Residential Solar feasibility analysis: Nevada (U.S.A.)

3/8/2019

If I think of US state Nevada, the picture of 24- hour operating casinos in Las Vegas come into my mind.

The western state full of desert receives a good amount of solar insolation throughout the year. If the lifestyle in Las Vegas can be a reality then solar in every home in Nevada state can also be a reality because it has all the ingredients to make this happen.

Solar Intensity in the state

The coordinates of Nevada state are 38.8026° N, 116.4194° W which places it above the tropic of cancer.

If I talk about the amount of solar insolation then it receives average solar insolation of 5.95 KW/m²/day.

The average monthly solar insolation in Nevada

It is a good amount of solar light to make solar a feasible option.

You can see that the sun intensity increases from January (3.68 KW/m²/day) to June (7.99 KW/m²/day) and then it starts decreasing to the minimum in December, 3.77 KW/m²/day.

The sun’s intensity on a particular region is the first crucial point for studying the feasibility and the Nevada state scores well in this.

State electricity vs grid electricity

The residential electricity prices in Nevada has averaged 12.34 cents per kilowatt-hour which is slightly less than the U.S. average residential electricity rates of 13.34 cents per kilowatt- hour.

The average escalation in the residential electricity rates in Nevada since 2005 is 1.34 % per year making it one of the lowest escalation rates in the entire US just above New York and Texas.

Growth of per unit grid price @ 1.34% per year

With this escalation rate, you will pay nearly 17 cents (see the chart above) in the 25th year for same units consumed today.

This low escalation rate in grid electricity is making the residents of Nevada to stick it as the future grid electricity prices will not rise as much, keeping their utility bills under control.

Despite, the solar electricity overshadows the grid electricity.

Cost of 5 kW system in Nevada (without tax credit)

According to the www.solar-estimate.org, the average cost of 5 kW solar power system in Nevada is $ 2.73/ watt which makes it a total of $ 13,640 for the complete system (without battery backup) and these prices are last updated on August 2019.

Some highlights of the 5 kW system:

This solar system is going to produce an average of 600 units per month for the next 25 years.
Your net savings, after deducting the initial cost of the system plus its yearly maintenance, in 25 years will be: $ 9120
The excess energy months and the deficit energy months will be as follows:

System feasibility

System feasibility before tax credit

(*The cost of capital is taken as 2.28% which is a long-term bond yield for evaluating the feasibility of the system in the state)

IRR: 3.08%
NPV: $1253
Payback period: 17.8 years
Solar electricity: 9 cents/unit
Grid electricity: 12.34 cents/unit
The rooftop solar system is 35.3% more profitable/efficient than grid electricity.

Solar feasibility after tax credit

If I consider the 30% tax credit, the cost of 5 kW system is reduced to $9548, making it $ 1.91/ watt
The financial feasibility will be as follows

Solar feasibility after 30% tax credit

The tax credit will increase the IRR to 7.66% and the solar electricity cost will come down to 0.04 cents per unit.

The comparison

Solar feasibility before and after 30% tax credit

Conclusion

The solar electricity is favorable in Nevada even before tax credit offered by the government.

If you are thinking of installing a solar system on your roof-top then it is important to know the feasibility of the system beforehand. It could be 2 kW, 3kW, 5 kW or more, meeting your energy requirements.

Try my solar feasibility spreadsheet which is designed specifically for this purpose only. This spreadsheet will show you the complete analysis of the residential solar power system based on your inputs.

Moreover, each formula in the cell is highlighted for a better understanding of the user.

I feel it is very logical to spend a very small amount of 0.1% to 0.3% of the total cost of the system in knowing the feasibility of the system beforehand.