Which Type of Solar Panel will Have the best Commercially-Competitive Payback Rate for a Renewable Energy Project in a Hong Kong School?

Abstract:

Technological innovations of photovoltaic (PV) systems help by reducing carbon emissions and enable Hong Kong to reach the 2050 goal of increasing the non-fossil fuel sector from 25% to over 50% (HK2050isNOW, 2020). This is supported by the current Feed-In-Tariff rate published by the government (GovHK, 2019), offering 3-5 HKD per kWh of electricity generated from PV systems, and these systems are expected to see a return on investment (ROI) in about 10 years. In 2017, a school in Hong Kong (ISF Academy) installed a PV system for educational purposes without considering the payback rate.

ISF Academy is currently considering a profitable PV system called “Renewable Energy 2.0” (RE 2.0). The following poster explores how different solar panels will affect payback rates. The current payback period for the educational system is 36 years, significantly higher than 10 years. There are four main types of solar panels which include Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline, Thin-Film and Concentrated PV Cells. The benefit of Monocrystalline PV Cells is high efficiency but it is costly, while Polycrystalline PV Cells have a relatively lower cost with lower efficiency. Thin-Film PV Cells save initial investment by lowering the installation costs, while Concentrated PV Cells require other utilities such as cooling systems to reach optimal efficiency.

Hong Kong is known for its limited land available for use, so building-integrated PV systems can be built into walls, windows and roof tiles as they do not occupy any usable land area. There are five different areas planned for the RE 2.0 project which include the rooves of two school buildings along with other walls.

This poster will determine which type of solar panel will have a commercially-competitive payback period for the ISF Academy for the current time. New technologies have higher solar cell efficiency so hopefully, they can t result in even shorter payback periods in the future.