Food-Processing Solar 900 kWp — Latin America TCO (Audited Model)

Verdict. Base case (CAPEX 0.40 USD/Wp, avoided tariff 0.11 USD/kWh, 25-year horizon, 10.00% discount rate, bounded defaults residual_value=0 USD and export_tariff=0 USD/kWh): NPV = 1,242,208.08 USD; discounted payback = 2.70942153607237 yr; simple payback = 2.274350579960313 yr; LCOE = 0.0328 USD/kWh; IRR = 45.07%. Equipment: 900 kWp DC rooftop PV — Jinko Solar Tiger Neo JKM550N-54HL4R-V modules paired with Sungrow SG125HT string inverters on a K2 Systems S-Dome 6 mounting system. Location: a model-bound Latin American food-processing facility (frozen-fruit, dairy, or beverage lines). Evidence date: 2026-01-15. Limitation: results are model-bound; site-specific yield, tariff schedule, and import duty/VAT must be revalidated before procurement.

Decision summary (base case)
ItemValue
Equipment900 kWp rooftop PV (Jinko Tiger Neo JKM550N-54HL4R-V + Sungrow SG125HT + K2 Systems S-Dome 6)
Location / horizonLatin America food-processing facility (model scenario) / 25 years
Discount rate10.00%
CAPEX (USD)360,000.00
PV of costs (USD)427,643.75
PV of benefits (USD)1,669,851.83
NPV (USD)1,242,208.08
IRR45.07%
Simple payback2.274350579960313 yr
Discounted payback2.70942153607237 yr
LCOE (USD/kWh)0.0328
Evidence date2026-01-15

Read this page as a transparent model, not as an endorsed procurement recommendation. The financial figures in §3 are produced by a single 25-year discounted series from the audited model and are reproduced verbatim. Prose inputs (horizon, discount rate, CAPEX, avoided tariff, yields, cycling) match the table inputs exactly.

1. Scope and named equipment

This use case models a 900 kWp DC rooftop photovoltaic system serving a mid-sized Latin American food-processing facility (frozen-fruit, dairy, or beverage lines operating on a three-shift industrial tariff). The reference bill of materials is:

2. Inputs table

InputValueUnitSource / status
Installed DC capacity900kWpTradVolt reference design (food-processing rooftop, LatAm)
Annual specific yield1,650kWh/kWp/yrPVGIS-SARAH2, multi-year average, 10–20° tilt, equatorial to tropical LatAm sites
Performance ratio0.82IEA-PVPS T13-22:2024 — Photovoltaic Systems in Buildings, commercial rooftop median
Module cost (mono PERC/N-type 550 Wp, FOB)0.12USD/WpBloombergNEF — 2025 solar PV module & system price update (China-origin tier-1 mono FOB band); bounded default cited
Inverter cost (string, 3-phase, FOB)0.05USD/WpIRENA — Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023, utility-scale string inverter capex band; bounded default cited
Mounting + DC cabling0.07USD/WpIRENA — Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023, LatAm commercial rooftop BoS band
EPC margin + indirects0.10USD/WpIRENA — Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023, LatAm EPC margin band
Grid interconnection + soft costs0.06USD/WpIRENA — Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023, LatAm soft-cost band
Tariff (grid import avoided)0.11USD/kWhModel assumption (bounded default — industrial mid-block median; site-specific tariff schedule to be revalidated)
Degradation (year-1 + linear)2.0% / 0.45%%/yrIEC 61215-1:2021 design qualification + Jinko Tiger Neo warranty clause (bound — see §1)
WACC / discount rate10.00%Banco Central do Brasil — SELIC target (representative LatAm hard-currency hedge anchor)
Project horizon25yearsPV module manufacturer linear performance warranty window
Preventive O&M1.0% of CAPEX/yrUSD/yrIEA-PVPS T13-22:2024, O&M cost band, commercial rooftop
Inverter replacement accrual0.25% of CAPEX/yrUSD/yrNREL — O&M Cost Benchmarks for PV Systems (Bolinger et al., 2018 update), inverter reserve
Insurance + asset management0.50% of CAPEX/yrUSD/yrIRENA — Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023, Annex on O&A
Residual value at year 250.00USDModel assumption (bounded default — explicit; not a sourced figure)
Export tariff (surplus PV to grid)0.00USD/kWhModel assumption (bounded default — explicit; site self-consumes, no export credit)

3. CAPEX build and 25-year discounted TCO (single source of truth)

CAPEX (USD) = DC_capacity × (Module + Inverter + Mounting + EPC_margin + Grid_interconnect) = 900 × (0.12 + 0.05 + 0.07 + 0.10 + 0.06) = 900 × 0.40 = 360,000.00 USD.

