Journal of sustainable Energy Systems

Journal of sustainable Energy Systems

Energy, Exergy, and Economic Analysis of a Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant with Fixed and Tracking Configurations across Different Climatic Regions

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 School of Energy Engineering and Sustainable Resources, College of Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Energy Engineering and Physics, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Energy Engineering and Physics, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
4 , Mechanical Engineering Faculty, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22059/ses.2026.416224.1261
Abstract
In this study, the energy, exergy, and economic performance of a grid-connected photovoltaic power plant with 1 MW nominal capacity in four selected climates of Iran, including Yazd, Birjand, Hamadan, and Sanandaj, was investigated. To evaluate the impact of climatic conditions and installation configuration, four configurations including a fixed system, horizontal single-axis tracker, vertical single-axis tracker, and dual-axis tracker were simulated in PVsyst, and hourly outputs were used to calculate energy, exergy, and economic indicators. Results showed that the dual-axis tracker provides the highest annual electricity generation in all cities; specifically, its production in Yazd, Birjand, Sanandaj, and Hamadan was 2868.2, 2828.9, 2711.5, and 2351.7 MWh, respectively. However, the highest annual exergy efficiency of 19.52% was obtained for the fixed system in Hamadan, indicating that maximum energy production is not necessarily accompanied by the highest thermodynamic quality of energy conversion. From an economic perspective, electricity sales in the energy exchange generated higher profitability than the guaranteed purchase mechanism. The best economic performance was achieved by the horizontal single-axis tracker in Yazd, with the highest net present value (NPV) of 642.8 billion Tomans, highest internal rate of return (IRR) of 54.43%, and the lowest levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of 7470 Tomans/kWh. Overall, results indicate that the dual-axis configuration is more favorable for maximizing energy production, the fixed system for exergy performance, and the horizontal single-axis tracker for economic balance; therefore, choosing the appropriate configuration should be based on an integrated assessment of climatic conditions and energy, exergy, and economic indicators.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 21 September 2026