Techno-economic assessment of photovoltaic plants with and without tracking systems in Brazil

Developing countries with high values of irradiation, such as Brazil, tend to seek photovoltaic generation systems as a solution to meet the growing demand for electricity from a clean and renewable source. However, the slight capacity factor of these systems is often an obstacle. Solar tracking is used to improve the performance of photovoltaic systems, although the installation cost of photovoltaic systems with this gadget and its maintenance is higher. Considering this scenario, this study aims to analyze the feasibility of implementing a 20 MW photovoltaic plant with and without tracking in the five regions of Brazil under the technical and economic aspects. For this, deterministic techniques of investment evaluation are used in the Brazilian regulatory scenario, and computer simulations and univariate sensitivity analysis are performed for the parameter that most impact economic viability, exchange rate. The results of this article show that the single-axis system presented the best economic performance for most regions. The analysis conducted contributes to efficient decision-making regarding the process of improvement of the Brazilian energy matrix.