Solar pre-feasibility

A practical first screen for developers and investors

The app uses a selected location, a solar output assumption and commercial inputs to produce indicative annual cash flows. You can start with an illustrative resource value, retrieve a location-based value where available, or enter a manual value and keep its provenance visible.

What you can screen

Technology

Solar PV

Capacity ?capacity

MW in the current calculator; confirm the AC/DC basis for a live project.

Solar output ?solarOutput

PVOUT in kWh/kWp/year; the current engine applies annual output to capacity.

Commercial inputs ?tariff

Tariff, PPA term, CAPEX, development and grid costs, OPEX and escalation.

Financing inputs ?debt

Gearing, tenor, interest, fees, DSRA, debt profile, tax and depreciation.

Outputs ?irr

Project IRR, post-tax project IRR, equity IRR, DSCR minimum and average, plus annual cash flow.

Solar resource data

A location lookup calls the EU PVGIS API (PVcalc v5.2, one-unit peak power and a 14% loss setting) and returns annual fixed-system energy, displayed as a rounded PVOUT value. The calculator identifies the result as EU PVGIS when that request succeeds.

Retrieval can fail or be unavailable. In that state, the screen should remain recoverable: enter a manual PVOUT value and treat it as an assumption, not as retrieved site-specific data. A default or manual value is not a substitute for a bankable resource assessment.

Terms: ?PVOUT and solar output ?screening limitations

Three-stage workflow

1. 1

   Project and location

   Choose Solar PV, select a location and review the resource state and source.

2. 2

   Assumptions

   Review PVOUT, capacity, CAPEX, tariff, OPEX and the collapsed financing and tax assumptions before calculating.

3. 3

   Results

   Read the cash-flow outputs, source and limitation notes, then decide what needs a more detailed review.

Important limitations

• Indicative annual modelling is not a site-specific solar yield assessment, engineering design or investment recommendation.
• Financial outputs reflect user-supplied assumptions and the current implementation; zero development and grid costs are assumptions to confirm.
• The current screen does not expose every project constraint, contract term or tax treatment that a bankable model may require.
• Results should not be labelled good, moderate or bad solely from an IRR. Compare any hurdle or covenant explicitly and with the relevant period.