TRADVOLT — USE CASE / TCO

Logistics-Park Solar 6 MWp (Sea) — Use Case & TCO

6 MWp rooftop/ground-mount hybrid · sea-exposed logistics hub · 25-year horizon · CATL / Huawei / LONGi / Jinko / Sungrow / Growatt equipment family · evidence date 2026-01-15

Verdict (base case, computed): GO. NPV USD 1,546,849, IRR 10.92%, simple payback 8.57 yr, discounted payback 15.38 yr, LCOE 0.0814 USD/kWh (8.14¢) at 8.00% real WACC over 25 years.

Equipment: LONGi Hi-MO 9 / Jinko Tiger Neo 3.0 modules, Huawei SUN2000-330KTL-H1 string inverter family, Sungrow SG250HX (alt central), Growatt SPH 3000–6000 TL BH (aux), CATL EnerC storage (optional pairing, not in base-case TCO). Location: sea-exposed logistics hub (≤1.5 km from coastline, C5-M corrosivity per ISO 9223:2012). Horizon: 25 years. Discount rate: 8.00% real. Evidence date: 2026-01-15. Limitation: financial figures are computed by TradVolt's scenario TCO model from this scenario only and are not transferable to other sites; grid-tariff and PPA price are not embedded — substitute local tariff to convert LCOE into a procurement decision.

Decision metric	Base case value (computed)	Decision rule
NPV (USD)	1,546,849.17	GO if NPV > 0
IRR	0.1092 (10.92%)	GO if IRR > hurdle rate (8.00% real)
Simple payback (yr)	8.57	GO if ≤ project horizon / 3 (≈8.3 yr) — borderline; passes on NPV/IRR
Discounted payback (yr)	15.38	GO if ≤ 15 yr — borderline; passes on NPV/IRR
LCOE (USD/kWh)	0.0814	GO if site grid tariff or displaced retail rate > LCOE

1. Use-Case Profile

A 6 MWp solar plant installed at a logistics park within 1.5 km of a coastline. The installation combines rooftop on warehouses (~4 MWp) and ground-mount on adjacent paved/logistics yards (~2 MWp), feeding captive load (sortation, cold-chain where applicable, EV forklift charging, lighting, HVAC) and exporting the residual to the grid under a PPA or net-billing scheme.

Sea-exposed sites introduce specific cost uplifts and operational constraints: airborne chloride deposition accelerates corrosion of mounting structures, cabling conduits, inverters, and module frames; salt fog reduces soiling-cleaning intervals; high wind speeds demand enhanced anchoring; humidity shortens DC connector life. These factors increase the OPEX share of TCO relative to inland sites of the same capacity.

Typical Load Profile

Day-shift dominance: warehousing operations peak mid-morning to late afternoon, capturing solar generation directly.
Yard lighting and cold storage provide evening baseline load.
EV forklift charging and truck-grid charging add flexible load that aligns with midday generation.
Self-consumption ratio (SCR) typically 60–80% in this segment, depending on operating hours.

2. Equipment Family & OEM References (Sea-Site)

Item	Named OEM model / family	OEM product page (URL)	Sea-site relevance
PV modules (primary)	LONGi Hi-MO 9 (back-contact HPBC 2.0, up to 670 W)	https://www.longi.com/en/products/modules/hi-mo-9/	Dual-glass, salt-mist testing per IEC 61701 recommended for C5-M; PID resistant per IEC 62804-1.
PV modules (alt)	Jinko Solar Tiger Neo 3.0 N-type (JKM650–670N-66QL6-BDV, 650–670 W)	https://jinkosolarcdn.shwebspace.com/uploads/Tiger%20Neo%203.0%20Flyer.pdf	N-type TOPCon, IEC 61215-1:2021 / IEC 61730-1/-2 qualification; IEC 61701 salt-mist dossier on request.
String inverter (primary)	Huawei SUN2000-330KTL-H1 (300 kW, 1500 Vdc)	https://solar.huawei.com/en	IP66 enclosure, conformal-coated PCB; C5-M rating per Huawei product manual (revision confirmed at RFQ).
String inverter (alt)	Sungrow SG250HX (250 kW, 1500 Vdc)	https://www.sungrowpower.com/en	IP66, C5 corrosion class per Sungrow datasheet (revision confirmed at RFQ).
Hybrid/aux inverter (small)	Growatt SPH 3000–6000 TL BH	https://www.growatt.com/	Auxiliary loads / small office; not the main 6 MWp inverter chain.
Storage (optional, paired)	CATL EnerC 372.7 kWh cabinet	https://www.catl.com/en/ess/	Listed for completeness; not part of the base-case TCO below.
Mounting structure (example)	K2 Systems CrossRail System (pitched/flat-roof rail family)	https://k2-systems.com/en-us/product-solutions/crossrail-system/	C5-M coating selection per ISO 12944-6:2018; manual revision confirmed at RFQ.

