Price of photovoltaic energy storage power supply in Naypyidaw

The costs of solar PV projects include power generation, predevelopment, construction, and operation and maintenance costs, as well as the discount rate of fixed-term considerations, the depreciation of fixed assets, and/or the residual value of assets (equation (1) 63):

Hence, according to the current solar power generation volume (1,976 kWh kW p−1), electricity price level and PV module investment, distributed solar PV projects invested in this city can reach 100% profitability. In addition, around 10% of the cities have an IRR higher than 20%, which indicates very high profitability (Fig. 3c).

Chongqing is in the eastern part of the Sichuan Basin and receives on average 107 W m −2 solar radiation 24 with 732 kWh kW p−1 yearly solar energy conversion, from our calculations (Methods). Among all of the provinces, Chongqing has the lowest average solar availability capacity (<100 GW 25).

Although solar photovoltaic use grows rapidly in China, comparison with grid prices is difficult as photovoltaic electricity prices depend on local factors. Using prefecture-level data, Yan et al. find that 100% of user-side systems can achieve grid parity, while 22% can produce electricity cheaper than coal-based power plants.

In terms of manufacturing, the production cost of PV modules in China has dropped to nearly CNY2 W p−1 (W p, watt-peak) (US$1 = CNY6.23 in 2015, according to The World Bank), and system equipment investment has dropped (as of 2018) to a global leading level of nearly CNY5 W p−1 (ref. 19).

The results revealed that the megawatt distributed solar PV projects on I&C buildings in China would achieve 100% grid parity on the user side and 22.09% grid parity on the plant side without subsidies.