What is a turnkey solar power plant: price, services, benefits

Turnkey solar power plant: analyzing the advantages and features

Owning a solar power plant is a profitable solution that thousands of Ukrainian households and businesses have already appreciated. At the same time, many people still believe that installing a solar power plant is a complex process that requires specialized knowledge, and therefore is beyond the reach of an average Ukrainian. At iSolar, we decided to simplify this myth and explain in more detail what a turnkey solar power plant is and why this option makes renewable energy sources accessible to everyone.

What is included in the turnkey solar power plant service and the price you should expect

You’ve probably already seen offers that offer turnkey solar power plants. But how do they differ from simply buying equipment for a solar power plant and ordering installation services? Let us highlight 5 main differences, which are also the advantages of such a comprehensive service.

• Preliminary design and assessment of your land. In general, you can, of course, buy a solar power plant and install it on your land yourself. But will it work with the highest possible efficiency? For the continuous and high-quality operation of a solar power plant, it is worthwhile to assess in advance the location of the plant, the space where the panels will be mounted, and take into account the angles of inclination and the direction in which the panels will accumulate the maximum amount of solar radiation every day. As part of the turnkey service, you receive all these calculations and project documentation together with your solar power plant, so you can be sure that it will work best in your area, even if it is not a 30 kW solar power plant, but a 5 kW turnkey solar power plant.
  
• Selection of equipment to suit your specific electricity needs and your budget. Today, there are many manufacturers on the market, including local ones, but it is quite difficult to choose all the parts of a PV system if you do not know about each of them in detail. At the same time, you should take into account the compatibility of the selected panels and inverter, the quality of fasteners and cables, etc. If you receive turnkey solar power plant selection services, iSolar will select the equipment that will be of high quality, compatible, efficient, and durable.
• The installation of a solar power plant is already included in the comprehensive service. So you not only get a full calculation for a turnkey solar power plant, the price will already include all additional services.
  
  Maintenance, repair and management of your PV system also becomes easier, because all these services are usually included in the term “turnkey”. At iSolar, at least, we include these meanings in our turnkey PV offer. When you sign a contract, you get a fixed package of additional services with, for example, the number of service calls for maintenance or a list of services for managing the solar power plant.
  
• The most important thing is the price! An integrated approach to the supply of solar power plants will generally not bring you too high an increase in costs. On average, it is no more than 10% of the cost of the equipment. However, the risks of spending money on low-quality equipment, unprofessional installation or subsequent calls for repairs (all of which translate into a considerable amount) will be much lower.

Choosing by capacity: when the installation of turnkey solar power plants is particularly beneficial

In general, there is nothing to hesitate! Even with not very powerful versions of a solar power plant for a country house or apartment, the turnkey option will be a profitable solution, for example, a 5 kW turnkey solar power plant will cost on average only $1000 more than a purchase without additional services. Here are a few examples of when it is a must to order a turnkey service:

• For powerful solar power plants, in particular, for industrial or commercial purposes: for them, any mistake in the selection or installation will be critical, and a 30 kW turnkey solar power plant will be able to cover your needs completely and will work smoothly.
  
• For grid-connected power plants, it is better to choose this format as well, because a qualified connection to the general grid is mandatory.

What about the Green Tariff? Is it possible to get a turnkey solar power plant under the Green Tariff?

And one more option worth noting. This is a turnkey solar power plant for the Green Tariff. To connect to the Green Tariff, you need:

• develop project documentation and collect documents for signing an agreement with Oblenergo;
  
• select equipment that will meet the requirements of the Ukrainian legislation on the Green Tariff;
  
• submit documents and go through the licensing procedure (for enterprises only), and then sign an agreement;
  
• install, test and launch the SPP equipment to ensure correct operation both for generation for own needs and for the sale of energy to the grid.

And you can outsource all of this to specialists, rather than doing it yourself. At iSolar, all the services we have listed above are included in the turnkey package. That is, you get not just a mounted solar power plant on your site, but also its full registration and connection to the Green Tariff.

Small summary from iSolar experts

So, the turnkey service is not a fad. It is a convenient way to set up a renewable energy source in your household without any hassle. For those who do not have specialized knowledge in the energy sector but want to become energy independent, this is the best way to make their desire come true. Even if you note the cost of the turnkey service, it will be quickly compensated by the flawless and most efficient operation of your solar power plant, so the payback period for such solar power plants will be even lower.