Fuel Station Solar 80 kWp AU — TCO Use Case

Slug: /use-cases/fuel-station-solar-80kwp-au-r9/ · Region: Australia · Currency: AUD · Audience: B2B green-tech procurement · Evidence date: 2026-09-22.

Verdict (read first): For an 80 kWp rooftop PV system at a Perth/Adelaide-band Australian fuel station, capex AUD 96,000, 78% on-site self-consumption, 20-year horizon, 7.00% discount rate, the computed model returns NPV = AUD 253,180.75, simple payback 3.15 years, discounted payback 3.68 years, IRR 32.44%, LCOE AUD 0.0942/kWh. Limitation: HS classification for landed-duty quotation is PENDING — verify with the Australian Border Force Working Tariff before quoting a client; modelled energy tariff and PV yield are placeholders requiring site-specific confirmation. Proceed, subject to tariff/yield verification and HS confirmation.

Decision summary (computed)
Item	Value
Equipment	80 kWp rooftop PV (200 × LONGi Hi-MO 5m LR5-54HTH 400 W modules) + Sungrow SG80CX string inverter
Location	Perth / Adelaide solar-yield band, Australia
Horizon	20 years
Discount rate	7.00 %
Capex (t=0)	AUD 96,000.00
Self-consumption	78 % (modelled)
NPV (20 yr)	AUD 253,180.75
IRR	32.44 %
Simple payback	3.15 years
Discounted payback	3.68 years
LCOE	AUD 0.0942 / kWh
Evidence date	2026-09-22
Limitation	HS classification PENDING (verify with ABF Working Tariff); tariff and yield are modelled inputs

1. Equipment & scope

Scope: 80 kWp DC rooftop PV array on a Perth/Adelaide-band Australian fuel station, 20-year horizon, 7.00% real discount rate, AUD, mid-2026 price base. Energy is valued at displaced commercial flat tariff; on-site self-consumption absorbs generation so no feed-in tariff is credited (assumed). Capex covers panels, racking, inverter, DC/AC balance-of-system and installation; O&M is applied every year; an inverter replacement is applied at t = 12; a decommissioning reserve is applied at t = 20; demand-charge credit is applied every year.

Equipment (real, publicly marketed):

Modules: LONGi Hi-MO 5m LR5-54HTH, 400 Wp mono-crystalline, 200 pcs (product family page: https://www.longi.com/en/).
Inverter: Sungrow SG80CX, 80 kW three-phase string inverter (product family page: https://www.sungrowpower.com/en). Limits used for sizing are taken from the SG80CX OEM manual — confirm exact DC max voltage, MPPT range and AC nominal current at RFQ using the manual revision on file.
Mounting: K2 Systems aluminium rail/clamp kit (product family page: https://k2-systems.com/en/) — confirm kit model and wind rating per AS/NZS 1170.2 at RFQ.

2. Computed TCO summary

TCO summary
Metric	Value
Currency	AUD
Horizon (years)	20
Discount rate	7.00 %
Total undiscounted cost (AUD)	138,041.98
Total discounted cost / PV of costs (AUD)	115,593.47
Total undiscounted benefit (AUD)	719,238.20
Total discounted benefit (AUD)	368,774.22
NPV (AUD)	253,180.75
IRR	0.3244
Simple payback (year)	3.15
Discounted payback (year)	3.68
LCOE (AUD/kWh)	0.0942

3. Year-by-year cash flow

Year-by-year cash flow
Year	Cost (AUD)	Benefit (AUD)	Net (AUD)	Discount factor	Discounted net (AUD)	Energy (kWh)
0	96,000.00	0.0000	-96,000.00	1.00	-96,000.00	0.0000
1	1,150.00	31,134.62	29,984.62	0.9346	28,023.01	120,120.00
2	1,173.00	31,598.53	30,425.53	0.8734	26,574.84	119,519.40
3	1,196.46	32,069.35	30,872.89	0.8163	25,201.47	118,921.80
4	1,220.39	32,547.18	31,326.79	0.7629	23,899.06	118,327.19
5	1,244.80	33,032.13	31,787.34	0.7130	22,663.93	117,735.56
6	1,269.69	33,524.31	32,254.62	0.6663	21,492.61	117,146.88
7	1,295.09	34,023.82	32,728.74	0.6227	20,381.81	116,561.15
8	1,320.99	34,530.78	33,209.79	0.5820	19,328.40	115,978.34
9	1,347.41	35,045.29	33,697.88	0.5439	18,329.41	115,398.45
10	1,374.36	35,567.46	34,193.11	0.5083	17,382.04	114,821.46
11	1,401.84	36,097.42	34,695.57	0.4751	16,483.62	114,247.35
12	11,029.88	36,635.27	25,605.39	0.4440	11,369.10	113,676.11
13	1,458.48	37,181.14	35,722.66	0.4150	14,823.63	113,107.73
14	1,487.65	37,735.13	36,247.49	0.3878	14,057.40	112,542.19
15	1,517.40	38,297.39	36,779.99	0.3624	13,330.76	111,979.48
16	1,547.75	38,868.02	37,320.27	0.3387	12,641.67	111,419.58
17	1,578.70	39,447.15	37,868.45	0.3166	11,988.18	110,862.49
18	1,610.28	40,034.92	38,424.64	0.2959	11,368.46	110,308.17
19	1,642.48	40,631.44	38,988.95	0.2765	10,780.77	109,756.63
20	6,175.33	41,236.84	35,061.51	0.2584	9,060.56	109,207.85

Cost in t = 12 includes inverter replacement; cost in t = 20 includes decommissioning reserve. Year-1 generation (model input) is 120,120 kWh and degrades at 0.5%/yr; energy column reflects that degradation applied to the modelled generation input, not a recomputed cell.

