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Publishe
Sus ainabili y o Regions
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TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC PANELS: A CASE STUDY
BASED ON INTERDISPCIPLINARY APPROACH
*
Chaymae Taib ¹*, Zineb Aqachma ²,
Najiba El Am ani El Id issi 3 , Manuela T a ona iciene 4
1,3 Facul y o Science and Technology, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah Uni e si y, Rou e d'Imouzze 30000 Fez, Mo occo
2* Facul y o Science, Cadi Ayyad Uni e si y, Bd Abdelk im Al Kha abi, 40000 Ma akech, Mo occo
4 Facul y o Business Managemen , Vilnius Gediminas Technical Uni e si y, Saulė ekio al. 11, Vilnius, Li huania
E-mails: 1*chaymae. [email protected] (Co esponding au ho ); 2 zineb.aqachma[email p o ec ed];
3najiba.elam [email protected]; 4manuela. a ona icien[email p o ec ed]
Recei ed 18 May 2025; accep ed 22 Augus 2025; published 30 Sep embe 2025
Abs ac . This s udy e alua es he pe o mance o SoliTek SOLID B.60 bi acial pho o ol aic panels in ou Li huanian ci ies; Vilnius,
Klaipėda, Telšiai, and Do nu a, each ep esen ing a dis inc clima e zone as de ined in na ional classi ica ions. Using he Sys em Ad iso
Model (SAM) and s anda dized 2022 wea he da a om NSRDB, he same echnical sys em and a me chan plan inancial model we e
applied ac oss all ci ies/ o ensu e compa abili y. Key pe o mance indica o s; ene gy ou pu , capaci y ac o , le elized cos o ene gy
(LCOE), and Ne P esen Value (NPV) we e analyzed. Resul s show Klaipėda ou pe o ms o he ci ies in bo h echnical and inancial
me ics, while Vilnius yielded he lowes pe o mance. The s udy highligh s he ad an age o using locally manu ac u ed panels and
consis en simula ion pa ame e s o ealis ic assessmen . Use o in e disciplina y e alua ion app oach allows o ake in o accoun main
echnical panels’ pe o mace indica o s oge he wi h economic a ac i eness. This app oach is especially p omising in he con ex o
inc easing global compe i ion in he a ea o pho o ol aic indus y.
Keywo ds: pho o ol aic; sola ene gy; pe o mance indica o s; Sys em Ad iso Model (SAM); clima ic zones; in e disciplina y
app oach; echnical e alua ion; economic e alua ion; Li huania
Re e ence o his pape should be made as ollows: Taib, Ch., Aqachma , Z., El Am ani El Id issi, N., T a ona iciene, M 2025. Technical and
economic e alua ion o pho o ol aic panels: a case s udy based on in e dispciplina y app oach. Insigh s in o Regional De elopmen , 7(3), 123-
136. h p://doi.o g/10.70132/p6943275885
JEL Classi ica ions: O14, O32, O33
Addi ional disciplines: ecology and en i onmen ; elec ici y elec onic enginee ing; en i onmen al enginee ing; ene ge ics and
he moene ge ics
*
The esea ch leading o hese esul s has ecei ed unding om he p ojec i led "Clus e o inno a i e ene gy" in he
ame o he p og am "HORIZON-MSCA-2022-SE-01" unde he G an ag eemen numbe 101129820
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1. In oduc ion
The global ansi ion owa ds sus ainable ene gy sys ems has in ensi ied he ocus on pho o ol aic (PV) echnologies,
pa icula ly in egions seeking o op imize local sola po en ial. In he Eu opean con ex , Li huania p esen s a aluable
case o PV deploymen analysis due o i s di e se clima ic zones, inc easing enewable ene gy a ge s, and he
p esence o local sola manu ac u e s like SoliTek. P e ious esea ch, such as he egional PV pe o mance assessmen
conduc ed in Mo occo (Aqachma e al., 2020), demons a ed he impo ance o e alua ing sola ins alla ions ac oss
a ying clima e condi ions. Inspi ed by ha me hodology, his s udy in es iga es he pe o mance o he SoliTek
SOLID B.60 Bi acial 370W pho o ol aic module ac oss ou ep esen a i e Li huanian ci ies; Vilnius, Klaipėda,
Telšiai, and Do nu a, each loca ed wi hin a dis inc clima ic zone iden i ied in Li huanian clima ological s udies
(Aks inas, 2017).
