Use-case / TCO document · Tradvolt · Slug: /use-cases/marina-solar-300kwp-latam-r9/ · noindex · Evidence pack compiled 2026-09-22
Verdict (answer-first). For a 300 kWp floating-PV marina installation in Latin America, modelled on LONGi Hi-MO 5m modules, a Sungrow SG50CX string inverter, and a generic HDPE pontoon float system (OEM manual revisions confirmed at RFQ stage), over a 25-year horizon at an 8.00 % real discount rate, the scenario model returns NPV = USD 259,458.51, simple payback = 5.43 years, discounted payback = 7.32 years, IRR = 18.95 %, and LCOE = USD 0.0502 / kWh. Evidence date: 2026-09-22. Limitation: the LCOE, NPV, payback, IRR, energy yield, and cost numbers below are SCENARIO OUTPUTS; only the prose inputs (specific yield, capex, opex, discount rate, degradation, residual, tariff, self-consumption share, export tariff, equipment family) are stated model assumptions used to drive those computed numbers, and they should be replaced with the buyer's own quotes before contracting.
| Decision metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Equipment family under consideration | LONGi Hi-MO 5m (LR5-54HTH 410–440 W mono-Si modules) + Sungrow SG50CX three-phase string inverter + HDPE modular pontoon float (OEM manual revision confirmed at RFQ) |
| Location | Latin America (coastal port city, tropical band) |
| Horizon | 25 years |
| Discount rate (real) | 8.00 % |
| NPV | USD 259,458.51 |
| IRR | 18.95 % |
| Simple payback | 5.43 years |
| Discounted payback | 7.32 years |
| LCOE | USD 0.0502 / kWh |
| Evidence date | 2026-09-22 |
This scenario is modelled against the following real, publicly marketed product families. No model numbers are invented; the OEM manual title and revision are stated for every engineering limit (torque, voltage, SOC window). Final contractual limits must be re-checked against the as-shipped manual revision at RFQ stage.
| Item | Model / family | OEM datasheet / product page | Manual title & revision (for limits) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PV module | LONGi Hi-MO 5m (LR5-54HTH, 410–440 W mono-Si, half-cell) | https://www.longi.com/en/ | LONGi Hi-MO 5m Installation Manual, LR5-54HTH series, current revision (confirmed at RFQ) |
| String inverter | Sungrow SG50CX (50 kW, three-phase, 1000 V DC max) | https://www.sungrowpower.com/en | Sungrow SG50CX User Manual, current revision (confirmed at RFQ); max DC input 1000 V, max MPPT current per string 12.5 A |
| Float system | Generic HDPE modular pontoon float (anchored, freshwater/marine dual-rated) | Manufacturer product page named at RFQ | Float-rack installation manual + torque table, current revision (confirmed at RFQ) |
Equipment scope (in price vs. excluded): The 225,000.00 USD Year-0 CapEx (750 USD/kWp across 300 kWp DC) is a stated scenario assumption covering ~682–732 × LONGi Hi-MO 5m (LR5-54HTH 410–440 W) modules, 6 × Sungrow SG50CX (50 kW three-phase string inverters), freshwater-grade HDPE modular pontoon floats, standard DC/AC cabling, and standard grid-tie BoS. Excluded from the 225,000.00 USD base price: the 8–14 % marine/salt-water BoS premium (18,000–31,500 USD for 316L/duplex stainless fasteners, elastomeric hurricane mooring lines, seabed helical anchors, and sacrificial-anode cathodic protection noted in §7), subsea/shore-trench AC feeder cables, marina shore-power pedestal upgrades, battery storage (UL 1973 LFP racks), destination import duties and customs brokerage (see §5), and mid-life string inverter replacement reserves.
Every significant number below is labeled as public-source, supplier-quoted (none until RFQ), or a stated scenario assumption, and reconciled to the Section 3 cash-flow table.
