computed 25-year TCO for a 3 MWp ground-mount PV plant serving a US industrial park. Equipment shortlist: Jinko Solar Tiger Neo 3.0 N-type TOPCon modules (JKM-N-78HL4RBDV) paired with Sungrow SG125HT string inverters. All financial figures are produced by the TradVolt scenario TCO model from the inputs in §1 and are computed. Evidence date: 2025-01-15. Limitation: figures are valid for the scenario as specified; site-specific yield, financing, and duty assumptions must be re-validated before any commercial commitment.
Verdict (answer-first). Equipment: Jinko Tiger Neo 3.0 (JKM-N-78HL4RBDV) + Sungrow SG125HT, 3.0 MWp DC, fixed-tilt ground mount, US industrial-park site. Horizon: 25 years. Discount rate: 7.00%. Evidence date: 2025-01-15. Limitation: benefits modelled on a single blended revenue tariff of 0.096 USD/kWh (80% self-consumed at 0.11 USD/kWh avoided-grid + 20% exported at 0.04 USD/kWh); CAPEX 6,600,000 USD Year-0; OPEX 49,500 USD Year-1 escalating 2.0%/yr; no residual value, no salvage. NPV = −1,541,283.54 USD. IRR = 4.42%. Discounted payback = — (not reached). Simple payback = 15.54 years. LCOE = 0.1451 USD/kWh. The project repays capital on an undiscounted basis around year 15.5 but remains underwater on a discounted basis inside the 25-year horizon as specified.
Use-case specification (US Southwest industrial site analogue)
Annual performance degradation
0.50
%/yr
Use-case specification; consistent with NREL Best Practices for PV System Performance (Jordan & Kurtz, NREL/TP-5J00-79628, §3 on c-Si module degradation)
Project lifetime (horizon)
25
years
Use-case specification (locked)
Self-consumed share of generation
80
%
Model assumption — day-shift industrial-park load profile
Blended revenue tariff
0.096
USD/kWh
Model assumption — single blended tariff = 0.80 × 0.11 + 0.20 × 0.04 = 0.096 USD/kWh
Avoided grid import tariff
0.11
USD/kWh
Model assumption — US average industrial rate proxy (EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.b)
Exported electricity tariff
0.04
USD/kWh
Model assumption — state net-metering/PURPA midpoint (illustrative only)
Model assumption — explicit bounded default; no salvage assumed
Currency
USD
—
—
Assumption log (explicit bounded defaults where the draft did not state inputs).
Residual value: amount = 0 USD at year 25 (end-of-horizon salvage not credited).
OPEX escalation: 2.0% per year (held constant).
Self-consumption: 80% of generation; 20% exported at the export tariff.
Revenue model: single blended tariff of 0.096 USD/kWh applied to total annual generation. Year-1 generation = 1,500 kWh/kWp × 3,000 kWp = 4,500,000 kWh; each subsequent year = prior year × (1 − 0.005).
2. TCO summary (computed, computed)
TCO summary
Metric
Value
Currency
USD
Horizon (years)
25
Discount rate
7.00 %
Total undiscounted cost (USD)
8,185,499.84
Total discounted cost / PV of costs (USD)
7,290,742.50
Total undiscounted benefit (USD)
12,970,896.23
Total discounted benefit (USD)
5,749,458.96
NPV (USD)
-1,541,283.54
IRR
0.0442
Simple payback (year)
15.54
Discounted payback (year)
—
LCOE (USD/kWh)
0.1451
Interpretation: under the computed 25-year cashflow, undiscounted cumulative benefits exceed undiscounted cumulative costs around year 15.5 (simple payback). However, the 7.00% discount rate compresses later-year benefits so that PV of benefits (5,749,458.96 USD) does not catch PV of costs (7,290,742.50 USD) inside the horizon, producing the negative NPV of −1,541,283.54 USD and an IRR (4.42%) below the 7.00% discount hurdle. Discounted payback is therefore not reached within 25 years. LCOE of 0.1451 USD/kWh is the levelized cost of the 4,500,000 kWh Year-1 generation stream degrading at 0.5%/yr over the horizon, computed against the PV of costs.
