Estimating the economic value of distributed PV systems in Australia

Australian commitment to reduce CO₂ emissions by 2020 has risen a set of policies that attempts to promote investments in low emission technologies in the electricity sector. Given the excellent solar resources in this country, PV systems have been subsidised through a state and territory-based feed-in tariffs scheme (FiTs) whose design doesn´t take into account many of the positive externalities that this energy offers. This paper discusses on the full value of electricity generated by PV systems (PVelec) coupled with an economic analysis of this value for a residential PV system located in Sydney. The outcomes show that its investment is economically beneficial when social discount rates are applied under the current technology and costs whereas a discussion of the results provides some insights to potential FiTs improvements.