Economic Feasibility and Optimal Ranking of Solar Power Potential Using TOPSIS Approach

The escalating global energy demand necessitates the development of renewable alternatives to limit CO2 emissions and ensure sustainable energy sources for the future. The focus of this work is on assessing the economic feasibility of hydrogen production as a renewable fuel. We extensively evaluate bench-scale materials and system performance through surveys and assess various furnace designs to determine the economic viability of hydrogen production. This includes separating photovoltaic (PV) systems and hydrogen production technologies to establish practical efficiency and describe potential furnace designs. We project the price of hydrogen and establish the technical and economic feasibility of PV systems. Renewable energy development, influenced by reduced feed-in tariffs and new regulations promoting self-consumption, has advanced in several countries. This paper analyzes the solar power potential and economic parameters in a representative set of countries: Australia, China, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, Spain, and the United States. We consider average solar production (kWh), electricity tariff (€/kWh), grid injection tariff (€/kWh), initial investment, and interest rate. The TOPSIS approach ranks Germany first, followed by Australia and South Africa, with the United States at the eighth position.