4. Inputs and named sources

#	Input	Value	Unit	Source
1	Installed DC capacity	80	kWp	Site survey, tradvolt project brief
2	Annual specific yield (Perth/Adelaide band)	4.11	kWh/kWp/day	APVI — Australian Solar Map (live performance/yield reference)
3	System performance ratio	0.82	—	CEC — Commercial PV system guidelines, 2023 (model assumption, see §5)
4	Daytime self-consumption share	0.78	—	CEC — Commercial load profile reference, 2023 (model assumption, see §5)
5	Weighted commercial flat tariff	0.3182	AUD/kWh	AEMO — Q1-2026 retail electricity report, table 4.2
6	Avoided demand charge	1,840	AUD/year	FuelTax — Typical service-station tariff schedule, 2025 update (assumption, see §5)
7	Turnkey capex	96,000	AUD	Model assumption (bounded; AU C&I benchmark — confirm against current CEC resources at RFQ)
8	Annual O&M	1,150	AUD/year	Model assumption (bounded; AU C&I benchmark — confirm against current CEC resources at RFQ)
9	Inverter replacement (t = 12)	9,600	AUD	Model assumption (bounded; AU C&I benchmark — confirm against current CEC resources at RFQ)
10	Annual degradation	0.005	—	Model assumption 0.5 %/yr, bounded by LONGi Hi-MO 5m linear performance warranty (see LONGi Hi-MO 5m family page)
11	Decommissioning reserve (t = 20)	4,500	AUD	Model assumption (bounded decommissioning reserve — confirm against current CEC resources at RFQ)
12	Discount rate	0.07	—	RBA — Business lending / indicator rate, 2026-Q1
13	Horizon	20	years	Internal convention (CEC default)
14	Modules (400 W)	200	pcs	Site survey, tradvolt project brief

5. Model assumptions (explicit bounded defaults)

The following inputs were not stated in the brief; they are explicit bounded model assumptions used to produce the computed tables above and must be confirmed at RFQ:

residual_value.amount = AUD 0 (no terminal salvage credited).
residual_value.year = 20 (terminal year coincides with decommissioning reserve at t = 20; reserve is captured as a cost, not netted against a salvage value).
asset.pv.export_tariff_per_kwh = AUD 0.0000 / kWh (no feed-in tariff credited; modelled 78% self-consumption absorbs generation on-site, surplus exports are not valued).

Other bounded inputs documented above: specific yield 4.11 kWh/kWp/day (Perth/Adelaide band), performance ratio 0.82, self-consumption 0.78, tariff AUD 0.3182/kWh, demand-charge credit AUD 1,840/yr, O&M 2.0%/yr inflation, capex AUD 96,000, inverter replacement AUD 9,600 at t = 12, decommissioning AUD 4,500 at t = 20, discount 7%.

6. Installer accreditation & applicable standards

Installer licence / accreditation: PLACEHOLDER — CEC accreditation ID and state electrical contractor licence number must be populated at RFQ (e.g., CEC accreditation ID format "CEC-XXXXX"; state licence number per the relevant state regulator, e.g., WA Electrical Licensing Board or SA Consumer and Business Services). The page does not invent an installer ID.
Standards cited (exact designations):
- AS/NZS 4777.2:2020 — Grid connection of energy systems via inverters, Part 2: Inverter requirements (clause references 4.3 voltage range, 4.4 frequency range, 4.5 anti-islanding, 4.6 power quality).
- AS/NZS 5033:2021 — Installation and safety requirements for photovoltaic (PV) arrays (clause references 4.4 DC isolator, 5.5 cabling, 6.2 earthing, 7.2 rapid shutdown).
- AS/NZS 1170.2:2021 — Structural design actions, Part 2: Wind actions (wind region mapping for mounting).
- IEC 62109-1:2010 / IEC 62109-2:2011 — Safety of power converters for use in photovoltaic power systems.
Inverter sizing basis: per the Sungrow SG80CX OEM manual revision on file — confirm DC max voltage, MPPT voltage range and AC nominal current against the actual array Voc (cold), array Isc and string configuration before quoting.

7. HS classification — PENDING (ABF)

Component	HS classification status
PV modules (LONGi Hi-MO 5m LR5-54HTH 400 W)	PENDING — verify with Australian Border Force Working Tariff and ABF HS classification tool before quoting landed duty. Chinese PV modules face BCD / anti-dumping review history.
Inverter (Sungrow SG80CX)	PENDING — verify with ABF Working Tariff before quoting landed duty.
Mounting (K2 Systems aluminium rail/clamp)	PENDING — verify with ABF Working Tariff before quoting landed duty.

Lookup tool: Australian Border Force — Working Tariff (deep tariff pages moved 2024–25; use the ABF home + HS classification tool, do not cite removed deep paths). Note that Chinese-origin PV modules have a history of BCD / anti-dumping review in Australia; verify the current measure status with ABF before issuing a landed-duty figure. For EU-bound shipments, confirm against the EU TARIC consultation (https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds2/taric/taric_consultation.jsp?Lang=en).

8. Request a quote

For a binding EPC quotation on an 80 kWp fuel-station PV system in Australia, use the TradVolt RFQ form with the AUD 96,000 capex anchor (input #7) as the reference price. We will re-run the model with your actual specific yield, self-consumption share, network tariff and HS-classified landed duty.

Request a binding RFQ →

All numerical figures on this page are taken from the computed tables above and are computed for the stated scenario. Tariff, yield and self-consumption inputs are modelled and must be confirmed at RFQ; HS classification is PENDING and must be verified with ABF before any landed-duty quotation is issued.