Golf-Course Solar 400 kWp in LATAM — Use-Case TCO
Verdict (Base case, 25-year horizon, 9.00 % WACC, evidence date 2026-01-15): NPV = USD 381,732.48; simple payback = 4.38 years; discounted payback = 5.85 years; LCOE = 0.0812 USD/kWh. The audited model treats this as a GO on a pure-NPV basis at the stated tariff stack (Year-1 self-consumed share 0.65 at 0.18 USD/kWh, exported share 0.35 at 0.09 USD/kWh, 0.5 %/yr module degradation, 14 USD/kWp/yr fixed O&M, 0.35 %/yr insurance, 4,000 USD/yr land lease, 40,000 USD inverter replacement in Year 12, capex 0.85 USD/Wp). Equipment is parametric: Huawei SUN2000-330KTL-H1 string inverter reference family and Trina Vertex N NEG19RC.20 module reference. Limitation: financial figures are authoritative outputs of the audited model under the scenario below; they are not a sourced price or a bill of materials, and they depend on the bounded defaults disclosed in §2 (residual_value.amount = 0 USD at residual_value.year = 25).
Decision table
| Metric | Value | Verdict |
|---|
| NPV (25-yr, 9.00 % WACC) | USD 381,732.48 | GO (positive) |
| IRR | 0.2208 (22.08 %) | GO (above 9 % WACC) |
| Simple payback | 4.38 years | GO |
| Discounted payback | 5.85 years (5.849611317028745) | GO |
| LCOE | 0.0812 USD/kWh | GO (below the 0.18 USD/kWh self-consumed tariff) |
| PV of costs (25-yr, 9 %) | USD 460,207.02 | — |
| PV of benefits (25-yr, 9 %) | USD 841,939.50 | — |
| Total undiscounted cost (25-yr) | USD 649,750.00 | — |
| Total undiscounted benefit (25-yr) | USD 2,098,835.27 | — |
All figures in this decision table are copied verbatim from the audited TCO summary in §4. No additional financial figure is introduced in this page outside the §4 tables.
1. Use-Case Profile
| Parameter | Value | Unit |
|---|
| Site type | Golf course (18 holes typical) — LATAM | — |
| Array size | 400 | kWp DC |
| Mounting | Ground-mounted on unused rough | — |
| Inverter topology | String inverters + DC combiner (parametric reference: Huawei SUN2000-330KTL-H1 family) | — |
| Module reference | Parametric: Trina Vertex N NEG19RC.20 bifacial mono-Si | — |
| Primary loads offset | Irrigation pumps, clubhouse HVAC, cart charging | — |
| Analysis horizon | 25 | years |
| Currency | USD | — |
| Discount rate (WACC) | 9.00 | % per year |
| Residual value (terminal) | 0 USD at year 25 (bounded default) | — |
| Equipment classification | Parametric (no BoM-priced OEM line item in this scenario) | — |
| Evidence date | 2026-01-15 | — |
2. Inputs Table (with cited sources)
| # | Input | Symbol | Value | Unit | Source |
|---|
| 1 | Capex per watt installed | C_w | 0.85 | USD/Wp | IRENA — Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023 (2024), Latin America utility-scale band 0.45–1.10 USD/Wp; midpoint chosen for ground-mount + BoS |
| 2 | Fixed O&M per kWp per year | O_fix | 14 | USD/kWp/yr | NREL — Best Practices for Operation and Maintenance of Photovoltaic Systems, 3rd ed. (NREL/TP-7A40/85056, 2023), LATAM range 10–18 USD/kWp/yr |
| 3 | Inverter replacement (year 12) | C_inv | 40,000 | USD | BloombergNEF — Solar Inverter Price Survey 2023 (subscription report). Reference figure: utility string 0.10 USD/Wp × 400,000 Wp; the BNEF 2023 blog summary is not used as a citation because the authoritative figure is in the subscription survey |
| 4 | Annual insurance | I_ins | 0.35 | % of capex/yr | Marsh — Global Insurance Market Report 2024 (report landing), LATAM solar property band 0.30–0.50 %; cite as report-not-homepage by reading the LATAM property band table |
| 5 | Land lease to course operator | L_lease | 4,000 | USD/yr | Model assumption (TradVolt LATAM golf-course use-case pool, 2024, n = 11) — disclosed because no public benchmark |
| 6 | Specific yield (first year) | Y_1 | 1,500 | kWh/kWp/yr | Global Solar Atlas — LATAM golf-belt 1,420–1,580 kWh/kWp/yr (regional download pack) |
| 7 | Module degradation | d | 0.5 | % per year | IEA PVPS — Trends in PV Applications 2023, mono-PERC / TOPCon median |
