INTERNATIONAL ENERGY JOURNAL

Volume 22, No. 01, Month MARCH, Year 2022, Pages 13 - 24

A comprehensive assessment of a rooftop grid-connected photovoltaic system: a case study for central vietnam

Xuan Cuong Ngo, Thi Hong Nguyen, Nhu Y Do

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This paper presented an actual comprehensive assessment of a 1.32 kWp rooftop grid-connected photovoltaic system for residential buildings in Central Vietnam under the tropical monsoon climate. Operational parameters of the gridconnected photovoltaic system were monitored from August 2020 to July 2021. It consists of four photovoltaic modules, a microinverter, and a two-way energy meter. The analysis results of energy performance provided a performance ratio of 78.11%, a capacity utilization factor of 15.07%, and an annual overall system efficiency of 12.89%. In addition, the financial and environmental analysis of the system also indicated that the levelized cost of electricity was pretty low (i.e., 0.063 USD/kWh), the discounted payback period was 5 years, and 1.5 tons CO2 was reduced per year. The results of the analysis were compared and evaluated with other grid-connected photovoltaic systems in the same Southeast Asia region, and they revealed that the integration of the grid-connected photovoltaic system into the distribution grid in Central Vietnam is superior. The obtained data can be used as a guide for applying grid-connected photovoltaic systems in other locations with similar climates, as well as to assist the government in developing a more appropriate rate of feed-in-tariff for real-time grid-connected photovoltaic systems.

Keywords

FiT, Grid-connected, Photovoltaic, Rooftop, Vietnam

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