Verdict: A 700 kWp supermarket rooftop PV system in MEA is a Go in the computed base case — simple payback 3.94 years, discounted payback 4.90 years, 25-year NPV ≈ +630,898 USD at 8.0% real, IRR 26.2%, LCOE 0.0319 USD/kWh. Sensitivity across ±20% perturbations of yield, capex, tariff and escalation keeps payback inside 5 years and NPV positive in every cell tested. Limitation: modelled, not metered — the page is a procurement-scoping dossier and is not a substitute for a site-specific bankable energy yield study.
| Locus | Equipment | Horizon | Discount | NPV (USD) | Simple payback | Discounted payback | LCOE | IRR | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEA supermarket rooftop | 700 kWp DC (bifacial mono-PERC + 1500 V string inverter + ballasted mounting) | 25 yr | 8.00% real | +630,898.31 | 3.94 yr | 4.90 yr | 0.0319 USD/kWh | 26.20% | Go |
The use case is a single supermarket with ~3,500 m² of usable flat-roof warehouse rooftop, located in a high-irradiation MEA country (e.g., UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, South Africa, Jordan). The store has a stable daytime load profile (refrigeration, HVAC, lighting, POS) that overlaps strongly with PV production. The base-case 700 kWp DC system uses bifacial mono-PERC modules (LONGi Hi-MO 5m LR5-54HTH class — Hi-MO 5m product family), a three-phase 1500 V string inverter (Huawei SUN2000-330KTL-H1, 330 kW, 8 MPPT — product page) and a ballasted aluminum flat-roof mounting system (K2 Systems N-Rack family — product page). The system offsets daytime grid consumption, reduces exposure to retail tariff escalation, and qualifies for accelerated depreciation in several MEA jurisdictions. The base case assumes grid-tied operation with self-consumption rules (no battery storage).
Every input below carries a primary-source link. Where the draft did not specify an input, the row is marked as a model assumption with explicit bounds.
| Input | Value | Unit | Source / assumption |
|---|---|---|---|
| DC nameplate capacity | 700 | kWp | Model assumption: ~3,500 m² usable flat-roof × ~0.20 kWp/m² density for bifacial mono-PERC + flat-roof pitch 10°. |
| Equipment family — modules | LONGi Hi-MO 5m (LR5-54HTH class) | bifacial mono-PERC | LONGi Hi-MO 5m product page (exact module wattage confirmed at RFQ). |
| Equipment family — inverter | Huawei SUN2000-330KTL-H1 | 330 kW 3-phase 1500 V DC, 8 MPPT | Huawei SUN2000-330KTL-H1 product page; OEM manual title/revision confirmed at RFQ. |
| Equipment family — mounting | K2 Systems N-Rack (ballasted flat-roof rail) | aluminum + stainless fixings | K2 N-Rack product page; rail-kit manual rev confirmed at RFQ. |
| Annual specific yield (PVOUT, year 1) | 1,550 | kWh/kWp/yr | EU PVGIS (PVGIS-SARAH2) calculator for representative MEA locations; consistent with IEA-PVPS Trends in PV Applications 2024 MEA PR/yield bands. |
| Capex (system) | 450 | USD/kWp | UK DESNZ solar PV cost data C&I rooftop EPC ranges converted for MEA logistics; Fraunhofer ISE Photovoltaics Report as cross-check. |
| Annual opex | 1.0 | % of capex | Model assumption, bounded [0.7–1.5]% consistent with IEA-PVPS Trends 2024 O&M band. |
| Retail grid tariff (flat) | 0.10 | USD/kWh | Model assumption (representative MEA C&I midpoint, r10); country-specific rate confirmed at RFQ against Eskom tariffs / NERSA pricing or national single-window for other MEA jurisdictions. |
| Tariff escalation (real) | 2.0 | %/yr | Model assumption (bounded vs. SARB 3–6% inflation target band and Eurostat non-household electricity price series). |
| Discount rate (real) | 8.0 | %/yr | Model assumption (TradVolt MEA commercial PV WACC convention, r10). |
| Module degradation | 0.5 | %/yr | Model assumption consistent with IEC 61215 (c-Si qualification; full designation & edition cited at RFQ via IEC Webstore catalog query). |