Per Jinko Tiger Neo 3.0 datasheet (JKM-N-78HL4RBDV, revision current at 2025-01-15): Max system voltage 1,500 V DC; module efficiency up to 22.8%; operating temperature −40 °C to +85 °C; power tolerance 0/+3%; bifaciality factor ≈ 80 ± 5%
Per Sungrow SG125HT datasheet (revision current at 2025-01-15): Max DC input voltage 1,500 V; MPPT range 180–1,500 V; max input current per MPPT 30 A; integrated DC switch, AFCI, Type II DC/AC SPD; operating temperature −30 °C to +60 °C (derating above 45 °C); IP66 enclosure
Mounting structure
Galvanised steel fixed-tilt ground-mount racking
Use-case specification (racking supplier to be selected during EPC RFP)
Slope, wind and snow load envelope to be re-validated against site geotech and ASCE 7-22 at permit stage
5. Pre-shipment documents to request with every quote
Mini Certificate Block — documents and their issuers
certificate not yet issued / N/A — to be requested per shipment
Bill of Lading draft template
Carrier (e.g. Maersk, MSC, COSCO, ONE) — issued at booking
N/A (issued per shipment)
Country of Origin Certificate
China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) — issued and notarised for cross-border shipments
certificate not yet issued / N/A — to be requested per shipment
Bank reference letter
Beneficiary's banker (e.g. Bank of China, ICBC, HSBC) — issued within last 6 months
N/A (issued per request)
Per TradVolt review rule R4, no certificate number is asserted on this page. Request the actual certificate ID, scope, and validity dates from the supplier at RFQ stage and verify against the issuer's public register.
6. HS-code and customs block
HS Code Block — reference only; final duty = PENDING official lookup at time of import
HS / HTSUS heading
Description
Duty treatment
Reference
8541.43 (HTSUS)
Photovoltaic cells and panels (assembled into modules)
PENDING — General Rate and Section 301 / FTA applicability must be verified for bill of lading date and country of origin
For EU-bound projects the equivalent combined-nomenclature reference is Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (Battery Regulation) as a CELEX-anchored source; verify the current TARIC measure at the European Commission TARIC consultation page for the 10-digit TARIC code applying on the date of import. UN transport classification: IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) programme page, and the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria Section 38.3, applies to lithium-ion batteries carried alongside the modules, not to the modules themselves. Wood packaging for sea freight must meet IPPC ISPM 15.
Disclaimer: TradVolt does not assert duty rates as fact. Rates change annually and may differ by FTA, anti-dumping / countervailing orders, Section 301 status of origin, or quota. The "PENDING" tag above is intentional; do not quote landed cost off this page.
7. Named sources used in this page
Source
Used for
Direct document URL
NREL — Best Practices for PV System Performance (Jordan & Kurtz, NREL/TP-5J00-79628)
Module degradation rate convention (0.5%/yr for c-Si) — §3 on c-Si degradation
NREL — U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System and Energy Storage Cost Benchmarks, With Minimum Sustainable Price Analysis: Q1 2024 (Ramasamy et al., NREL/TP-7A40-90811)
Cross-check on US utility-scale PV benchmark CAPEX bands
For the scenario as specified (3.0 MWp DC, Jinko Tiger Neo 3.0 (JKM-N-78HL4RBDV) + Sungrow SG125HT, US industrial-park site, 25-year horizon, 7.00% discount rate, Year-0 CAPEX 6,600,000 USD, no residual value, 80% self-consumption blended into a 0.096 USD/kWh revenue tariff, OPEX 49,500 USD Year-1 escalating 2.0%/yr), the scenario TCO returns NPV = −1,541,283.54 USD, IRR = 4.42%, simple payback 15.54 years, discounted payback = —, LCOE = 0.1451 USD/kWh. The project repays capital on an undiscounted basis around year 15.5 but does not repay capital on a discounted basis inside the horizon because IRR (4.42%) is below the 7.00% discount hurdle. The largest leverage point is CAPEX: a downward revision to the 3,000,000–3,900,000 USD CAPEX band, combined with site-specific yield validation and re-validated tariffs, should be the first actions before any RFQ commitment.
This use-case is for screening purposes only. Figures depend on site-specific solar resource, permitting, interconnection, financing terms, and current tariff schedules. TradVolt does not provide engineering, financial, or customs advice. Confirm all assumptions with qualified EPC, legal, and customs counsel before commercial commitment.