Solar Pre-feasibility Report

Overview

A prefeasibility study (of a project) is a preliminary analysis undertaken to determine whether it would be worthwhile to proceed to the feasibility study stage.  The pre-feasibility study builds confidence among stakeholders and potential users of a project.

Putting it in perspective, investing in a solar plant (whether Rooftop PV or solar farm) requires considerable amount of time, resources and investment. So whether you are a homeowner wanting to install a 1 kW solar plant on your roof or a large company investing in a Utility scale Megawatt (MW) size solar farm, the first question that would come to mind is whether the investment is worthwhile. This is where pre-feasibility analysis comes into action.

There is a lot more to it but the process can be broadly categorized into 3 simple: 

Step 1: Pre-feasibility Analysis

• Determination of Solar and Climate data to understand potential electricity output
• Determination of system size which includes number of Solar PV panels, inverters, batteries, etc
• Cost of the system
• Return on Investment

After the pre-feasibility analysis is performed and if the project looks favourable, the next step is to go a bit further and consider even the macro-environmental factors. This is the feasibility stage and some of its components are listed below.

Step 2: Feasibility Analysis

• Solar/Climate data using ground mounted measuring instruments
• Land acquisition
• Company strength and track record
• Joint Venture (optional) in place
• PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) with the local Utility
• Government approvals
• Forest / Village approvals
• Technical feasibility
• Financial feasibility, etc.

Step 3 – Execution

The execution part is a lengthy topic in itself and is not the intention of this article so will not delve any deeper.

Further Information

• Portal:Solar
• 3 Benefits of Going Solar
• Resource Assessment - Solar

References

• www.helicalpower.com/