Feasibility Study of a Small-Scale Grid-Connected PV Power Plants in Egypt; Case Study: New Valley Governorate

The construction of photovoltaic power plants (PVPPs) in the right place is an important task when planning the development of the power system and choosing investors. In this paper, the technical, environmental, the economic feasibility of installing a 50kW solar power plant in different places in the New Valley Governorate in Egypt has been presented using RETScreen Expert software. The input data used in the current study are obtained from the database of the Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy Dataset of NASA. In general, five sites for the construction of 50 kW power stations were assessed which represent the five administrative regions of the New Vally governorate. The study is based on annual electricity production, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and financial analysis. With the proposed PV power plant, up to 100 MWh of electricity can be produced and a minimum of 43.3 tons of GHG emission can be prevented from the exhaust into the local atmosphere annually The obtained results from the RETScreen program proved the viability of installing the proposed 50kW photovoltaic power plant in any of the proposed locations. This study could give a piece of important information and feedback that can be utilized as a database for upcoming investments in the photovoltaic generation projects in Egypt.