Inverter torque, SOC, and DC voltage limits follow the linked OEM manuals at the cited revision (confirmed at RFQ for each awarded BOM). Module and inverter product pages are maker landing pages (JS-rendered); datasheet PDFs and manual revisions are released with each RFQ response. Site-specific derating (e.g., max DC Voc 1500 V, IP66 rating) is taken from those manuals, not from generic "string inverter" placeholders.

3. Input Table (Named Sources & Model Assumptions)

Parameter	Value	Unit	Source URL / assumption
Installed capacity (DC)	6.0	MWp	TradVolt r9 reference design (model assumption)
Capacity factor (sea-site)	16.5	%	EU PVGIS-SARAH2, coastal latitude band, tilt 20°, azimuth south
Sea-corrosion opex uplift	+35	% vs. inland	ISO 9223:2012 C5-M class (very high, marine) vs. C3 class, applied to OpEx per NREL/TP-7A20/83880 (2022)
Specific yield (year 1)	1,445	kWh/kWp/yr	Derived: 0.165 × 8,760 h (PVGIS)
Annual generation year 1 (gross)	8,670,000	kWh/yr	Derived: 6,000 × 1,445
Self-consumption ratio (SCR)	70	%	TradVolt logistics-segment benchmark (model assumption)
CapEx (year 0)	5,700,000 (≈0.95 USD/Wp)	USD	Scenario model input (see §4 cashflow year 0); benchmark band per IRENA (2025), Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2024
Discount rate (WACC)	8.0	% real	TradVolt logistics-segment hurdle (model assumption)
Project horizon	25	years	TradVolt default PV horizon (model assumption)
Decommissioning reserve	5	% of CapEx	IEA PVPS Task 12, end-of-life reserve convention
Inverter replacement	once in yr 13	—	Year-13 cost spike in the computed cashflow (see §5)

3.1 Bounded model assumptions (draft did not state; presented explicitly)

Assumption key	Bound used	Type
asset.pv.degradation_pct_per_year	0.50 %/yr linear	Model assumption (typical for N-type TOPCon / back-contact modules)
asset.pv.tariff_per_kwh	0.099 USD/kWh (base, displaced retail)	Model assumption — substitute site tariff before procurement
asset.pv.tariff_escalation_pct	1.50 %/yr (real-terms)	Model assumption
asset.pv.export_tariff_per_kwh	0.060 USD/kWh (export/PPA residual)	Model assumption — substitute site PPA before procurement
opex.escalation_pct	2.00 %/yr	Model assumption (consistent with computed cashflow OpEx progression y1→y12, y14→y25)

4. TCO Summary (scenario model Output — SCENARIO OUTPUTS)

TCO summary
Metric	Value
Currency	USD
Horizon (years)	25
Discount rate	8.00 %
Total undiscounted cost (USD)	9,431,190.54
Total discounted cost / PV of costs (USD)	7,235,455.01
Total undiscounted benefit (USD)	21,357,165.73
Total discounted benefit (USD)	8,782,304.18
NPV (USD)	1,546,849.17
IRR	0.1092
Simple payback (year)	8.57
Discounted payback (year)	15.38
LCOE (USD/kWh)	0.0814

All figures above were computed by the computed TradVolt TCO model from the input scenario in §3. They are computed for this scenario.

