Cost evaluation of a stand-alone residential photovoltaic power system in Malaysia

This article reviews the cost to generate per kilowatt hour of electricity applying life cycle costing (LCC) analysis for a typical household of four using stand-alone photovoltaic technology. RETScreen was used to determine the cost of developing the stand-alone photovoltaic system and finally deriving to the cost per kilowatt hour for the various photovoltaic technologies taking into consideration all major components involved in the construction. Life cycle costing is employed over a period of 25 years subject to annual interest rates and inflation to accurately ascertain the cost per kilowatt hour for each photovoltaic module. A price comparison was undertaken between the national utility company and the stand-alone system. Ultimately, results show that albeit having several advantages from the environmental perspective compared to current power generating sources, the major drawback is the high cost of between RM 1.17 - RM 1.21 per kilowatt hour which is more than five times the current cost of electricity for residential household.