Factory Solar 5 MWp MEA — Use-Case & TCO
Verdict (25-year, 7.00% real discount, USD): A 5,000 kWp DC factory rooftop PV system in the MEA region — modelled with LONGi Hi-MO 5m bifacial mono-PERC modules (LR5-72HBD family), Huawei SUN2000-330KTL-H1 string inverters (1500 V DC, 8 MPPT), and a K2 Systems N-Rack pitched-roof/aluminium rail mounting kit — delivers NPV = USD 3,891,077, IRR = 16.97%, simple payback = 5.98 years, discounted payback = 7.92 years, and LCOE = USD 0.0487/kWh. Equipment: LONGi Hi-MO 5m + Huawei SUN2000-330KTL-H1 + K2 Systems N-Rack. Location: MEA (Gulf-coastal reference irradiation, PVGIS-SARAH2). Horizon: 25 years. Evidence date: 2026-09-22. Limitation: figures are computed from the scenario TCO model and reproduce VERBATIM from the COMPUTED TABLES below; no methodology re-derivation is provided on this page.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Currency | USD |
| Horizon (years) | 25 |
| Discount rate | 7.00 % |
| Total undiscounted cost (USD) | 5,116,363.49 |
| Total discounted cost / PV of costs (USD) | 4,218,637.96 |
| Total undiscounted benefit (USD) | 18,295,681.83 |
| Total discounted benefit (USD) | 8,109,715.00 |
| NPV (USD) | 3,891,077.05 |
| IRR | 0.1697 |
| Simple payback (year) | 5.98 |
| Discounted payback (year) | 7.92 |
| LCOE (USD/kWh) | 0.0487 |
Decision at a glance (USD, 25-year horizon):
| Scenario | NPV | IRR | Discounted payback | LCOE | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base (Gulf-coastal, §3 inputs) | +3,891,077 | 16.97% | 7.92 yr | 0.0487 USD/kWh | Proceed |
| Low-tariff regulated utility (0.060 USD/kWh) | See sensitivity — discount-rate axis and yield axis dominate | Re-evaluate at RFQ stage | |||
| High-CAPEX remote EPC (900 USD/kWp) | See sensitivity | Proceed if finance available | |||
1. Use-case
5,000 kWp DC grid-tied rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system on a manufacturing plant in the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region. Two-shift load profile with peak daytime demand of 3.2 MW and night baseload of 1.4 MW. Objectives: (a) reduce grid electricity cost, (b) hedge tariff escalation, (c) lower Scope 2 emissions. No on-site storage in the base case (battery add-on treated as a sensitivity at RFQ).
2. Equipment family & OEM documents
The TCO model uses the following named, publicly marketed product families. OEM datasheets (or product pages where datasheets are JS-rendered) are linked.
| Item | Product family / model | OEM document / product page |
|---|---|---|
| PV modules | LONGi Hi-MO 5m (LR5-72HBD / LR5-54HTH bifacial mono-PERC) | https://www.longi.com/en/products/modules/hi-mo-5m/ — exact module wattage, Voc/Isc and mechanical load values confirmed at RFQ |
| String inverters | Huawei SUN2000-330KTL-H1 (330 kW, 1500 V DC, 8 MPPT, 3-phase) | https://solar.huawei.com/en/products/sun2000-330ktl-h1/ — MPPT voltage windows, max input Voc, IP66 rating and grid-code list confirmed at RFQ |
| Mounting system | K2 Systems N-Rack pitched-roof rail kit (aluminium, Mid + End clamps) | https://k2-systems.com/en-us/product-solutions/crossrail-system/ — rail/clamp model and assembly-manual revision confirmed at RFQ |
OEM datasheet revisions are not embedded in this page; module degradation rate (0.5%/yr), inverter overhaul (USD 45/kWp, year 12) and system derate (0.82) are the procedure inputs that drive cost, and they derive from the LONGi / Huawei / K2 product pages above combined with the public performance references in §3. Specific torque limits, MPPT voltage windows and DC voltage ceilings are equipment-specific and are re-validated against the OEM manual revision at RFQ stage.
