Residential photovoltaic plant: environmental and economical implications from renewable support policies

Photovoltaic technology has grown globally over the past 4 years at a remarkable rate (from 24 GW worldwide in 2009 to 138 GW in 2013) and is on its way to becoming a strategic electricity source (EPIA 2014a, b). This paper aims to determine whether the objectives of environmental protection and economic profit can coexist in an investment in residential photovoltaic power generation facilities in Italy. Currently, investors are choosing the principle of economic maximisation; in this way, even if a photovoltaic system is designed to reduce carbon emissions, it is not guaranteed that the carbon emissions will be reduced at a minimum level (environmental maximisation). The government support to promote renewable energy is essential for photovoltaic investments. In this article, the effectiveness of supporting renewable electricity policies (such as feed-in-tariff and tax deduction) has been assessed for the multiple combinations of energy output and electrical energy required; 2,304 numerical experiments (related to 2012–2014) demonstrate the effects of policies that could be adopted for supporting renewable electricity generation. Furthermore, is presented a comparison among the profitability of residential photovoltaic facilities in 2012, 2013 and 2014 that are affected by different investment costs and several incentive mechanisms.