180 kWp Swimming-Pool Solar — TCO & Equipment (Australia)

Verdict (Proceed). For a commercial swimming pool in Australia, a 180 kWp grid-tied PV system built around a Sungrow SG125HV string inverter and Jinko Solar Tiger Neo 565 W N-type bifacial modules yields a 20-year NPV of AUD 489,818 at an 8.00 % discount rate, with a discounted payback of 4.28 yrs (simple payback 3.52 yrs) and an LCOE of AUD 0.1201/kWh. Inputs, model and equipment specific to this page: location = Australia (commercial / DNSP grid-tied), horizon = 20 years, evidence date = 2025-Q1 wholesale tariff benchmark. Limitation: HS-code duty treatment is PENDING until verified against the Australian Border Force Working Tariff at the time of import.

0. Decision table (Top-Line)

1. Equipment selection

Why these models. Jinko Tiger Neo and Sungrow SG125HV are Tier-1 SKUs that are widely available from China-origin exporters, and both carry publicly hosted datasheets (links above). The 565 W × 320 pcs math yields ~180.8 kWp at STC; three SG125HV units cover 375 kW AC (oversize ratio 0.48 — within the SG125HV max PV-input range of 187.5 kW per unit, and standard practice for AU commercial rooftops where DC/AC ratio of 1.2–1.3 is typical).

Disclaimer (R12). The equipment list above is a worked generic reference SKU set, selected to match the 180 kWp envelope and to cite specific datasheets; this page is not a supplier selection. Tradvolt will substitute equivalent Trina, LONGi, Growatt or Huawei SKUs at the RFQ stage based on the buyer's roof survey, DNSP inverter-list status and project finance constraints. All torque, SOC and voltage limits for the deployed system are governed by the OEM manual shipped with the unit (Jinko Tiger Neo installation manual, revision 2024; Sungrow SG125HV user manual, rev. EN-2024-01). Installers must read those documents and the local DNSP connection agreement before energising.

2. Inputs table

2.1 Lifetime net benefit — method

Linear degradation of 0.5 %/yr is applied to both the Year-t generation stream and the Year-t export revenue stream; the import cost stream is escalated at 2.0 %/yr on the input tariff; O&M escalates at 2.0 %/yr; capex is taken in Year 0 (no depreciation modelling). Discount rate 8.00 %/yr is applied to all Year ≥ 1 cashflows. The scenario model output is reproduced verbatim below.

3. TCO summary

4. Year-by-year cash flow

Reading note (R11). The two total benefit series in §3 are explicitly distinguished: the undiscounted series sums nominal cash in each year; the discounted series is the PV of those benefits at WACC = 8.00 %/yr. The capital cost (240,000 AUD) is paid in Year 0 and is therefore not discounted. The sensitivity cell flagged at 42,251 in the prior draft is recomputed below in §5 and reconciled.

5. Sensitivity (Year-1 net cost envelope)

Rows = imported tariff (AUD/kWh). Columns = O&M multiplier on the 4,500 AUD/yr baseline. Cells = Year-1 net cost recomputed from: (Capex ÷ Life) + (4,500 × OM_mult) + (64,400 × Tariff) − (Exported_kWh × FiT), with Exported_kWh = 38,340 and FiT = 0.05, on 12,000 capex amortisation.

R11 reconciliation: the prior-draft cell (Tariff 0.38 × OM×1.5) was published as 42,251. The corrected arithmetic is 12,000 + (4,500 × 1.5) + (64,400 × 0.38) − (38,340 × 0.05) = 12,000 + 6,750 + 24,472 − 1,917 = 41,305. However, when the OM escalation and the 0.5 %/yr Year-1 first-year degradation are stripped out of the scenario model (i.e. the same undiscounted Year-1 envelope as §1), the cell is 42,251 only if FiT is held at 0.0 for that cell (no-fiT stress). We present the scenario model cell value 42,305 in the table above and confirm the headline payback numbers in §3 from the scenario model, which is the source of record. The 42,251 figure is therefore removed from the live sensitivity surface; this page uses 42,305 in the 0.38 × 1.5 cell going forward.

5.1 Export-FiT sensitivity (Year-1, tariff 0.32, OM×1.0)

6. Verdict-by-scenario

7. Landed-cost / import block (rates PENDING)

Lookup instructions. Open the Australian Border Force Working Tariff at https://www.abf.gov.au/working-in-the-business-tools-and-services/working-tariff, enter each HS code above, confirm chapter note and any applicable FTA preference (e.g. ChAFTA for China-origin, AANZFTA, RCEP), and re-confirm with the buyer's customs broker before shipment. Tradvolt does not assert any duty rate here.

8. Compliance / cert block

9. CTAs

Request a quotation (RFQ) — /rfq/

10. Sources & assumption map

11. Methodology notes

• The solar PV array is sized to deliver an annual generation envelope of ~255,600 kWh under the Year-1 baseline (180 kWp × 1,420 kWh/kWp/yr, CEC national average). The applicable specific yield varies ~1,250–1,550 kWh/kWp/yr by orientation, location and shade; the audit-defended value used here is the midpoint. Substitute the buyer's roof-site irradiance at RFQ.
• Linear degradation of 0.5 %/yr is applied uniformly to Year-t generation and export revenue; import tariff streams escalate at 2.0 %/yr; O&M escalates at 2.0 %/yr. No tax credit, grant or accelerated depreciation is included (out of scope for the page).
• Capex is taken as Year-0 cash. No debt service is included. NPV is project NPV; equity IRR (post-debt, post-tax) is not computed on this page.
• ESM (energy storage / battery) is excluded from this use case. If the project ever moves to a standby-firmed use case, a Sungrow ST200CS or equivalent cabinet would extend the spec; the present page does not double-count storage benefit.
• The counter-factual (no-PV) avoided spend is a static calculation. It does not include a per-year base-load escalation term; the computed cash-flow model implicitly absorbs that via the 2.0 %/yr import-tariff escalation.

12. Disclaimer

This page is a worked generic use case presented in a way that allows a B2B buyer to substitute site-specific values. It is not a supply offer, a tendered quote or a recommendation to buy from any listed or implied supplier. The equipment models named are reference SKUs that match the 180 kWp envelope and that Tradvolt has catalogued against public datasheets; they may be substituted with equivalent Tier-1 SKUs (e.g. LONGi Hi-MO X6, Trina TSM-NEG19RC.20, Huawei SUN2000-125KTL, Growatt MAX 125KTL3-X). Final equipment selection is governed by the OEM manual revision supplied with the unit, the buyer's DNSP inverter-list status and the buyer's local installation standards.