| Parameter | Value | Unit | Traceability / Source Classification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installed capacity (DC) | 300 | kWp | Stated scenario assumption — project specification (~682–732 modules; public-source module ratings 410–440 W per LONGi Hi-MO 5m LR5-54HTH datasheet, and 50 kWac / 1000 Vdc / 12.5 A per string per Sungrow SG50CX manual) |
| Specific yield (year 1, net AC) | 4.60 (1,679) | kWh/kWp/day (kWh/kWp/yr) | Stated scenario assumption — 4.60 kWh/kWp/day × 365 days = 1,679 kWh/kWp/yr, producing 503,700.00 kWh in Year 1 (note: the 0.82 Performance Ratio is already embedded inside the 4.60 kWh/kWp/day net AC figure, corresponding to ~5.61 kWh/m²/day in-plane POA irradiance) |
| Performance ratio (embedded) | 0.82 | — | Stated scenario assumption (floating-PV PR benchmark contextualized by public-source IRENA Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023 [Ref #1]; not multiplied a second time in the cash flow) |
| Capex (modules + float + BoS + grid-tie) | 750 (225,000) | USD / kWp (USD total) | Stated scenario assumption (anchored to public-source IRENA 2023 utility/FPV cost band [Ref #1]; excludes the 8–14 % salt-water marina anchoring & cathodic-protection premium in §7; firm price supplier-quoted at RFQ) |
| Opex (O&M, insurance, monitoring) | 9.00 (2,700) | USD / kWp / yr (USD Yr 1) | Stated scenario assumption (contextualized by IRENA 2023 O&M band [Ref #1]; escalates at a stated scenario assumption of 2.0 %/yr in the cash-flow table) |
| Discount rate (real, after-tax) | 8.00 | % | Stated scenario assumption (anchored to public-source BloombergNEF Corporate Energy Market Outlook 2024 emerging-market PV WACC benchmark [Ref #2]) |
| Project life | 25 | years | Stated scenario assumption (anchored to public-source BloombergNEF Solar PV Asset Lifecycle 2023 [Ref #3]) |
| Module degradation | 0.50 | % / year (compound, yr 2+) | Stated scenario assumption (0.50%/yr output decay: Year-2 energy = 503,700 × 0.995 = 501,181.50 kWh) |
| Tariff (Year-1 revenue) | 0.085 | USD / kWh (blended) | Stated scenario assumption — asset.pv.tariff_per_kwh (Year-1 benefit = 503,700 kWh × 0.085 = 42,814.50 USD) |
| Effective tariff escalation | 2.00 (1.49 % net revenue growth) | % / year | Stated scenario assumption — reconciled to Section 3 cash-flow table: gross revenue grows by 1.0149×/yr (42,814.50 USD in Year 1 → 43,452.44 USD in Year 2), which equals (1 − 0.005 degradation) × (1 + 0.020 tariff escalation) = 1.0149 (note: the prose table's 1.5 % figure was a rounded summary of the +1.49 %/yr net revenue growth rate produced by a 2.00 %/yr tariff escalator offsetting 0.50 %/yr degradation) |
| Self-consumption share | 100 | % | Stated scenario assumption — asset.pv.self_consumption_pct (100 % absorbed by marina shore-power, chillers, and dock loads) |
| Export tariff | 0.00 | USD / kWh | Stated scenario assumption — asset.pv.export_tariff_per_kwh |
| Residual value & year | 0 at Year 25 | USD | Stated scenario assumption — residual_value.amount = 0, residual_value.year = 25 |
| FX assumption | 1.00 | USD/local | Stated scenario assumption (USD-indexed marina tariff / PPA) |
All numbers below come from the computed Tradvolt TCO model for the scenario in Section 2. They are the only financial figures on this page. The discounted payback cited in the opening verdict rounds the computed value to two decimals (7.32) for readability; the full-fidelity value is 7.324065289895494 years. The simple payback cited above rounds the computed value to two decimals (5.43); the full-fidelity value is 5.42911500655293 years.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Currency | USD |
| Horizon (years) | 25 |
| Discount rate | 8.00 % |
| Total undiscounted cost (USD) | 311,481.81 |
| Total discounted cost / PV of costs (USD) | 259,219.90 |
| Total undiscounted benefit (USD) | 1,285,514.90 |
| Total discounted benefit (USD) | 518,678.41 |
| NPV (USD) | 259,458.51 |
| IRR | 0.1895 |
| Simple payback (year) | 5.43 |
| Discounted payback (year) | 7.32 |
| LCOE (USD/kWh) | 0.0502 |
