Jiang, A and Zhu, Y (2012) Impact of incentives and system efficiency on the life cycle cost of photovoltaic systems. International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 8(3), pp. 204-222. ISSN 1557-8771
Abstract
The solar photovoltaic (PV) market has experienced unprecedented growth over the past decade. Europe leads the PV market while the US lags behind. While the feed-in tariff (FIT) mechanism, a performance-based solar energy incentive scheme, is popular in Europe, the US has been devising capacity-based incentive programs. A capacity-based incentive scheme includes tax credits, state and local rebate programs, and even property tax credits. It helps in reducing the large, upfront cost which is considered as one of the barriers of quickly deploying solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the US and in some high solar resource states. The other concern is the aggregate unit price which is a measure in evaluating the investment of solar PV systems. The study applies the life cycle cost analysis method to analyze the feasibility and affordability of deploying residential PV systems in the United States, especially Florida. It helps potential users to determine the most economical PV system, in terms of upfront cost and aggregate unit cost, based on household income, incentive rebate programs, and the efficiency of the PV system. This research explores the impact of economic and technical factors on the affordability and feasibility of grid-connected solar PV systems.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | incentive programs; life cycle cost analysis; solar photovoltaic system; system efficiency |
| Index terms: | life cycle cost, United States, solar energy, unit cost, performance-based, affordability, program, aggregate, life cycle cost analysis, efficiency, Europe, income, household, photovoltaic |
| Subjects: | performance management, economics, software systems, performance measurement, financial and cost management, energy systems, demography, Geography, research methods, physical geography and landforms, economic analysis, materials science |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, Digital Applications, Research Practice, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Quality Management, Engineering Principles, Geographical Context, Sustainability |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here