A feasibility study of PV installation: Case study at Shaqra University

This article investigates the viability of installing a photovoltaic (PV) system on top of shady parking structures and the rooftop of main campus buildings in Shaqra University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The installation is addressed in terms of the potential advantages such as optimizing the cost of electricity consumption, increasing the reliability of power supply and encouraging the research in solar energy, particularly PV systems. The article advises a simple procedure to determine the outcomes of the proposed PV arrangement based on the measured solar irradiance in Shaqra City and the main campus of Shaqra University. The forecasted share of the proposed PV installation in the electric load of the main campus is analyzed to identify the applicability of the proposed approach. The presented figures and tables show that there is a high economic value for the advised rooftop PV installation. Moreover, such system has a social advantage in promoting the concept of eco-university.