Present status of photovoltaic energy in Turkey and life cycle techno-economic analysis of a grid-connected photovoltaic-house

The electricity consumption in Turkey increased on average 8.5% annually between 1990 and 2000, but decreased 1.2% in 2001 due to the economic crisis of 2000. The economic growth and electricity consumption are expected to continue in a similar rate of before the crisis in the coming years. Turkey is going through a change of policy in the energy sector, adopting a policy of privatisation. On the other hand, Turkey needs adaptations in the energy field for meeting the European standards as Turkey is seeking a full membership to the European Union. The alternative and renewable energy systems have been neglected so far in Turkey but must be included in the new energy programs. The renewable energy contribution in the total primary energy production is insignificant. The current installed photovoltaic capacity is in the level of a fraction of MW, which is tiny when compared to the solar energy potential in Turkey. In this article, a photovoltaic-house, which would have photovoltaic as the main energy source, is hypothetically designed to assess the techno-economic feasibility of grid-connected photovoltaic systems in Turkey. The grid electricity is used when the photovoltaic system fails to meet the required electricity. The performance of the photovoltaic system is simulated on an hourly basis to determine the autonomy level, using one year long hourly time-series solar radiation data of Ankara obtained from the Turkish State Meteorological Service. Then, some combinations of photovoltaics and grid electricity with different buy-back ratios are analysed. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.