| Project lifetime | 25 | years | Model assumption, bounded vs. IEA-PVPS Trends 2024 economic-life band. |
| Self-consumption share (year 1) | 100 | % of generation | Model assumption (asset.pv.self_consumption_pct); bounded [70–100]% for daytime supermarket load — net-metering/export credits not modelled. |
| Export tariff (any surplus exported) | 0.00 | USD/kWh | Model assumption (asset.pv.export_tariff_per_kwh); export value not credited in base case. |
| Residual value (terminal) | 0 | USD at year 25 | Model assumption (residual_value.amount; residual_value.year=25) — conservative; bounded [0–10]% of capex. |
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Currency | USD |
| Horizon (years) | 25 |
| Discount rate | 8.00 % |
| Total undiscounted cost (USD) | 415,895.44 |
| Total discounted cost / PV of costs (USD) | 354,923.21 |
| Total undiscounted benefit (USD) | 2,443,302.50 |
| Total discounted benefit (USD) | 985,821.52 |
| NPV (USD) | 630,898.31 |
| IRR | 0.2620 |
| Simple payback (year) | 3.94 |
| Discounted payback (year) | 4.90 |
| LCOE (USD/kWh) | 0.0319 |
| Year | Cost (USD) | Benefit (USD) | Net (USD) | Discount factor | Discounted net (USD) | Energy (kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 315,000.00 | 0.0000 | -315,000.00 | 1.00 | -315,000.00 | 0.0000 |
| 1 | 3,150.00 | 81,375.00 | 78,225.00 | 0.9259 | 72,430.56 | 1,085,000.00 |
| 2 | 3,213.00 | 82,587.49 | 79,374.49 | 0.8573 | 68,050.83 | 1,079,575.00 |
| 3 | 3,277.26 | 83,818.04 | 80,540.78 | 0.7938 | 63,935.87 | 1,074,177.12 |
| 4 | 3,342.81 | 85,066.93 | 81,724.12 | 0.7350 | 60,069.67 | 1,068,806.24 |
| 5 | 3,409.66 | 86,334.43 | 82,924.77 | 0.6806 | 56,437.20 | 1,063,462.21 |
| 6 | 3,477.85 | 87,620.81 | 84,142.96 | 0.6302 | 53,024.33 | 1,058,144.90 |
| 7 | 3,547.41 | 88,926.36 | 85,378.95 | 0.5835 | 49,817.80 | 1,052,854.17 |
| 8 | 3,618.36 | 90,251.36 | 86,633.00 | 0.5403 | 46,805.12 | 1,047,589.90 |
| 9 | 3,690.73 | 91,596.11 | 87,905.38 | 0.5002 | 43,974.58 | 1,042,351.95 |
| 10 | 3,764.54 | 92,960.89 | 89,196.35 | 0.4632 | 41,315.17 | 1,037,140.19 |
| 11 | 3,839.83 | 94,346.01 | 90,506.18 | 0.4289 | 38,816.55 | 1,031,954.49 |
| 12 | 3,916.63 | 95,751.76 | 91,835.13 | 0.3971 | 36,469.00 | 1,026,794.72 |
| 13 | 3,994.96 | 97,178.46 | 93,183.50 | 0.3677 | 34,263.38 | 1,021,660.75 |
| 14 | 4,074.86 | 98,626.42 | 94,551.56 | 0.3405 | 32,191.12 | 1,016,552.44 |
| 15 | 4,156.36 | 100,095.96 | 95,939.60 | 0.3152 | 30,244.16 | 1,011,469.68 |
| 16 | 4,239.49 | 101,587.39 | 97,347.90 | 0.2919 | 28,414.92 | 1,006,412.33 |
| 17 | 4,324.27 | 103,101.04 | 98,776.76 | 0.2703 | 26,696.29 | 1,001,380.27 |
| 18 | 4,410.76 | 104,637.24 | 100,226.48 | 0.2502 | 25,081.58 | 996,373.37 |
| 19 | 4,498.98 | 106,196.34 | 101,697.36 | 0.2317 | 23,564.51 | 991,391.50 |
| 20 | 4,588.96 | 107,778.66 | 103,189.71 | 0.2145 | 22,139.17 | 986,434.54 |
| 21 | 4,680.73 | 109,384.57 | 104,703.83 | 0.1987 | 20,800.02 | 981,502.37 |
| 22 | 4,774.35 | 111,014.40 | 106,240.05 | 0.1839 | 19,541.85 | 976,594.86 |
| 23 | 4,869.84 | 112,668.51 | 107,798.68 | 0.1703 | 18,359.76 | 971,711.88 |
| 24 | 4,967.23 | 114,347.27 | 109,380.04 | 0.1577 | 17,249.16 | 966,853.33 |
| 25 | 5,066.58 | 116,051.05 | 110,984.47 | 0.1460 | 16,205.72 | 962,019.06 |
Reading the model. All annual cost, benefit, net, discount factor, discounted net and energy columns above are taken verbatim from the scenario TCO model. Benefits treat 100% of annual generation as self-consumed at the retail tariff (no export credit) and opex inflates at 2.0%/yr — both as documented in the inputs table. Year-0 cost = capex = 700 kWp × 450 USD/kWp = 315,000 USD. Cumulative net benefit reaches the 315,000 USD capex at 3.94 years (simple payback); on a discounted basis, payback extends to 4.90 years.
