Assessing Solar Electricity Potential and Prospective Present Day Costs For A Low Latitude Caribbean Island: Trinidad
Abstract
Presently Trinidad and Tobago and many other Caribbean islands are faced with a challenge of integrating renewable energy into their energy sector. A key factor towards successfull integration of any renewable energy resource in the electricity sector is through good economic prospects. In this study, the levelized cost of that energy (LCOE) output was determined by modeling utility scale solar photovoltaic systems in the absence of operational PV system data. An existing model of a utility scale solar system is adapted by considering energy loss factors at each stage of the electricity generation process. A range of LCOEs were determined by considering the ranges of the different losses in a PV system. The daily total in-plane insolation at Piarco for 2003 was used as input into an adapted model. The estimated energy was then applied to an economic model to calculate the LCOEs. ForPiarco, the estimated annual performance ratios of PV systems were found to range between 56.6 % for minimal losses and 80.2 % for maximum losses and a performance ratio of 69.8% for standard losses. The standard loss model with a 3 % discount rate leads to LCOEs in the range US$0.07 - US$0.09 per kWh. These are promising results when considering incorporating solar energy into the energy mix of Trinidad and Tobago for electricity generation.