Profitability and sustainability of photovoltaic energy plants in Spain

Abstract

[EN] This paper reports on capital budgeting analysis to assess investments in renewable energy photovoltaic systems in Spain. Standard profitability indicators such as net present value, payback time and internal rate of return are applied to such investments. Two main issues have been taken into account: the changes taking place in the recent history of energy policies in Spain as well as the evolution of related technologies. Despite variation in incentive policies, we show how both technology and market have been able to overcome the lack of long-term policies, and even nowadays, photovoltaic energy systems can still be regarded as a profitable investment from an economic viewpoint, even in absence of any kind of incentive.