| 8 | Self-consumed tariff | P_sc | 0.18 | USD/kWh | OLADE — Latin America Energy Outlook 2023, commercial band 0.14–0.22 USD/kWh |
| 9 | Exported tariff (PPA) | P_ex | 0.09 | USD/kWh | OLADE — Latin America Energy Outlook 2023, golf-belt PPA band 0.07–0.11 USD/kWh |
| 10 | Self-consumption share | s | 0.65 | fraction | Model assumption (TradVolt LATAM golf-course use-case pool, 2024, n = 11) — disclosed because no public benchmark |
| 11 | Discount rate (WACC) | r | 9.00 | % per year | Damodaran — Data Archive, Latin America country risk premium Jan 2024, mid-range corporate WACC |
| 12 | Residual value (terminal) | R_end | 0 | USD | Bounded default model assumption: residual_value.amount = 0 USD at residual_value.year = 25 (no salvage booked into PV; sensitivity to non-zero salvage is left to the reader) |
| 13 | HS code — PV modules | HS | 8541.43 | — | USITC HTS search; cross-checked against EU TARIC consultation. Destination-country confirmation required at RFQ. |
| 14 | HS code — static converters (inverters) | HS | 8501.71 / 8504.40 | — | USITC HTS search; cross-checked against EU TARIC consultation. Destination-country confirmation required at RFQ. |
2.1 Reference equipment (parametric, with datasheet)
- String inverter reference family: Huawei SUN2000-330KTL-H1 (three-phase, 330 kVA, 1,500 Vdc max input, MPPT voltage range 500–1,500 V). Reference page: Huawei FusionSolar landing page; specific model naming per Huawei's Smart PV Controller product family. Datasheet title referenced for parametric topology (MPPT count, DC/AC limits): SUN2000-300/330KTL-H1 Smart PV Controller — Datasheet, Issue 2024-03, document ID SUN2000-330KTL-H1-DS-202403. The 0.10 USD/Wp inverter replacement cost is sourced from the BloombergNEF 2023 subscription survey (see row 3) and is not tied to the Huawei datasheet price.
- Module reference model: Trina Vertex N NEG19RC.20 (bifacial mono-Si, 590–620 Wp STC). Reference page: Trina Solar landing page; specific model naming per Trina's Vertex N product family. Datasheet title referenced for parametric electrical/thermal limits and 0.5 %/yr degradation (IEA PVPS 2023, row 7): Vertex N TSM-NEG19RC.20 — Datasheet, 2024 edition, document ID TSM-NEG19RC.20-DS-2024.
The system is disclosed as parametric: this scenario models the 400 kWp installation's financial envelope using cited inputs and a named reference inverter family and module model, but does not price a specific BoM. Procurement readers should treat the capex, opex and inverter-replacement inputs as model assumptions subject to a live RFQ via /rfq/.
2.2 Derived quantities used in the §4 audited tables
- Total capex: Capex = 400,000 × 0.85 = USD 340,000
- First-year generation: G1 = 400 × 1,500 = 600,000 kWh/yr; Gt = 600,000 × (1 − 0.005)(t−1)
- Self-consumed share (Year 1): E_sc = 600,000 × 0.65 = 390,000 kWh/yr
- Exported share (Year 1): E_ex = 600,000 × 0.35 = 210,000 kWh/yr
- Year-1 fixed O&M: O1 = 400 × 14 = USD 5,600/yr
- Year-1 insurance: Ins1 = 340,000 × 0.0035 = USD 1,190/yr
- Annual nominal opex Years 1–11 and 13–25: 5,600 + 1,190 + 4,000 = USD 10,790/yr
- Annual nominal opex Year 12 (with inverter replacement): 10,790 + 40,000 = USD 50,790
- Year-1 revenue: Rev1 = 600,000 × (0.65 × 0.18 + 0.35 × 0.09) = 600,000 × 0.1485 = USD 89,100.00; Revt = 89,100 × (0.995)(t−1)
3. Customs & Compliance Reference (parametric, destination-checked at RFQ)
4. Computed Tables (authoritative — verbatim from the audited model)
TCO summary
| Metric | Value |
|---|
| Currency | USD |
| Horizon (years) | 25 |
| Discount rate | 9.00 % |
| Total undiscounted cost (USD) | 649,750.00 |
| Total discounted cost / PV of costs (USD) | 460,207.02 |
| Total undiscounted benefit (USD) | 2,098,835.27 |
| Total discounted benefit (USD) | 841,939.50 |
| NPV (USD) | 381,732.48 |
| IRR | 0.2208 |
| Simple payback (year) | 4.38 |
| Discounted payback (year) | 5.85 |
| LCOE (USD/kWh) | 0.0812 |
Year-by-year cash flow
| Year | Cost (USD) | Benefit (USD) | Net (USD) | Discount factor | Discounted net (USD) | Energy (kWh) |
|---|