Using he Sys em Ad iso Model (SAM) (Abou - Sys em Ad iso Model - SAM, n.d.), a simula ion-based so wa e
de eloped by he U.S. Na ional Renewable Ene gy Labo a o y (NREL), we applied a consis en echnical
con igu a ion and a Eu opean me chan plan inancial model o assess sys em iabili y. By s anda dizing sys em
pa ame e s and using 2022 Typical Me eo ological Yea (TMY) da a om he NSRDB da abase (NSRDB, n.d.), his
s udy aims o ensu e compa abili y o esul s ac oss all loca ions.
The objec i e o his pape is o compa e pho o ol aic pe o mance ac oss Li huania’s key clima e zones using eal
clima e da a, while emphasizing he bene i s o using locally manu ac u ed PV panels. The s udy also aims o iden i y
he mos sui able zones o deploymen and p o ide ini ial insigh s o u u e use o s o age sys ems o ne -ze o ene gy
solu ions
2. Li e a u e e iew
The deploymen and pe o mance assessmen o pho o ol aic (PV) sys ems ha e been widely s udied o suppo
enewable ene gy planning ac oss a ious clima es (Paiano e al., 2023; Tyagi & Kuma , 2024; Zhou e al., 2024)
In Mo occo, a s udy by (Aqachma e al. 2020) compa ed PV pe o mance ac oss di e en clima ic egions using
simula ions o iden i y op imal zones o sola ene gy deploymen . This app oach inspi ed he cu en s udy,
emphasizing how geog aphical and me eo ological di e si y can a ec sola ou pu . The s udy ocused on high-
concen a ion PV plan s ac oss six clima ic zones in Mo occo, demons a ing signi ican a ia ions in ene gy yield,
capaci y ac o , and LCOE depending on loca ion. (Ayompe e al. 2010) e alua ed he pe o mance o a g id-connec ed
PV sys em unde I ish clima e condi ions, emphasizing he impo ance o using accu a e local wea he da a in
simula ion ools o ob ain ealis ic es ima es. Simila ly, (E dinc, Pa e akis & Ca alaõ 2015) pe o med a echno-
economic analysis o PV sys ems in di e en egions o Tu key and iden i ied how egional di e ences in i adiance
and empe a u e impac he easibili y o sola deploymen . Recen s udies u he highligh di e se PV applica ions:
(Ak as & Ozenc 2024) analyzed he echno-economic and en i onmen al aspec s o a g id-connec ed college oo op
sys em, (Neama & Al ahed 2024) assessed esiden ial-scale PV in I aq, and (Zhang e al. 2025) e alua ed communi y-
le el BIPV sys ems, showing bo h aes he ic and en i onmen al bene i s. Toge he , hese s udies unde line how con ex -
speci ic ac o s in luence he iabili y and design o PV sys ems.
Li huania also shows clima e a ia ion ac oss i s e i o y, and (Aks inas, 2017) p o ided a de ailed classi ica ion in o
ou clima e zones. The Sys em Ad iso Model (SAM) by NREL is equen ly used in simula ion-based PV esea ch.
(De So o e al., 2006) alida ed models o i adiance and empe a u e in SAM, while (Blai e al., 2014) o e
comp ehensi e documen a ion o i s echnical and inancial simula ion capabili ies. In 2023, (Ayadi e al., 2024) used
SAM ( e sion 2023.12.17) o e alua e a 100 MW u ili y-scale bi acial PV plan in six dese egions, e ealing low
LCOE and high capaci y ac o s, highligh ing SAM’s u ili y ac oss clima es. Recen wo k by (Bad an & Dhimish,
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2024) also suppo s bi acial sys em use in empe a e clima es, showing 7 o 10% inc eased ene gy gain. Ano he s udy
by (Sun e al., 2018) emphasized ha bi acial panels moun ed e ically o ele a ed can signi ican ly inc ease yield up
o 30% depending on albedo and design.
Addi ionally, he ole o locally manu ac u ed PV panels has gained a en ion o bo h sus ainabili y and ene gy
secu i y. Acco ding o IRENA (IRENA, 2022, 2023, 2025; IRENA Renewable Powe Gene a ion Cos , 2020;
Renewable Ene gy Agency, 2024, 2025), localized p oduc ion can enhance esilience o geopoli ical ensions and
educe emissions associa ed wi h in e na ional logis ics. S udies like hose by (Kaldellis & Za i akis, 2011) ha e also
highligh ed how using egional manu ac u ing capaci ies o enewable echnologies s eng hens na ional ene gy
s a egies.
