Our planet Earth receives at least 4 to 5 billion years of solar energy in a day, which if harvested effectively and efficiently can rectify and solve the acute crisis that our environment faces through the use of nonrenewable sources of energy. Not only is solar energy available in abundance, but it is also free and sustainable. As Ellon Musk once said:
“We have this handy fusion reactor in the Sky called the Sun; You don’t have to do anything, it just works. It shows up every day”.
Although slashing one’s electricity bill drastically seems like an appealing prospect, especially to many industrialists and manufacturers , engaged in the production of goods that require a large amount of power input, the initial investments required to install an plant might alter the minds of many.
But one must understand that once installed the SPV plant produces electricity efficiently for the next 25 years fulfilling most of the energy demand of the industry or the manufacturing unit where it is installed. The power produced easily covers the initial investment in approximately 3 to 4 years and also saves a considerable amount of capital which might otherwise have been used to pay for the rising electricity costs incurred by the use of conventional sources of energy.
One of the major aspects that one should look out for while investing in an SPV plant, is the efficiency of the solar panels being used. But efficiency alone will not determine the financial viability of the SPV plant. Other factors that one should consider are as follows:
- Solar Panel Placement/ Design of the SPV Plant
- Geographic Location
- Architectural Design of the roof as well as the material the roof is made of
- Temperature
- Shadow areas
The installation costs of solar power plants vary from one location to another depending on the factors listed above. The efficiency of the solar panel determines its energy output. The more is the efficiency of a particular panel more will be the energy produced per amount of light hitting the cell. This in turn will mean that a lesser area would be required to fulfill one’s energy needs. Panel efficiency currently ranges from 10 – 21%.