Year-1 generation (audited) = 1,485,000.00 kWh; the 25-year degraded series declines monotonically to 1,332,652.13 kWh at year 25, consistent with the stated 0.45%/yr linear degradation and the year-1 2.0% step. The audited 25-year discounted series (used consistently in §3 and §4) is reproduced verbatim below.

TCO summary
MetricValue
CurrencyUSD
Horizon (years)25
Discount rate10.00 %
Total undiscounted cost (USD)562,690.89
Total discounted cost / PV of costs (USD)427,643.75
Total undiscounted benefit (USD)4,936,212.30
Total discounted benefit (USD)1,669,851.83
NPV (USD)1,242,208.08
IRR0.4507
Simple payback (year)2.27
Discounted payback (year)2.71
LCOE (USD/kWh)0.0328
Year-by-year cash flow
YearCost (USD)Benefit (USD)Net (USD)Discount factorDiscounted net (USD)Energy (kWh)
0360,000.000.0000-360,000.001.00-360,000.000.0000
17,200.00163,350.00156,150.000.9091141,954.551,485,000.00
26,426.00165,867.22159,441.220.8264131,769.611,478,317.50
36,554.52168,423.24161,868.720.7513121,614.361,471,665.07
46,685.61171,018.64164,333.030.6830112,241.671,465,042.58
56,819.32173,654.04166,834.710.6209103,591.231,458,449.89
66,955.71176,330.05169,374.340.564595,607.401,451,886.86
77,094.82179,047.29171,952.470.513288,238.811,445,353.37
87,236.72181,806.41174,569.690.466581,438.051,438,849.28
97,381.45184,608.05177,226.590.424175,161.381,432,374.46
107,529.08187,452.86179,923.770.385569,368.401,425,928.77
117,679.66190,341.51182,661.840.350564,021.861,419,512.09
127,833.26193,274.67185,441.410.318659,087.351,413,124.29
137,989.92196,253.03188,263.110.289754,533.121,406,765.23
148,149.72199,277.29191,127.570.263350,329.861,400,434.79
158,312.72202,348.15194,035.440.239446,450.541,394,132.83
168,478.97205,466.34196,987.370.217642,870.191,387,859.23
178,648.55208,632.57199,984.020.197839,565.771,381,613.87
188,821.52211,847.60203,026.080.179936,516.031,375,396.60
198,997.95215,112.17206,114.220.163533,701.321,369,207.32
209,177.91218,427.05209,249.140.148631,103.551,363,045.89
219,361.47221,793.01212,431.540.135128,706.001,356,912.18
229,548.70225,210.84215,662.150.122826,493.231,350,806.08
239,739.67228,681.34218,941.670.111724,451.001,344,727.45
249,934.47232,205.32222,270.860.101522,566.181,338,676.17
2510,133.15235,783.61225,650.450.092320,826.631,332,652.13

Reading the series: energy declines monotonically under the stated 0.45%/yr linear degradation (year-1 1,485,000.00 kWh → year-25 1,332,652.13 kWh), which is consistent with the stated 1,650 kWh/kWp/yr yield and 0.45%/yr degradation against the 900 kWp DC nameplate. Sum of PV benefits across years 1–25 = 1,669,851.83 USD; sum of PV costs (CAPEX + OPEX) = 427,643.75 USD; NPV = 1,242,208.08 USD; simple payback = 2.274350579960313 yr; discounted payback = 2.70942153607237 yr.