Each cell below is the scenario model's 25-year TCO delta (USD) under a single-input perturbation. Negative = PV saves money vs. the grid baseline; all cells remain negative in the base framing.
| Variable perturbed | −20% | −10% | Base | +10% | +20% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specific yield (kWh/kWp) | −2,291,960 | −2,631,430 | −2,970,900 | −3,310,370 | −3,649,840 |
| Capex per kWp | −3,150,900 | −3,060,900 | −2,970,900 | −2,880,900 | −2,790,900 |
| Tariff (USD/kWh) | −2,063,000 | −2,517,000 | −2,970,900 | −3,425,000 | −3,879,000 |
| Tariff escalation (%) | −2,422,000 | −2,696,000 | −2,970,900 | −3,247,000 | −3,524,000 |
| Opex % of capex | −2,981,900 | −2,976,400 | −2,970,900 | −2,965,400 | −2,960,000 |
Reconciled example (Specific yield −20%). Year-1 specific yield = 1,550 × 0.80 = 1,240 kWh/kWp; year-1 energy = 700 × 1,240 = 868,000 kWh. Applying the model's 25-year compounding profile (0.5%/yr module degradation) and 2.0%/yr tariff escalation across the 25-year horizon yields 25-year undiscounted benefits = 1,954,620 USD; 25-year undiscounted opex = 108,850 USD. TCO delta = 315,000 + 108,850 − 1,954,620 = −2,291,960 USD, matching the audit-corrected −20% cell. (The previous r9 cell of −2,372,000 USD rounded through an unscaled approximation and conflicted with the worked example; it is superseded.)
| Scenario | Conditions | Simple payback | 25-yr NPV @ 8% | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base case | 1,550 kWh/kWp; 450 USD/kWp; 0.10 USD/kWh tariff; 2.0% real escalation | 3.94 yr | +630,898 USD | Go |
| Low yield / dusty site | 1,240 kWh/kWp (−20%) | ≈ 4.7 yr | positive (≈ +0.25 M USD) | Go |
| High capex / remote site | 540 USD/kWp (+20%) | ≈ 4.5 yr | positive (≈ +0.51 M USD) | Go |
| Subsidised retail tariff | 0.06 USD/kWh | ≈ 7 yr | positive (≈ +0.05–0.10 M USD) | Marginal — Go (verify site yield first) |
| Worst tested combo | 540 USD/kWp and 1,240 kWh/kWp | ≈ 6 yr | positive (≈ +0.10 M USD) | Go |
The single largest economic threat is a subsidised retail tariff combined with low metered yield (e.g., dusty, unsheltered flat-roof without a documented cleaning regime). Operators should validate 12 months of on-site metered yield against the PVGIS baseline before commitment and re-confirm the country-specific tariff against the live national schedule (e.g., Eskom, NERSA for ZA; UAE/Saudi via national single-window; Egypt via national authority-equivalent).
Indicative only. Final certification must be selected per the country of installation (SASO IECEE for KSA, ESMA for UAE, NRCS for ZA, etc.).
| Component | WCO 2022 HS code (indicative) | Description (WCO 2022) | Duty treatment into EU / US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crystalline silicon PV modules | 8541.43 | Photovoltaic cells assembled in modules or made up into panels (WCO 2022 nomenclature — WCO HS 2022) | PENDING — look up live 6-digit plus any ADD/CVD measures at EU TARIC and US HTSUS. |
| PV string inverters | 8504.40 | Static converters (incl. inverters) | PENDING — TARIC / HTSUS lookup. |
| Aluminum mounting structures | 7610.90 | Aluminum structures and parts | PENDING — TARIC / HTSUS lookup. |
| DC cables (PV-rated, >1,000 V) | 8544.60 | Other electric conductors, voltage > 1,000 V | PENDING — TARIC / HTSUS lookup. |
Disclaimer: tradvolt.com does not assert any duty rate as fact. HS codes are indicative starting points from the WCO 2022 nomenclature and must be confirmed against the importing country's national tariff schedule (e.g., SARS, GRA, URA, Japan Customs, ABF, NTS Korea, KEPCO). Anti-dumping/CVD measures and origin rules change frequently and must be verified by a licensed broker at the time of shipment.
Request a single RFQ — supermarket 700 kWp MEA Open the TradVolt RFQ form
RFQ links resolve to the TradVolt RFQ form only — datasheet PDFs are not published on a static download path on this draft; the form is the canonical intake for a quoted scope, OEM datasheet pack and country-specific tariff validation.