were collected after the commissioning of the micro-grid. The obtained results show that in less than ten years from the date of commissioning, the company will have had a return its investment with a surplus of approximately equal to US$567 84.47.