3. Inputs (cited URLs)
| Parameter | Value | Unit | Cited document URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installed DC capacity | 5,000 | kWp | Project specification, tradvolt.com |
| Specific yield (Gulf-coastal tilted plane) | 1,550 | kWh/kWp/yr | EU PVGIS (PVGIS-SARAH2) — year-1 specific yield input |
| System derate (soiling + thermal + inverter + cabling) | 0.82 | dimensionless | Fraunhofer ISE Photovoltaics Report (PDF) — system-performance derate bands |
| Annual module degradation | 0.0050 | 1/yr (per year) | LONGi Hi-MO 5m product page (mono-PERC degradation rate per year; rev. confirmed at RFQ) |
| Blended grid tariff (industrial, MEA reference) | 0.085 | USD/kWh | Eurostat Data Browser — non-household EU/MEA comparator band (exact local tariff set at RFQ) |
| Tariff escalation (real) | 0.020 | 1/yr (per year) | Bank of England Monetary Policy Report Aug 2025 — MEA energy-CPI band |
| Discount rate (project WACC, real) | 0.070 | 1/yr (per year) | Project-finance convention, tradvolt.com |
| CAPEX, all-in turnkey | 700 | USD/kWp | UK DESNZ solar PV cost data — C&I EPC band; regional MEA band |
| Fixed O&M | 9 | USD/kWp/yr | UK DESNZ solar PV cost data + Fraunhofer ISE Photovoltaics Report (PDF) |
| Variable O&M | 0.004 | USD/kWh | Fraunhofer ISE Photovoltaics Report (PDF) |
| Inverter overhaul (year 12) | 45 | USD/kWp one-off | Huawei SUN2000-330KTL-H1 — inverter overhaul band per OEM service schedule |
| Insurance | 0.0025 | of CAPEX/yr | Project-finance convention, tradvolt.com |
| Project horizon | 25 | years | Standard PV financial lifetime, tradvolt.com |
| Self-consumption ratio | 0.85 | dimensionless | Project specification, tradvolt.com |
4. Computed year-by-year cash flow (years 0–25)
The table below is the ONLY source of financial figures on this page. All NPV, IRR, payback, LCOE and surplus values are taken VERBATIM from this table.
| Year | Cost (USD) | Benefit (USD) | Net (USD) | Discount factor | Discounted net (USD) | Energy (kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3,500,000.00 | 0.0000 | -3,500,000.00 | 1.00 | -3,500,000.00 | 0.0000 |
| 1 | 45,000.00 | 609,343.75 | 564,343.75 | 0.9346 | 527,424.07 | 7,750,000.00 |
| 2 | 45,900.00 | 618,422.97 | 572,522.97 | 0.8734 | 500,063.74 | 7,711,250.00 |
| 3 | 46,818.00 | 627,637.47 | 580,819.47 | 0.8163 | 474,121.70 | 7,672,693.75 |
| 4 | 47,754.36 | 636,989.27 | 589,234.91 | 0.7629 | 449,524.49 | 7,634,330.28 |
| 5 | 48,709.45 | 646,480.41 | 597,770.97 | 0.7130 | 426,202.44 | 7,596,158.63 |
| 6 | 49,683.64 | 656,112.97 | 606,429.33 | 0.6663 | 404,089.47 | 7,558,177.84 |
| 7 | 50,677.31 | 665,889.05 | 615,211.75 | 0.6227 | 383,122.96 | 7,520,386.95 |
| 8 | 51,690.86 | 675,810.80 | 624,119.95 | 0.5820 | 363,243.49 | 7,482,785.01 |
| 9 | 52,724.67 | 685,880.38 | 633,155.71 | 0.5439 | 344,394.75 | 7,445,371.09 |
| 10 | 53,779.17 | 696,100.00 | 642,320.83 | 0.5083 | 326,523.34 | 7,408,144.23 |
| 11 | 54,854.75 | 706,471.89 | 651,617.14 | 0.4751 | 309,578.61 | 7,371,103.51 |
| 12 | 280,951.84 | 716,998.32 | 436,046.48 | 0.4440 | 193,609.85 | 7,334,247.99 |
| 13 | 57,070.88 | 727,681.60 | 670,610.72 | 0.4150 | 278,279.61 | 7,297,576.75 |
| 14 | 58,212.30 | 738,524.05 | 680,311.75 | 0.3878 | 263,836.63 | 7,261,088.87 |
| 15 | 59,376.54 | 749,528.06 | 690,151.52 | 0.3624 | 250,142.67 | 7,224,783.43 |
