How does investment in fixed assets affect a solar business?

For solar and other renewable energy businesses, investment in fixed assets accounts for a significant part of the expenditure, for example, solar panels in the case of solar energy.

How does a solar contractor cover installation costs?

Covering Installer Overhead – Additionally, contractors cover the fixed and variable costs of operating their business through the final prices offered to customers. Sales Taxes – Sales taxes constitute, on average, approximately 5% of the total installed cost of a solar energy system.

Should solar energy projects be measured by simple payback period?

Given these limitations, it is not recommended that the economic viability of solar energy projects be measured by simple payback period alone. A net present value analysis should be the primary means by which these projects are evaluated, with simple payback period used to provide additional information on a local government’s investment in solar.

Is there a link between PV investment practices and scientific data?

The results from the financial approach benchmarking and technical risk quantification are used to identify the gaps between the present PV investment practices and the available extensive scientific data in order to establish a link between the two.

What is a solar bankability project?

One of the principal objectives the Solar Bankability project is to develop guidelines on how the technical risks over the PV project life cycle should be taken into account in the different cost elements and when evaluating the PV investment cost.

How to manage technical risks in PV investment?

One straightforward way is to manage the technical risks in PV investment via best practices in EPC and O&M technical aspects, and in the methodology to estimate and calculate PV system yield. In this regard, we have therefore developed a set of best practice guidelines in the form of checklists for different actors in the PV value chain.