PVUSA utility-scale system capital and maintenance costs

Author

Jennings, Christina ; Reyes, Antonio B. ; O´Brien, K.P.

Author_Institution

Pacific Gas & Electr. Co., San Ramon, CA, USA

Volume

1

fYear

1994

fDate

5-9 Dec 1994

Firstpage

754

Abstract

PVUSA utility-scale systems are based on innovative, supplier-optimized turnkey photovoltaic designs, selected for their potential to produce low-cost energy for utility applications. Capital and maintenance costs of PVUSA utility-scale systems at Davis and Kerman, California, were analyzed as part of PVUSA´s ongoing assessment of PV costs. Available data from the system suppliers indicate that actual capital costs were as low as $10/W. Preventive maintenance costs range from 0.1c/kWh to 0.5c/kWh. Failure-related maintenance costs have been about 1c/kWh for the fixed and tracking systems at Davis and 0.6c/kWh for the tracking system at Kerman. Power conditioning units are the key driver for failure-related maintenance costs

Keywords

economics; maintenance engineering; photovoltaic power systems; power conversion; California; Davis; Kerman; PV costs; PVUSA utility-scale systems; capital costs; failure-related maintenance costs; fixed systems; maintenance costs; photovoltaic systems; power conditioning; preventive maintenance costs; tracking systems; utility applications; Contracts; Costs; National electric code; Photovoltaic systems; Power conditioning; Preventive maintenance; Research and development; Silicon; Solar power generation; Timing;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, 1994., Conference Record of the Twenty Fourth. IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1994, 1994 IEEE First World Conference on

Conference_Location

Waikoloa, HI

Print_ISBN

0-7803-1460-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/WCPEC.1994.520069

Filename

520069