Technical-Economic-Environmental (TE2) analysis of different site suitability classes in India

India is currently confronted with the issues of fossil fuel import, greenhouse gas emissions, foreign dependence, energy security, and economic hardship. Thus, India must create a substantial amount of its own renewable and sustainable energy. However, the success of renewable energy projects, particularly solar energy projects, depends on the site selection. Site selection is a vital, multi-step procedure in the installation of a solar power plant since it has a direct impact on the plant's performance and economic viability. Therefore, the present article focuses on the site selection and techno-economic feasibility of a solar power plant at the selected site. The present study analyzed the geographical site suitability map of India, which includes the five classes of extremely favorable, favorable, moderately favorable, less favorable, and unfavorable. For each of the land suitability classes, the present study performed the technical-economic-environmental (TE2) analysis using the RETScreen software. The TE2 modelling outcome highlights that the extremely favorable land suitability class performed better in terms of the highest electricity exported to the grid (179440 MWh/year), least levelized cost of electricity (35.40 $/MWh), and maximum greenhouse gas emission reduction (153572-ton CO
2
per year). The order was followed by favorable, moderately favorable, and less favorable suitability sites.