METHODOLOGY FOR CALCULATING LEVELIZED COST OF ENERGY OF DISTRIBUTED RENEWABLE ENERGIES SYSTEM IN VIETNAM

Abstract

Vietnam has large potential both in solar and wind energy, with many large-scale projects already being implemented. This also causes the huge pressure on the national power system, because of the fluctuation of the large-scale concentrated wind and solar projects. These power sources are also causing overloading transmission lines in some areas, when the growth rate of the of transmission lines cannot catch up with the growth of these power sources. Therefore, distributed energy resources are encouraged to develop. Economic efficiency analysis is one of the issues that need attention to develop energy projects. This paper presents a method to calculate the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of a distributed system powered by solar and wind energy sources. Energy production is evaluated by such commercial software as WindPRO for wind power and PVsyst for solar power, respectively. The results show that methodology for calculating the levelized cost of energy of this system is very competitive with the current electricity tariff of Vietnam Electricity. The economic efficiency of the project is also analyzed and proven based on the proposed electricity selling price from this method.