| 16 | 60,564.08 | 760,696.03 | 700,131.95 | 0.3387 | 237,158.92 | 7,188,659.51 |
| 17 | 61,775.36 | 772,030.40 | 710,255.04 | 0.3166 | 224,848.56 | 7,152,716.21 |
| 18 | 63,010.86 | 783,533.65 | 720,522.79 | 0.2959 | 213,176.69 | 7,116,952.63 |
| 19 | 64,271.08 | 795,208.30 | 730,937.22 | 0.2765 | 202,110.23 | 7,081,367.87 |
| 20 | 65,556.50 | 807,056.91 | 741,500.40 | 0.2584 | 191,617.80 | 7,045,961.03 |
| 21 | 66,867.63 | 819,082.05 | 752,214.42 | 0.2415 | 181,669.63 | 7,010,731.22 |
| 22 | 68,204.99 | 831,286.38 | 763,081.39 | 0.2257 | 172,237.52 | 6,975,677.57 |
| 23 | 69,569.09 | 843,672.54 | 774,103.46 | 0.2109 | 163,294.71 | 6,940,799.18 |
| 24 | 70,960.47 | 856,243.27 | 785,282.80 | 0.1971 | 154,815.85 | 6,906,095.18 |
| 25 | 22,379.68 | 869,001.29 | 846,621.61 | 0.1842 | 155,989.34 | 6,871,564.71 |
Reading note: year 12 cost spike (USD 280,951.84) reflects the Huawei SUN2000-330KTL-H1 inverter overhaul (USD 45/kWp × 5,000 kWp) booked at year 12 per OEM service schedule. End-of-horizon decommissioning reserve is held as a model assumption (see §9) and is not booked as a year-25 cost; the residual value is netted off the terminal position without adding a year-25 cost line.
5. Sensitivity (bounds; recomputed from §4)
Each cell below is derived by re-running the §4 pipeline with only the named axis perturbed. "Surplus" is reported on a discounted basis to match the §1 verdict table.
| Sensitivity axis (discounted basis, USD) | −20% | −10% | Base | +10% | +20% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAPEX (USD/kWp) | +4,591,077 | +4,241,077 | +3,891,077 | +3,541,077 | +3,191,077 |
| Specific yield (kWh/kWp/yr) | +1,145,855 | +2,518,466 | +3,891,077 | +5,263,688 | +6,636,299 |
| Grid tariff (USD/kWh) | −464,045 | +1,713,516 | +3,891,077 | +6,068,638 | +8,246,199 |
| Self-consumption ratio | +2,708,965 | +3,300,021 | +3,891,077 | +4,482,133 | +5,073,189 |
| Discount rate (WACC) | +5,327,350 | +4,558,496 | +3,891,077 | +3,302,059 | +2,778,638 |
6. Verdict-by-scenario
| Scenario | Conditions | 25-year discounted surplus (USD) | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base case (Gulf-coastal, §3 inputs) | 1,550 kWh/kWp/yr, 0.085 USD/kWh, 85% self-consumption | +3,891,077 | Proceed |
| High-yield site (e.g. Red Sea coast) | 1,700 kWh/kWp/yr, other inputs base | see sensitivity, +10%/+20% specific yield rows | Proceed strongly |
| Low-yield / high-dust site | 1,400 kWh/kWp/yr, derate 0.78, cleaning surcharge | see sensitivity, −10%/−20% specific yield rows | Proceed conditionally (verify soiling-mitigation plan) |
| Low-tariff regulated utility | 0.060 USD/kWh, other inputs base | see sensitivity, grid-tariff row | Hold (await tariff reform or add PPA) |
| High-CAPEX, remote EPC | 900 USD/kWp, other inputs base | see sensitivity, CAPEX row | Proceed if finance available |
| Battery add-on (2-hr, 5 MWh) | +450 USD/kWh BESS, +6% round-trip loss | recomputed at RFQ | Proceed conditionally (justify via critical-load resilience) |
7. Compliance & certification
| Item | Standard / scheme | Document URL | Applicability note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modules | IEC 61215-1, IEC 61730-1/-2 (also UL 61730-1) | UL 61730-1 (full designation+edition cited at RFQ) | Required for any grid-tied installation |
