Depot Solar 700 kWp South Africa — Use-Case TCO Brief

Verdict (computed by tradvolt.com scenario model, scenario dated 2026-09-22). A 700 kWp rooftop grid-tied solar PV installation at a logistics depot in South Africa is financially attractive on a 20-year horizon at a 10.00 % real discount rate: NPV = ZAR 8,629,267.23, IRR = 22.93 %, simple payback = 4.90 years, discounted payback = 6.75 years, LCOE = ZAR 0.8688 / kWh. Equipment scope is roof-mounted PV modules + string inverters at a logistics depot, horizon 20 years, evidence pack reference date: 2026-09-22. Limitation: financial figures are computed for the stated scenario inputs only; sensitivities, capex revisions, or tariff changes require re-running the scenario model.

Equipment reference set (real, publicly marketed models; named for procurement traceability; final selection confirmed at RFQ): PV modules: JinkoSolar Tiger Neo N-type 575 W (JKM575N-7RL3) — jinkosolar.com/en; Trina Solar Vertex N TSM-NEG19RC.27 580 W — trinasolar.com/us-en; LONGi Hi-MO 6 LR5-54HTH 470–490 W — longi.com/en. String inverters: Sungrow SG250HX (250 kW three-phase, 1500 Vdc) — sungrowpower.com/en; Huawei SUN2000-330KTL-H1 (300 kW, 1500 Vdc) — solar.huawei.com/en; Growatt MAX 250KTL3-X HV — growatt.com. Mounting structures: K2 Systems SingleRail / MultiRail aluminium kit family — k2-systems.com/en (manual revision confirmed at RFQ; K2 datasheets are bot-walled). Model names above are publicly marketed product lines on each vendor's English-language landing page. Final electrical limits (torque, max system voltage, SOC windows if storage is later added) must be confirmed against the OEM installation manual revision named on the RFQ award.

1. Scope and Method

Total cost of ownership for a 700 kWp (DC) rooftop grid-tied solar PV installation at a logistics depot in South Africa, 20-year horizon, 10.00 % real discount rate. Includes capex, O&M, performance degradation, avoided-grid tariff savings. Excludes battery storage, wheeling, carbon-credit monetization. Financial figures below are produced by the tradvolt.com scenario TCO model from the inputs stated in §2 and the bounded assumptions in §3; they are computed for this scenario only.

2. Inputs Table

3. Bounded Model Assumptions

The following inputs were not specified in the draft scenario and are presented as explicit bounded defaults used by the scenario model. They are model assumptions, not sourced facts.

4. TCO Summary (computed, scenario model output)

5. Year-by-Year Cash Flow (computed)

6. Interpretation

Under the base-case inputs (1,500 kWh/kWp/yr specific yield, 0.5 %/yr linear degradation, 1 % of capex/yr O&M escalating at 6 %, avoided blended Eskom tariff 2.40 ZAR/kWh escalating at 6 %, 10.00 % real discount rate, 20-year horizon), the scenario model returns a strongly positive NPV of ZAR 8,629,267.23 against total discounted costs of ZAR 7,519,952.58 and total discounted benefits of ZAR 16,149,219.81. Discounted payback of 6.75 years is well inside the 20-year asset life; LCOE of ZAR 0.8688/kWh is below the avoided grid tariff, so the project is self-financing on energy savings alone under the bounded assumptions of §3. If self-consumption_pct is reduced or grid-tariff escalation diverges from the CPI proxy, the LCOE-to-tariff headroom narrows and a re-run is required; do not extrapolate by hand.

7. Standards, Cert, and HS Code Reference

Standards referenced (named with designation + edition; catalogue page where deep URLs are not resolvable):

• IEC 61215 (crystalline silicon PV module design qualification) — see IEC Webstore catalogue at webstore.iec.ch; cite designation IEC 61215:2021 in vendor datasheets.
• IEC 61730 (PV module safety qualification) — see IEC Webstore catalogue at webstore.iec.ch; cite designation IEC 61730-1:2016 / IEC 61730-2:2016. UL equivalent for North American buyers: UL 61730-1.
• SANS 475 (fixed capacitor and inverter compliance for grid-tied systems) — NRCS Letter of Authority process; verify at SARS customs/tariff pages.

Indicative HS codes (WCO 2022). Cross-check at the SARS Tariff Search portal before each shipment.

Confirm current MFN duty rates via the SARS portal sars.gov.za (Tariffs → Tariff Search) and verify any ITAC rebate eligibility (Rebate Item 460.11 for renewable-energy components, as amended) before each shipment. For classification disputes, refer to the WCO Compendium of Classification Opinions and General Rules of Interpretation (GRI 1 + GRI 6). For cross-reference, EU importers may consult the TARIC consultation tool at ec.europa.eu TARIC.

Disclaimer: HS codes and duty rates are marked PENDING and must be verified against the official SARS tariff at the time of import. tradvolt.com does not warrant accuracy of customs classifications or duty rates and accepts no liability for clearance delays or assessment differences.

8. Sources (numbered, mapped 1:1 to input rows)

Where a deep URL on a third-party domain could not be verified as a stable direct link, the source's official home page is given and the specific document URL is marked pending confirmation. Numbers above are anchored to the named publication, not to the home page.

9. CTAs

Single RFQ anchor: Request an RFQ via the tradvolt.com RFQ form. Equipment specs, OEM manual revisions, and HS-coded line items are finalized on the RFQ; this brief is decision-support only.