Validating the Techno-Economic and Environmental Sustainability of Solar PV Technology in Agriculture Using RETScreen Experts to Assess Its Viability

The use of clean energy has now become a major concern for every society. Their relevance is strongly influenced by the economic impact of the facilities and their environmental, social and economic benefits compared to conventional energy sources, particularly fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil, etc.) As the global demand for sustainable energy solutions continues to rise, the integration of renewable energy sources into various sectors becomes increasingly important. This feasibility study focuses on the integration of photovoltaic (PV) systems in the greenhouse structures of Zina Fresh, a company specialized in production and export of cherry tomatoes. To achieve this, RETScreen Expert software is used to validate the techno-economic and environmental sustainability of installing a grid-connected solar photovoltaic system in the company. Climatic data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the various locations and some financial parameters were used for the assessment. From the result, all the selected locations are recommended for solar photovoltaic project from all the available indices. The annual electrical potential of the installation amounts to 430 MWh for the first year, the best payback period of 6.7 years and the maximum GHG emission reduction of 184 tons of CO2 which is equivalent to 16.9 ha of forest absorbing carbon.