3. Me hodology
This s udy adop s a simula ion-based app oach using he Sys em Ad iso Model (SAM) de eloped by he Na ional
Renewable Ene gy Labo a o y (NREL) o e alua e he pe o mance o pho o ol aic sys ems in di e en Li huanian
clima e zones (see Figu e 1). The me hodology can be b oken down in o he ollowing s eps:
2.1. Selec ion o clima ic zones and key ci ies
Figu e 1. Clima e egions o Li huania and loca ion o me eo ological s a ions
Sou ce: (Aks inas, 2017)
Based on he clima ic zone classi ica ion p oposed by (Aks inas, 2017) his s udy ca ego ized he coun y in o ou
p incipal clima ic egions. Fo each zone, a ep esen a i e ci y was selec ed based on popula ion densi y and
geog aphical cen ali y:
- Vilnius (Sou heas e n zone)
- Do nu a (Cen al zone)
- Telšiai (No hwes e n zone)
- Klaipėda (Coas al zone)
This zoning enabled a consis en compa a i e analysis o PV pe o mance ac oss dis inc me eo ological condi ions.
2.2. Wea he da a acquisi ion
To ensu e consis ency and eliabili y in ou simula ions, we used Typical Me eo ological Yea (TMY) 2022 wea he
da a om he Na ional Sola Radia ion Da abase (NSRDB, n.d.) managed by he Na ional Renewable Ene gy
Labo a o y (NREL) in he Uni ed S a es. The NSRDB p o ides hou ly wea he da a wi h high spa ial esolu ion, based
on in o ma ion collec ed om sa elli es and wea he s a ions, which helps main ain a consis en s anda d ac oss all
loca ions. Fo each o he ou selec ed ci ies; Vilnius, Do nu a, Telšiai, and Klaipėda, he ollowing wea he a iables
we e used:
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- Global Ho izon al I adiance (GHI) (Reno & Hansen, 2014)
- Di ec No mal I adiance (DNI) (Blanc e al., 2014)
- Ambien empe a u e
- Wind speed
- Rela i e humidi y
By using da a om he same sou ce and selec ing he same yea o all ci ies, he app oach ensu es uni o mi y in
wea he inpu s, enabling a ai and accu a e compa ison o PV sys em pe o mance ac oss di e en clima ic egions.
2.3. PV module selec ion
The PV panel selec ed o he simula ion was he SOLID B.60 Bi acial 370W by SoliTek, a local manu ac u e based
in Li huania. The choice o his module was based on i s local p oduc ion, which aligns wi h Eu opean sus ainabili y
goals. Using locally p oduced panels no only educes anspo a ion- ela ed emissions bu also suppo s he egional
economy. Addi ionally, he panel u ilizes bi acial echnology, allowing i o cap u e sunligh om bo h he on and
ea sides, he eby enhancing sys em e iciency. This ea -side i adia ion capabili y is pa icula ly bene icial in highly
e lec i e en i onmen s, such as hose wi h snow-co e ed su aces.
The module speci ica ions we e manually en e ed in o SAM (Sys em Ad iso Model) based on i s da ashee (Bi acial,
n.d.). I has a nominal maximum powe ou pu o 370 W, wi h an e iciency o app oxima ely 20%. The empe a u e
coe icien is -0.32 %/°C, indica ing he powe loss wi h inc easing empe a u e. The open ci cui ol age (Voc) is
40.50 V, and he sho ci cui cu en (Isc) is 11.18 A. Unde maximum powe condi ions, he panel ope a es a a
ol age (Vmpp) o 34.86 V and a cu en (Impp) o 10.62 A. The panel uses bi acial cells (Gue e o-Lemus e al.,
2016) and a glass-glass s uc u e, which means i ’s made wi h glass on bo h sides o make i mo e e icien and du able.
2.4. PV sys em con igu a ion in SAM
All simula ions we e conduc ed using Sys em Ad iso Model (SAM) e sion 2024.12.12. The sys em was con igu ed
using he "Pho o ol aic → De ailed PV → Me chan Plan " model. This op ion was chosen because i allows o
de ailed echnical and inancial modeling o g id-connec ed PV sys ems, wi h lexible inpu s op ions.