| Inverters | IEC 62109-1:2010 + IEC 62109-2:2011 (TC 82) | IEC 62109-1:2010 (Webstore) · IEC 62109-2:2011 (Webstore) | Safety for PV converters |
| Grid connection | IEC 61727 (and local utility code; e.g. IEEE 1547-class for US comparators) | IEC Webstore catalogue (cite full designation+edition) | Utility-specific; confirm with local DSO |
| System design | IEC 62548 | IEC Webstore catalogue (cite full designation+edition) | PV array installation safety |
| Performance verification | IEC 61724-1 | IEC Webstore catalogue (cite full designation+edition) | Post-commissioning monitoring |
8. HS code block & destination tariff lookup paths
HS codes use WCO HS Nomenclature 2022 edition explanatory notes. Duty rates are destination-specific; use the lookup paths below to confirm classification and applicable MFN/preferential rates.
| HS code (6-digit, Rev. 2022) | Description | HS reference | Destination tariff lookup path |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8541.43 | Photovoltaic cells assembled in modules or made up into panels | WCO HS Nomenclature 2022 edition (HS 8541.43 explanatory note) | EU: EU TARIC consultation · UK: UK Global Tariff · US: USITC HTS · JP: Japan Customs Tariff · AU: ABF current tariff · NZ: NZ Customs Working Tariff · ZA: SARS Customs & Excise Tariff · GH: GRA · UG: URA |
| 8504.40 | Static converters (inverters) | WCO HS Nomenclature 2022 edition (HS 8504.40 explanatory note) | Same lookup paths as 8541.43 (EU TARIC / UK / USITC / Japan Customs / ABF / NZ Customs / SARS / GRA / URA) |
| 8504.31 | Transformers, power, ≤ 650 kVA (MV step-up) | WCO HS Nomenclature 2022 edition (HS 8504.31 explanatory note) | Same lookup paths as 8541.43 |
| 7616.99 | Other articles of aluminium (mounting structures) | WCO HS Nomenclature 2022 edition (HS 7616.99 explanatory note) | Same lookup paths as 8541.43 |
| 8544.49 | Other electric conductors, not fitted with connectors (DC/AC cables) | WCO HS Nomenclature 2022 edition (HS 8544.49 explanatory note) | Same lookup paths as 8541.43 |
Disclaimer: Tradvolt.com does not assert MFN duty rates as fact. The importer is responsible for verifying classification, valuation and applicable duty/VAT with a licensed customs broker or the destination customs authority. For lithium-battery or BESS add-ons, refer additionally to the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria (UN 38.3, ST/SG/AC.10/11/Rev.7) for transport classification.
9. Model assumptions (explicit bounded defaults)
The following defaults are bounded model assumptions, not sourced facts; they are re-validated at RFQ stage.
| Assumption | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Residual value (terminal) | USD 50,000 (nominal) | Project specification, tradvolt.com (held as end-of-horizon decommissioning reserve; netted off the terminal position without a separate year-25 cost line in §4) |
| Residual value year | 25 | Project horizon end |
| Net-metering buy-back | 50% of retail tariff on exported fraction | Project specification, tradvolt.com (MEA reference; actual buy-back tariff per local utility at RFQ) |
| Annual module degradation | 0.5%/yr (mono-PERC, per OEM datasheet rev.) | LONGi Hi-MO 5m product page; exact rev. at RFQ |
| Self-consumption ratio | 0.85 | Project specification, tradvolt.com |
10. Next steps
Request a structured RFQ with site-specific yield, shading and structural-load inputs.