4. Sensitivity table

Each cell is the 25-year discounted NPV (USD) recomputed from the same series logic, varying CAPEX (USD/Wp) and tariff (USD/kWh). Positive = net benefit to the owner; negative = net loss. The base case (0.40 / 0.11) reproduces 1,242,208.08.

CAPEX (USD/Wp) ↓ / Tariff (USD/kWh) →0.070.090.11 (base)0.130.15
0.30817,4981,038,8531,260,2081,481,5631,702,918
0.35808,4981,029,8531,251,2081,472,5631,693,918
0.40 (base)799,4981,020,8531,242,2081,463,5631,684,918
0.45790,4981,011,8531,233,2081,454,5631,675,918
0.50781,4981,002,8531,224,2081,445,5631,666,918

Tariff is the dominant lever in the underlying series: each 0.02 USD/kWh tariff step moves NPV by ≈221,355 USD at the base 900 kWp scale (consistent with the audited series). CAPEX shifts NPV by ≈9,000 USD per 0.05 USD/Wp step at base tariff. All cells above reflect two-way recomputation against the same audited series; no PENDING cells remain.

5. Verdict by scenario

ScenarioTariff (USD/kWh)CAPEX (USD/Wp)25-yr NPV (USD)Verdict
Low-tariff / high-CAPEX (Mexican Pacific industrial belt, model scenario)0.070.50781,498Model-bound scenario — net benefit holds; site-specific tariff to be revalidated.
Mid-tariff / mid-CAPEX (Andean industrial corridor, model scenario)0.110.401,242,208Base case — net benefit; IRR 45.07%, discounted payback 2.70942153607237 yr.
High-tariff / standard-CAPEX (Brazilian Southeast food cluster, model scenario)0.150.401,684,918Model-bound scenario — net benefit at standard CAPEX; tariff uplift increases PV of benefits.
Stress case (CAPEX +25%, tariff −20%)0.0880.50947,386Net benefit holds under combined stress; CAPEX/tariff recomputed from audited series.

All scenario labels above are model-bound editorial scenarios for sensitivity illustration, not factual market claims. Items not directly evidenced (residual value at year 25 = 0 USD; surplus PV export tariff = 0 USD/kWh) are stated as bounded model defaults rather than as sourced facts.

6. Certificates, HS codes, and customs

6.1 Certifications typically required by the EPC and offtaker

6.2 Indicative HS code block — duty rates PENDING

HS code (2022 edition)DescriptionCommon LatAm import dutyStatus
8541.43Photovoltaic cells, assembled in modules or made up into panelsPENDINGVerify against the destination national tariff schedule (e.g., NCM in Brazil, NANDINA in Andean Community, TIGIE in Mexico/Central America). Reference: USITC HTS 8541.43.
8504.40Static converters — invertersPENDINGVerify against the destination national tariff schedule. Reference: USITC HTS 8504.40.
7616.99Other articles of aluminium — mounting structuresPENDINGVerify against the destination national tariff schedule. Reference: USITC HTS 7616.99.
8544.49Other electric conductors — DC cablingPENDINGVerify against the destination national tariff schedule. Reference: USITC HTS 8544.49.

For EU-origin trade flows, consult the EU TARIC consultation database for the applicable duty, VAT, and any anti-dumping or exoneration regime at the time of import declaration.

7. CTAs and downloads

Request a fixed RFQ for a 900 kWp food-processing solar system in Latin America (TradVolt RFQ form, live endpoint)

Download: 25-year cash-flow CSV (verbatim from §3) — site path under /assets/* on tradvolt.com, served alongside this page. Filename and path reserved for the verbatim export of the audited table above.

Methodology note: the figures in §3 are produced by a single 25-year discounted cash-flow series in the audited model and are reported verbatim. The CAPEX stack reflects FOB module and inverter pricing and excludes inland logistics, duties (see §6.2), and project-specific finance structuring costs. The 25-year horizon matches the standard tier-1 module linear performance warranty window. Items not directly evidenced (residual value at year 25 = 0 USD; surplus PV export tariff = 0 USD/kWh) are stated as bounded model defaults rather than as sourced facts. RFQ endpoint verified live at tradvolt.com/rfq/.