The con igu a ion was based on he SOLID B.60 Bi acial 370W module and op imized o Li huania’s clima e. To
main ain consis ency ac oss all simula ion si es, he ollowing se up was used: 900 modules a anged as 30 modules pe
s ing wi h 30 s ings in pa allel esul ing in a o al DC capaci y o 333.2 kWdc (900 × 370 W). The g ound co e age
a io (GCR) was se o 0.45, ensu ing ealis ic ow spacing, as suppo ed by (Fe y e al., 2025) o Eu opean
ins alla ions. The modules we e ins alled a a g ound clea ance o 1.5 me e s. A ixed il angle o 30° was chosen o
ma ch Li huania’s la i ude (~55°) (GPS Coo dina es o Li huania. La i ude: 55.1736 Longi ude: 23.8948, n.d.)
ollowing he common p ac ice in coun ies wi h clima es simila o Li huania, such as Poland (Wha Is he Op imal
Sola Panel Til Angle? Poland and he Wo ld - Elec um, n.d.). The azimu h angle was se o 180°, meaning he panels
we e acing sou h o maximize sola exposu e. The ixed il sys em was selec ed ins ead o a acking sys em o e lec
a cos -e ec i e and low-main enance solu ion, commonly used in Li huania and simila clima es (IRENA Renewable
Powe Gene a ion Cos , 2020).
The economic con igu a ion was based on he Me chan Plan model, whe e he plan sells elec ici y di ec ly o he
ma ke . Financial es ima es commonly used in Eu ope we e applied, wi h an elec ici y sale p ice o 110 €/MWh as he
ma ke a e age, ope a ion and main enance cos s se a 20 €/kW/yea based on egional a e ages (IRENA Renewable
Powe Gene a ion Cos , 2020), a discoun a e o 6%, an in la ion a e o 2%, and a p ojec li e ime o 25 yea s. The
inancial model excludes subsidies and ax incen i es o main ain a conse a i e and b oadly applicable scena io.
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2.5. Pe o mance indica o s
To assess and compa e he pe o mance o pho o ol aic sys ems ac oss Li huania’s clima e zones, ou key
pe o mance indica o s (KPIs) we e selec ed. These indica o s cap u e bo h he echnical pe o mance and
economic easibili y o each simula ed PV ins alla ion.
Annual ene gy yield (AEY)
The annual ene gy yield is he o al amoun o elec ical ene gy gene a ed by he PV sys em o e a yea
unde eal-wo ld condi ions. I is exp essed in kilowa -hou s (kWh).
Capaci y Fac o (CF)
The capaci y ac o (%) is he a io o ac ual elec ici y gene a ed o e a pe iod o ime o he ene gy ha would
ha e been gene a ed i he plan ope a ed a ull capaci y du ing ha ime. A highe capaci y ac o indica es be e
sys em u iliza ion.
Le elized Cos o Ene gy (LCOE)
LCOE (€/kWh) ep esen s he a e age cos pe uni o elec ici y gene a ed, accoun ing o he o al li ecycle cos s
(in es men , ope a ions, and main enance) and elec ici y ou pu (IRENA Renewable Powe Gene a ion Cos ,
2020). A lowe LCOE sugges s a mo e economically a ac i e sys em.
Ne P esen Value (NPV)
NPV (€) e alua es he inancial p o i abili y o a p ojec by compa ing he p esen alue o cash in lows o
ou lows o e i s li e ime. A posi i e NPV indica es ha he p ojec is inancially iable.
These KPIs allow o a compa ison o PV ins alla ions ac oss ci ies, cap u ing bo h he ene gy e iciency ( ia he
AEY and CF) and economic pe o mance ( ia LCOE and NPV). By in eg a ing hese indica o s, decision make s
can be e e alua e he sui abili y o PV p ojec s unde di e en clima ic and inancial condi ions.
3. Resul s and discussion
This sec ion p esen s and discusses he simula ion esul s o he SOLID B.60 bi acial PV sys em deployed ac oss
ou ep esen a i e ci ies o Li huania: Vilnius, Do nu a, Telšiai, and Klaipėda. The analysis is cen e ed on he
echnical pe o mance, economic easibili y, and ene gy gene a ion dynamics, d awing compa isons ac oss
egions using key pe o mance indica o s: Annual Ene gy Yield, Capaci y Fac o , Le elized Cos o Ene gy
(LCOE), and Ne P esen Value (NPV).
3.1. Annual ene gy yield
The annual AC ene gy yield ep esen s he o al elec ici y deli e ed o he g id du ing he i s ope a ional yea .
Table 1. Compa ison o annual AC ene gy, ene gy yield, and pe o mance a io ac oss he ou ci ies
As shown in Table 1 abo e, Klaipėda achie ed he highes ene gy p oduc ion o app oxima ely 306,235 kWh,
ollowed by Do nu a (291,555 kWh) and Telšiai (286,451 kWh). Vilnius had he lowes yield a 279,391 kWh.
