Abstract
Most of the generated energy in Bangladesh comes from natural gas and other fossil fuel resources and consumption of these fuels hurts the environment. This study in-depth discusses the design feasibility, financial aspects and environmental impacts of installing an on-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) system to increase energy efficiency and promote sustainability on a single floor of Academic Building-2 at Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur. This research uses a mixed method approach and utilizes HOMER Pro, a software that is able to simulate the technical and economic feasibility of microgrids or distributed energy systems. The study gathers significant information about the historical electricity usage patterns of the target floor and the local solar radiation levels. The system consists of a 21.4 kW PV array and a 12.5 kW converter which is connected to the national grid. The study reveals that the proposed on-grid solar system has an NPC of $17,044 and a COE of $0.0327. This has the chance to cut the floor’s dependence on the national grid by about 70% and recover the initial costs within 7.49 years. The analysis also shows that the proposed solar pv system decreases the carbon emission level to 7,900 kg/year. Overall, the results show that the proposed on grid solar system is technically feasible and economically viable.