5. Year-by-Year Cash Flow (scenario model Output — SCENARIO OUTPUTS)

Year-by-year cash flow
Year	Cost (USD)	Benefit (USD)	Net (USD)	Discount factor	Discounted net (USD)	Energy (kWh)
0	5,700,000.00	0.0000	-5,700,000.00	1.00	-5,700,000.00	0.0000
1	111,900.00	756,891.00	644,991.00	0.9259	597,213.89	8,670,000.00
2	114,138.00	764,403.14	650,265.14	0.8573	557,497.55	8,626,650.00
3	116,420.76	771,989.84	655,569.08	0.7938	520,411.88	8,583,516.75
4	118,749.18	779,651.84	660,902.67	0.7350	485,783.19	8,540,599.17
5	121,124.16	787,389.89	666,265.73	0.6806	453,449.26	8,497,896.17
6	123,546.64	795,204.73	671,658.09	0.6302	423,258.53	8,455,406.69
7	126,017.57	803,097.14	677,079.57	0.5835	395,069.42	8,413,129.66
8	128,537.93	811,067.88	682,529.95	0.5403	368,749.70	8,371,064.01
9	131,108.68	819,117.73	688,009.04	0.5002	344,175.81	8,329,208.69
10	133,730.86	827,247.47	693,516.61	0.4632	321,232.38	8,287,562.64
11	136,405.48	835,457.90	699,052.43	0.4289	299,811.60	8,246,124.83
12	139,133.59	843,749.82	704,616.24	0.3971	279,812.80	8,204,894.21
13	573,916.26	852,124.04	278,207.78	0.3677	102,296.42	8,163,869.74
14	144,754.58	860,581.37	715,826.79	0.3405	243,711.13	8,123,050.39
15	147,649.67	869,122.64	721,472.97	0.3152	227,438.37	8,082,435.14
16	150,602.67	877,748.68	727,146.02	0.2919	212,246.99	8,042,022.96
17	153,614.72	886,460.34	732,845.62	0.2703	198,065.42	8,001,812.84
18	156,687.01	895,258.46	738,571.44	0.2502	184,826.79	7,961,803.78
19	159,820.76	904,143.90	744,323.14	0.2317	172,468.65	7,921,994.76
20	163,017.17	913,117.53	750,100.35	0.2145	160,932.69	7,882,384.79
21	166,277.51	922,180.22	755,902.70	0.1987	150,164.42	7,842,972.86
22	169,603.06	931,332.86	761,729.79	0.1839	140,112.96	7,803,758.00
23	172,995.13	940,576.33	767,581.21	0.1703	130,730.81	7,764,739.21
24	176,455.03	949,911.55	773,456.53	0.1577	121,973.58	7,725,915.51
25	-105,015.87	959,339.43	1,064,355.30	0.1460	155,414.93	7,687,285.94

Year 0 cost is the as-spent CapEx of USD 5,700,000. Year 13 carries the inverter-replacement spike in computed costs. Year 25 cost is negative due to the release of the decommissioning reserve (5% × CapEx = USD 285,000) net of the year-25 OpEx line. The computed cashflow is the only financial arithmetic on this page; any apparent recompute or alternative figure is model drift and must be ignored.

6. Procurement Levers (Sea-Site Specific)

Specify C5-M (very-high corrosivity, marine) rated mounting structures per ISO 12944-6:2018 — coating systems for atmospheric exposure.
Use IP68-rated DC connectors with seawater-resistant grommets; plan replacement at year 12 per the inverter maintenance schedule (revision confirmed at RFQ).
Prefer Huawei SUN2000-330KTL-H1 or Sungrow SG250HX — IP66, conformal-coated PCB, C5-M rated (see OEM product pages in §2).
Increase cleaning cadence to 6 cycles/year vs. 3–4 inland; budget in sea-uplift.
Specify wind-load engineering for sustained 35 m/s gusts; foundations engineered for sandy/coastal soils.
Pre-procure spare inverter strings to reduce mean-time-to-replace under salt-induced faults.
Require IEC 61701 salt-mist test report for modules (LONGi Hi-MO 9 / Jinko Tiger Neo 3.0 dossiers).

Get a Sea-Site Specific Quote

Submit your site coordinates, load profile, and grid-tariff context. TradVolt returns a sea-rated BOM (LONGi / Jinko modules, Huawei / Sungrow inverters, C5-M BoS) and an LCOE band in 5 business days.

Request RFQ — Logistics-Park Solar 6 MWp (Sea)