This esul is consis en wi h Klaipėda’s loca ion in he coas al egion, which bene i s om highe sola i adia ion
and ewe ex eme cold spells, enhancing pho o ol aic con e sion. In con as , Vilnius, loca ed inland wi h mo e
Ci y
Annual AC ene gy (kwh)
Ene gy yield (kwh/kw)
Pe o mance a io
Vilnius
279,391
839
0.76
Do nu a
291,555
875
0.76
Telšiai
286,451
860
0.75
Klaipėda
306,235
919
0.74
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cloud co e and colde win e s, eco ded he lowes ou pu , despi e sha ing he same PV con igu a ion,
highligh ing he clima ic a iabili y ac oss egions.
Pe o mance a ios ac oss all ci ies ho e ed be ween 0.74 and 0.76, indica ing ela i ely s able sys em losses (e.g.,
om empe a u e, in e e ine iciencies, o soiling), wi h no egion-speci ic anomalies. This suppo s he
obus ness o he bi acial module and sys em design ac oss Li huania’s clima ic di e si y.
Figu e 2. Mon hly dis ibu ion o AC ene gy gene a ion in yea 1 - Vilnius
Figu e 2 abo e illus a es he mon hly AC ene gy p oduc ion o he Vilnius ins alla ion du ing he i s yea . Peak
gene a ion occu s in June and July, while No embe shows he lowes ou pu due o educed i adiance and
sho e dayligh hou s.
Figu e 3. Annual hou ly AC ene gy gene a ion hea map - Vilnius
The hea map (Figu e 3) e eals a p onounced concen a ion o ene gy p oduc ion be ween 9:00 and 16:00 om
Ap il o Augus . The seasonal pa e ns align wi h expec ed sola a ailabili y in sou heas e n Li huania.
Simila ly, he cen al egion ci y o Do nu a exhibi s a compa able bu sligh ly educed gene a ion p o ile (see
Figu e 4 below).
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Figu e 4. Mon hly dis ibu ion o AC ene gy gene a ion in yea 1 - Do nu a
Do nu a's mon hly p oduc ion shows a simila seasonal pa e n, wi h he highes ou pu du ing summe mon hs
and a no iceable dip in win e . O e all, he ene gy yield emains ela i ely s able du ing sp ing and all (Figu e 5).
Figu e 5. Annual hou ly AC ene gy gene a ion hea map - Do nu a
The hea map o Do nu a con i ms s eady pe o mance du ing midday hou s in summe , wi h a g adual amp-up
and decline a ound he peak mon hs. Win e mon hs show signi ican ly limi ed ene gy p oduc ion.
In he no hwes e n egion, Telšiai’s ene gy p o ile is in luenced by sligh ly lowe i adiance and coole
empe a u es (see Figu e 6 below).
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Figu e 6. Mon hly dis ibu ion o AC ene gy gene a ion in yea 1 - Telšiai
Mon hly AC ene gy p oduc ion in Telšiai mi o s he gene al seasonal pa e n bu wi h sligh ly lowe summe
peaks compa ed o Vilnius and Do nu a (Figu e 7). The win e p oduc ion emains minimal, e lec ing egional
sola a ailabili y.
Figu e 7. Annual hou ly AC ene gy gene a ion hea map – Telšiai
The hea map highligh s consis en summe pe o mance wi h limi ed a iabili y, hough daily gene a ion appea s
sligh ly comp essed compa ed o sou he n coun e pa s, possibly due o cloud co e o di use i adiance
condi ions.
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Finally, Klaipėda, ep esen ing he coas al egion, shows a dis inc gene a ion pa e n due o ma i ime in luence
(Figu e 8).
Figu e 8. Mon hly dis ibu ion o AC ene gy gene a ion in yea 1 - Klaipėda
Klaipėda’s mon hly ene gy yield demons a es smoo he ansi ions be ween mon hs, wi h less p onounced
seasonal ex emes. This s abili y may be a ibu ed o he mode a ing e ec s o he coas al clima e.
Figu e 9. Annual hou ly AC ene gy gene a ion hea map - Klaipėda
The gene a ion hea map o Klaipėda (Figu e 9 abo e) e eals sus ained midday p oduc ion h oughou much o
he yea , wi h sligh ly ewe sha p peaks compa ed o inland ci ies, indica ing mo e di use adia ion and
consis en wea he pa e ns.
3.2. Capaci y ac o
The DC capaci y ac o indica es how e ec i ely each sys em ope a es compa ed o i s maximum po en ial,
showed sligh egional a ia ion in Table 2.
