Welcome to Open Science
Contact Us
Home Books Journals Submission Open Science Join Us News
Needs of Multidisciplinary Training for Engineers: Efficiency, Sustainability and Profitability of Solar Energy Plants
Current Issue
Volume 1, 2014
Issue 3 (August)
Pages: 23-29   |   Vol. 1, No. 3, August 2014   |   Follow on         
Paper in PDF Downloads: 22   Since Aug. 28, 2015 Views: 1679   Since Aug. 28, 2015
Authors
[1]
Inmaculada Guaita Pradas, Departament of Economy and Social Sciences, Politechnic University of Valencia, Cami de Vera s/n 46071 Valencia, Spain.
[2]
Bernabe Mari Soucase, Departament of Applied Physics, Politechnic University of Valencia, Cami de Vera s/n 46071 Valencia, Spain.
Abstract
New challenges are been imposed on the markets of developed and developing countries. On the one hand, it has come the phenomenon of globalization. And the other is the economic and environmental sustainability. In a world dominated by technology, engineers as mentors and supporters are expected to gear the decisions of companies’ investments. Besides the technical characteristics of any investment, project design usually involves its economic valuation and profitability analysis. So, to meet the multidisciplinary labor market demands, engineering students require some knowledge of economic analysis techniques to complete their education. In this study we use both capital budgeting and energy production techniques to analyze the yield of photovoltaic power plants. First of all, we describe the technical characteristics of a solar installation addressed to electricity production and we estimate the energy output, which mainly depends on the solar irradiation hitting the solar modules. Further, taking into account the energy production we apply capital budgeting techniques to assess the profitability of such investment. Regarding economics we describe the main concepts: the net present value, the internal rate of return and the payback. These are standard viability indicators to assess the profits and assist the investor in business decisions. These parameters are estimated for two photovoltaic power plants located in Spain and Gemany, which starts its production activity at present, without any kind of economic incentives. Indeed, the addition of capital budgeting techniques would expand the success chances in renewable energy projects.
Keywords
Solar Energy Investments, Capital Budgeting, Net Present Value, Profitability, Energy Production in PV Plants
Reference
[1]
R. Haas, C. Panzer, G. Resch, M. Ragwitz, G. Reece, A. Held, “A historical review of promotion strategies for electricity from renewable energy sources in EU countries”, Renewable and sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 15, pp. 1003-1034, 2011.
[2]
T. Couture, Y. Gagnon, “An analysis of feed-in tariff remuneration models: Implications for renewable energy investments”, Energy Policy, Vol. 38, No 2, pp. 955-965, 2010.
[3]
J. A. Lesser, X. Su, “Design of an economically efficient fieed-in tariff structure for renewable energy development”, Energy Policy, Vol. 36, pp. 981-990, 2008.
[4]
Inmaculada Guaita-Pradas, Bernabé Marí Soucase, ¨Endorse of renewable energy plants, still an alternative investment in Spain?”, SOP Transactions on Economics Research Vol. 1, No 2 pp 1-9, 2014.
[5]
E. Lorenzo, G. Araujo, A. Cuevas, M. Egido, J. Minano, R. Zilles, Solar Electricity: Engineering of Photovoltaic System, Earthscan Publications Ltd., 1994, pp. 101-105.
[6]
A. S. Suárez Suárez, Decisiones óptimas de inversión y financiación en la empresa, Madrid: Ediciones Pirámide, 2005.
[7]
J. Jackson, “Promoting energy efficiency investments with risk management decision tools”, Energy Policy, vol. 38, pp. 3865-3873, 2010.
[8]
J. Jackson, Energy Budgets at Risk (EBaR): a risk management approach to energy purchase efficiency choices, Wiley, 2008.
[9]
IDAE, Energía Solar en España 2007. Estado actual y perspectivas, Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio, Madrid, 2007.
[10]
S. F Haka, “A review of the literature on capital budgeting and investment appraisal: past, present, and future musings”, Handbooks of Management Accounting Research, Vol. 2, pp. 697-728, 2006.
[11]
P. A Ryan, G. P Ryan “Capital budgeting practices of the Fortune 1000: how have things changed?”, Journal of Business & Management, Vol. 8, No.2, pp. 355-364, 2002.
Open Science Scholarly Journals
Open Science is a peer-reviewed platform, the journals of which cover a wide range of academic disciplines and serve the world's research and scholarly communities. Upon acceptance, Open Science Journals will be immediately and permanently free for everyone to read and download.
CONTACT US
Office Address:
228 Park Ave., S#45956, New York, NY 10003
Phone: +(001)(347)535 0661
E-mail:
LET'S GET IN TOUCH
Name
E-mail
Subject
Message
SEND MASSAGE
Copyright © 2013-, Open Science Publishers - All Rights Reserved