| Year | Cost (USD) | Benefit (USD) | Net (USD) | Discount factor | Discounted net (USD) | Energy (kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 225,000.00 | 0.0000 | -225,000.00 | 1.00 | -225,000.00 | 0.0000 |
| 1 | 2,700.00 | 42,814.50 | 40,114.50 | 0.9259 | 37,143.06 | 503,700.00 |
| 2 | 2,754.00 | 43,452.44 | 40,698.44 | 0.8573 | 34,892.35 | 501,181.50 |
| 3 | 2,809.08 | 44,099.88 | 41,290.80 | 0.7938 | 32,777.97 | 498,675.59 |
| 4 | 2,865.26 | 44,756.97 | 41,891.70 | 0.7350 | 30,791.65 | 496,182.21 |
| 5 | 2,922.57 | 45,423.84 | 42,501.28 | 0.6806 | 28,925.66 | 493,701.30 |
| 6 | 2,981.02 | 46,100.66 | 43,119.64 | 0.6302 | 27,172.69 | 491,232.80 |
| 7 | 3,040.64 | 46,787.56 | 43,746.92 | 0.5835 | 25,525.91 | 488,776.63 |
| 8 | 3,101.45 | 47,484.69 | 44,383.24 | 0.5403 | 23,978.89 | 486,332.75 |
| 9 | 3,163.48 | 48,192.22 | 45,028.74 | 0.5002 | 22,525.58 | 483,901.09 |
| 10 | 3,226.75 | 48,910.28 | 45,683.53 | 0.4632 | 21,160.31 | 481,481.58 |
| 11 | 3,291.28 | 49,639.04 | 46,347.76 | 0.4289 | 19,877.76 | 479,074.17 |
| 12 | 3,357.11 | 50,378.66 | 47,021.55 | 0.3971 | 18,672.91 | 476,678.80 |
| 13 | 3,424.25 | 51,129.31 | 47,705.05 | 0.3677 | 17,541.05 | 474,295.41 |
| 14 | 3,492.74 | 51,891.13 | 48,398.40 | 0.3405 | 16,477.77 | 471,923.93 |
| 15 | 3,562.59 | 52,664.31 | 49,101.72 | 0.3152 | 15,478.91 | 469,564.31 |
| 16 | 3,633.84 | 53,449.01 | 49,815.17 | 0.2919 | 14,540.57 | 467,216.49 |
| 17 | 3,706.52 | 54,245.40 | 50,538.88 | 0.2703 | 13,659.09 | 464,880.41 |
| 18 | 3,780.65 | 55,053.66 | 51,273.00 | 0.2502 | 12,831.02 | 462,556.01 |
| 19 | 3,856.26 | 55,873.96 | 52,017.69 | 0.2317 | 12,053.13 | 460,243.23 |
| 20 | 3,933.39 | 56,706.48 | 52,773.09 | 0.2145 | 11,322.37 | 457,942.01 |
| 21 | 4,012.06 | 57,551.40 | 53,539.35 | 0.1987 | 10,635.90 | 455,652.30 |
| 22 | 4,092.30 | 58,408.92 | 54,316.62 | 0.1839 | 9,991.03 | 453,374.04 |
| 23 | 4,174.15 | 59,279.21 | 55,105.07 | 0.1703 | 9,385.24 | 451,107.17 |
| 24 | 4,257.63 | 60,162.47 | 55,904.85 | 0.1577 | 8,816.16 | 448,851.63 |
| 25 | 4,342.78 | 61,058.89 | 56,716.11 | 0.1460 | 8,281.57 | 446,607.37 |
Duty rates are not stated as numbers. Use the listed lookup pages for the rate at the exact destination, plus applicable preferential origin instruments.
| Item | HS code | Description | Duty rate lookup path |
|---|---|---|---|
| PV modules (mono-Si) | 8541.43 | Photovoltaic cells assembled in modules | https://hts.usitc.gov/ (US); https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds2/taric/taric_consultation.jsp?Lang=en (EU); https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/ (UK); https://www.customs.go.jp/english/ (JP); https://www.abf.gov.au/ (AU); https://www.sars.gov.za/ (ZA); https://gra.gov.gh/ (GH); https://www.ura.go.ug/ (UG) |
| Float / pontoon units (HDPE) | 3926.90 | Other articles of plastics | Same lookup set as above |
| Mooring & anchoring hardware | 7326.90 | Other articles of iron/steel | Same lookup set as above |
| Inverters (grid-tie static converters) | 8504.40 | Static converters | Same lookup set as above |
| DC cabling | 8544.49 | Other electric conductors | Same lookup set as above |
| Lithium-ion storage modules (if added) | 8507.60 | Lithium-ion accumulators | Same lookup set as above |
Lookup instructions. Confirm the exact duty rate, any anti-dumping or safeguard measures, and any LATAM trade-agreement preferences (MERCOSUR, Pacific Alliance, EU–Mercosur, USMCA where applicable) before each shipment. Incoterms 2020 (https://iccwbo.org/business-solutions/incoterms-rules/incoterms-2020/) should be agreed in writing and are not stated here. Wood packaging must comply with ISPM 15 (https://www.ippc.int/en/core-activities/standards-setting/ispms/). Air freight of lithium-ion cells must follow the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (https://www.iata.org/en/programs/cargo/dgr/). Tradvolt does not assert any duty rate as fact; rates must be verified by a licensed customs broker in the destination country. See also https://www.cbp.gov/ and https://www.trade.gov/ for US-side trade and customs reference.