Mini Compliance & Certification Block

IEC 61215-1:2021 ed2 — Terrestrial PV modules, design qualification and type approval, Part 1: Test requirements (TC 82)
IEC 61215-1-1:2021 — Crystalline-silicon special requirements (TC 82)
IEC 61730-1:2016 ed2 — PV module safety qualification, Part 1: Requirements for construction (TC 82)
IEC 61730-2:2023 ed3 — PV module safety qualification, Part 2: Test requirements (TC 82)
IEC 62109-1:2010 — Safety of power converters for use in PV power systems, Part 1: General requirements (TC 82)
IEC 62109-2:2011 — Safety of power converters for use in PV power systems, Part 2: Particular requirements for inverters (TC 82)
IEC 62446-1:2016 — PV systems, requirements for testing, documentation and maintenance, Part 1: Grid connected systems (TC 82)
IEC 62485-5:2020 — Safety requirements for secondary batteries and battery installations, Part 5: Safe operation of stationary lithium-ion batteries (TC 21)
IEC 62619:2022 ed2 — Safety requirements for secondary lithium cells and batteries for use in industrial applications incl. stationary/ESS (TC 21/SC 21A)
IEC 63056:2020 — Safety requirements for secondary lithium cells and batteries for use in electrical energy storage systems (to 1500 V DC) (TC 21)
IEC 61701 salt-mist corrosion testing on PV modules (Severity 6 recommended for C5-M sites) — cite edition confirmed at RFQ via IEC Webstore
IEC 62804-1 PID resistance test methods — cite edition confirmed at RFQ via IEC Webstore
ISO 9223:2012 / ISO 12944-6:2018 — Corrosivity classification & protective coating systems (target C5-M)
UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Manual of Tests and Criteria, Rev.7 (ST/SG/AC.10/11/Rev.7), §38 — lithium battery transport (relevant only if CATL EnerC storage is paired); see UN canonical page
Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 — EU Battery Regulation (applies where paired storage is shipped into the EU)
Grid-code compliance: local DSO/TSO requirements (region-specific)

Certification status is project-specific. TradVolt provides the test-report dossier with each RFQ response; actual certificate scope must be verified against the awarded BOM.

HS / Customs Code Reference Block (EU TARIC & US HTSUS)

HS / HTS code	Description	Duty indicator
8541.43 (CN / EU TARIC)	Photovoltaic cells assembled in modules	Verify current duty and CBAM/Carbon Border status at EU TARIC consultation before import commitment
8541.40 (US HTSUS)	Photosensitive semiconductor devices (incl. PV cells)	Verify per USITC HTS; duty depends on chapter notes
8504.40 (HTSUS / CN)	Static converters (inverters)	Verify per USITC HTS and EU TARIC
7308.20	Towers, lattice masts — steel structures (mounting)	Verify per USITC HTS
7610.90	Aluminum structures and parts (mounting)	Verify per USITC HTS
8544.42	Electric conductors, fitted with connectors (DC cabling)	Verify per USITC HTS
8507.60 (storage only)	Lithium-ion accumulators (CATL EnerC cabinets)	Verify per USITC HTS; transport per UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, Rev.7 (ST/SG/AC.10/11/Rev.7), §38; and Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 if EU-destined
Any destination	—	Lookup via UK Global Tariff, Japan Customs, Australian Border Force, South African Revenue Service, Ghana Revenue Authority, Uganda Revenue Authority, Turkey Ministry of Trade as applicable

Lookup instructions: Confirm the applicable HS code at the 6-digit level in the destination customs tariff (EU TARIC, US HTSUS, Indian ITC-HS, GCC ATIGA). National tariffs may differ by 1–2 digits or add chapter notes that override the base code. Always cross-check with your licensed customs broker. Disclaimer: Duty rates above are not asserted by TradVolt as facts. Final applicable duty depends on country of origin, country of destination, FTA/EPA preferences, anti-dumping measures, CBAM status, and any temporary suspension in force at the time of entry. Verify with the national customs authority or your broker before procurement commitment.

7. Sources & Methodology Notes

IRENA (2025), Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2024 — utility-scale PV CapEx benchmark.
NREL/TP-7A20/83880 (2022), U.S. Utility-Scale PV O&M Cost Benchmark — OpEx, insurance, inverter replacement.
IEA PVPS Task 12 — decommissioning reserve convention.
ISO 9223:2012 / ISO 12944-6:2018 — corrosivity classification & coating systems.
EU PVGIS-SARAH2 (JRC) — long-term yield reanalysis, coastal latitude band.
Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 — EU Battery Regulation.
UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Manual of Tests and Criteria, Rev.7 (ST/SG/AC.10/11/Rev.7) — §38 for lithium battery transport (CATL EnerC).
EU TARIC consultation — HS/duty lookup tool.
USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule search — US HS/duty lookup tool.
IATA Dangerous Goods (DGR) — air-transport classification reference.
IPPC ISPMs — incl. ISPM 15 wood packaging.
ICC Incoterms 2020 — official rules.
TradVolt internal logistics-segment benchmarks (r9 reference design) — model assumption, not a public dataset.

Sea-corrosion uplift (+35% OpEx base) maps ISO 9223 C5-M class to logistics-park context per NREL/TP-7A20/83880 (2022). Validate against local corrosion surveys before procurement commitment.