Feasibility study on solar power plant utility grid under Malaysia feed-in tariff

Abstract

In Perlis, Northern Malaysia, a solar power plant with an energy capacity of 5 MWp began selling energy to Tenaga Nasional Berhad in January 2013. Upon obtaining Feed-in Tariff approval from the Sustainable Energy Department Authority of Malaysia, the power plant will produce energy with a Feed-in Tariff of RM 0.874 for every kWh for 21 years according to the Renewable Energy Power Purchase Agreement. However, the output of solar plants is unpredictable. Investors commonly estimate the output of solar PV power generation from simulation results based on irradiation data proposed in simulations. However, estimates of potential solar generation from simulated analyses may not be accurate and thus exert negative financial impacts to investors. Therefore, comparing estimated output results from simulations with the actual output from solar PV power generation is important. The aim of the present study is to identify the error between the simulation and actual performance of solar PV power generation over the twelve months of 2013. Sensitivity analysis of Feed-in Tariff degression was also performed to study the impact the performance error on the economic aspect of energy generation.