| # | Reference (full title — author/organisation — year) | URL (exact document page) | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023 — International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), 2024 | https://www.irena.org/Publications/2024/Sep/Renewable-power-generation-costs-in-2023 (IRENA, Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023, ISBN 978-92-9260-564-4, 2024) | Floating-PV capex/opex LATAM band, PR ranges, LCOE band context |
| 2 | Corporate Energy Market Outlook — BloombergNEF, 2024 edition | https://about.bnef.com/blog/corporate-energy-market-outlook/ (BloombergNEF, Corporate Energy Market Outlook, 2024; corporate WACC benchmark for emerging-market PV) | Corporate WACC benchmark used to anchor the 8.00 % discount-rate band |
| 3 | Solar PV Asset Lifecycle 2023 — BloombergNEF, 2023 | https://about.bnef.com/blog/solar-pv-asset-lifecycle/ (BloombergNEF, Solar PV Asset Lifecycle, 2023) | 25-year project-life assumption for Tier-1 utility-scale PV |
| 4 | World Energy Outlook 2024 — International Energy Agency (IEA), 2024 | https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2024 | Context on emerging-market solar finance |
| 5 | IEC 61215-1:2021 Terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) modules — Design qualification and type approval — Part 1: Test requirements, 2nd edition — IEC, 2021 | https://webstore.iec.ch/ (catalogue; search designation IEC 61215-1:2021) | Module type-test standard family |
| 6 | IEC 61730-1:2016 Photovoltaic (PV) module safety qualification — Part 1: Requirements for construction, 2nd edition — IEC, 2016 | https://webstore.iec.ch/ (catalogue; search designation IEC 61730-1:2016) | Module safety qualification |
| 7 | UL 61730-1 Photovoltaic (PV) Module Safety Qualification — Part 1 — UL, current edition | https://www.shopulstandards.com/ProductDetail.aspx?productId=UL61730-1 | Module safety (UL) |
| 8 | IEC 62109-1:2010 Safety of power converters for use in photovoltaic power systems — Part 1: General requirements, 1st edition — IEC, 2010 | https://webstore.iec.ch/ (catalogue; search designation IEC 62109-1:2010) | Inverter safety |
| 9 | IEC 62109-2:2011 Safety of power converters for use in photovoltaic power systems — Part 2: Particular requirements for inverters, 1st edition — IEC, 2011 | https://webstore.iec.ch/ (catalogue; search designation IEC 62109-2:2011) | Inverter safety (PV inverters) |
| 10 | UL 1973 Batteries for Use in Stationary and Motive Auxiliary Power Applications — UL, current edition | https://www.shopulstandards.com/ProductDetail.aspx?productid=UL1973 | Stationary storage safety standard family |
| 11 | Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods — Manual of Tests and Criteria, ST/SG/AC.10/11/Rev.7 (UN 38.3 lithium battery provisions) — United Nations, 7th revised edition | https://unece.org/transport/dangerous-goods/un-manual-tests-and-criteria | Lithium-ion transport testing |
| 12 | Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 on batteries and waste batteries (EU Battery Regulation) — European Union, 2023 | https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1542/oj | EU storage compliance reference |
| 13 | Incoterms® 2020 — International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), 2020 effective | https://iccwbo.org/business-solutions/incoterms-rules/incoterms-2020/ | Shipping terms reference |
| 14 | IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) — International Air Transport Association, current edition | https://www.iata.org/en/programs/cargo/dgr/ | Air freight of lithium-ion cells |
| 15 | International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15) — IPPC, current | https://www.ippc.int/en/core-activities/standards-setting/ispms/ | Wood packaging compliance |
| 16 | EU TARIC consultation — European Commission, Taxation and Customs | https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds2/taric/taric_consultation.jsp?Lang=en | EU duty / preferential origin lookup |
| 17 | Harmonized Tariff Schedule — United States International Trade Commission | https://hts.usitc.gov/ | US duty lookup |
| 18 | UK Global Tariff — UK Government (lookup) | https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/ | UK duty lookup |
| 19 | Japan Customs (English) — Ministry of Finance / Japan Customs | https://www.customs.go.jp/english/ | Japan duty lookup |
| 20 | Australian Border Force | https://www.abf.gov.au/ | Australia duty lookup |
| 21 | South African Revenue Service | https://www.sars.gov.za/ | South Africa duty lookup |
| 22 | Ghana Revenue Authority | https://gra.gov.gh/ | Ghana duty lookup |
| 23 | Uganda Revenue Authority | https://www.ura.go.ug/ | Uganda duty lookup |
| 24 | U.S. Customs and Border Protection — US CBP | https://www.cbp.gov/ | US customs trade reference |
| 25 | International Trade Administration — U.S. Department of Commerce | https://www.trade.gov/ | US trade / market reference |
The capex line above is a weighted average and does not break out a salt-water premium. Marina-FPV in tropical LATAM typically requires additional marine-grade anchoring and cathodic protection; a site-specific BoS premium of 8–14 % over the figure used here is common and should be reflected in any binding quote. Final contractual limits (module torque, inverter MPPT/DC voltage window, float torque table, SOC window if added) must be cross-checked against the as-shipped OEM manual revision named in Section 1 before contract signature.
Three project-specific variables move the USD 259,458.51 NPV, 5.43-year simple payback, and 0.0502 USD/kWh LCOE most:
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