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. [1] 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 steps:
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
References
- ↑ BusinessDictionary.com