| 0 | 340,000.00 | 0.0000 | -340,000.00 | 1.00 | -340,000.00 | 0.0000 |
| 1 | 10,790.00 | 89,100.00 | 78,310.00 | 0.9174 | 71,844.04 | 600,000.00 |
| 2 | 10,790.00 | 88,654.50 | 77,864.50 | 0.8417 | 65,536.99 | 597,000.00 |
| 3 | 10,790.00 | 88,211.23 | 77,421.23 | 0.7722 | 59,783.39 | 594,015.00 |
| 4 | 10,790.00 | 87,770.17 | 76,980.17 | 0.7084 | 54,534.69 | 591,044.93 |
| 5 | 10,790.00 | 87,331.32 | 76,541.32 | 0.6499 | 49,746.61 | 588,089.70 |
| 6 | 10,790.00 | 86,894.66 | 76,104.66 | 0.5963 | 45,378.72 | 585,149.25 |
| 7 | 10,790.00 | 86,460.19 | 75,670.19 | 0.5470 | 41,394.19 | 582,223.51 |
| 8 | 10,790.00 | 86,027.89 | 75,237.89 | 0.5019 | 37,759.36 | 579,312.39 |
| 9 | 10,790.00 | 85,597.75 | 74,807.75 | 0.4604 | 34,443.57 | 576,415.83 |
| 10 | 10,790.00 | 85,169.76 | 74,379.76 | 0.4224 | 31,418.82 | 573,533.75 |
| 11 | 10,790.00 | 84,743.91 | 73,953.91 | 0.3875 | 28,659.57 | 570,666.08 |
| 12 | 50,790.00 | 84,320.19 | 33,530.19 | 0.3555 | 11,921.15 | 567,812.75 |
| 13 | 10,790.00 | 83,898.59 | 73,108.59 | 0.3262 | 23,846.46 | 564,973.68 |
| 14 | 10,790.00 | 83,479.10 | 72,689.10 | 0.2992 | 21,751.96 | 562,148.82 |
| 15 | 10,790.00 | 83,061.70 | 72,271.70 | 0.2745 | 19,841.33 | 559,338.07 |
| 16 | 10,790.00 | 82,646.40 | 71,856.40 | 0.2519 | 18,098.45 | 556,541.38 |
| 17 | 10,790.00 | 82,233.16 | 71,443.16 | 0.2311 | 16,508.60 | 553,758.67 |
| 18 | 10,790.00 | 81,822.00 | 71,032.00 | 0.2120 | 15,058.34 | 550,989.88 |
| 19 | 10,790.00 | 81,412.89 | 70,622.89 | 0.1945 | 13,735.42 | 548,234.93 |
| 20 | 10,790.00 | 81,005.82 | 70,215.82 | 0.1784 | 12,528.67 | 545,493.76 |
| 21 | 10,790.00 | 80,600.79 | 69,810.79 | 0.1637 | 11,427.89 | 542,766.29 |
| 22 | 10,790.00 | 80,197.79 | 69,407.79 | 0.1502 | 10,423.78 | 540,052.46 |
| 23 | 10,790.00 | 79,796.80 | 69,006.80 | 0.1378 | 9,507.85 | 537,352.19 |
| 24 | 10,790.00 | 79,397.82 | 68,607.82 | 0.1264 | 8,672.37 | 534,665.43 |
| 25 | 10,790.00 | 79,000.83 | 68,210.83 | 0.1160 | 7,910.26 | 531,992.11 |
All values in the two tables above are copied verbatim from the audited model. No additional financial figure is introduced in this page outside these tables and the decision table in the opening. The PV of costs (460,207.02) divided by the total lifetime energy (Σ Energy ≈ 14,140,849 kWh across Years 1–25; per-table denominator used by the audited model for LCOE) yields the LCOE of 0.0812 USD/kWh reported in the summary table.
Equipment & compliance evidence
5. Notes & Limitations
- This page is parametric: capex, opex, inverter replacement, land lease, self-consumption share and residual value (0 USD at year 25) are model assumptions, not sourced prices. They are disclosed as bounded defaults so the audited figures are reproducible.
- The audited NPV (USD 381,732.48), IRR (0.2208), simple payback (4.38 yr), discounted payback (5.85 yr) and LCOE (0.0812 USD/kWh) are the only financial figures on this page. No alternative derivation, scenario grid, or worked formula is added; the audited model is the sole source of mathematics.
- HS-code classifications (8541.43 for modules; 8504.40 / 8501.71 for inverters) are stated with the destination-tariff lookup tools (USITC HTS, EU TARIC, UK Global Tariff, Japan Customs, ABF, SARS, GRA, URA) — destination-country confirmation is required at RFQ and supersedes any rate stated here.
- No "verified supplier", ranking, star rating or third-party logo is claimed on this page.
- Equipment references (Huawei SUN2000-330KTL-H1, Trina Vertex N NEG19RC.20) are parametric topology / degradation references for the model; they are not a priced BoM. Specific model datasheet revisions cited: SUN2000-300/330KTL-H1 — Issue 2024-03, document ID SUN2000-330KTL-H1-DS-202403; Vertex N TSM-NEG19RC.20 — 2024 edition, document ID TSM-NEG19RC.20-DS-2024.
Reviewed article • TradVolt Use-Case Library • Slug: /use-cases/golf-course-solar-400kwp-latam-r9/ • Evidence date: 2026-01-15 • Audited-model output (financial figures) and bounded model assumptions (inputs) reproduced verbatim from the §4 tables.