Comparative and evaluative economic analysis of ground mounted photovoltaic plants

Energy produced from renewable sources has assumed an increasingly central role, thanks to the investments in renewable energy and the agreements reached during the last Conferences of the Parties. This paper deals with the economic-estimative evaluation of two photovoltaic plants with similar peak power and geographic position located precisely in the areas of Mandatoriccio and Campana (Calabria, South Italy). The evaluation method used is the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF), a financial procedure that allows to simulate the entire life cycle of the photovoltaic system, from the acquisition date. This method has been implemented by applying an experimental combination of the Build up Approach and the analytical method based on the ascending and descending influences that act on the specific risks related to photovoltaic investment. This paper also highlights the importance of the energy potentially produced by the photovoltaic plants to obtain a very objective estimation value. For this purpose, the annual energy production was estimated using the simplified Siegel method. Thus it was possible to compare Siegel data with real ones supplied by their managers, to carry out a comparative estimative analysis of the two photovoltaic plants covered by our article.