ABSTRACT
In determining economic feasibility, renewable energy must compete with the energy available from competing technologies. Commonly calculated quantities are simple payback, cost of energy (COE), and cash flow. A renewable energy system is economically feasible only if its overall earnings exceed its overall costs within a time period up to the lifetime of the system. A simple payback calculation can provide a preliminary judgment of economic feasibility for a renewable energy system. The COE is one measure of economic feasibility, and it is compared to the price of electricity from other sources, the price at which generated energy can be sold, or the price of energy from other sources. There are economies of scale for utility systems and the COE is becoming competitive for wind power and photovoltaic systems. The economics vary widely for village power due to components from different manufacturers and difficulty of reaching remote locations.
