Grid connected solar photovoltaic system as a tool for green house gas emission reduction in Turkey

Energy production in a safe and hazard free manner is one of the world's greatest concern. Since the inception of Kyoto Protocol, which was adopted in 1997 and entered into force in February 2005, countries have started to adopt different measures for emission reduction such as electricity generation from renewable energy sources; as the source is free from green house gas (GHG) or CO2 emission. Legislations and financial incentives have been provided by some governments for encouragement and ensuring good returns to the investors in renewable energy sector. This paper analyzes how a 500 kWp solar photovoltaic (PV) system for electricity generation contributes significantly in the GHG emission reduction and also the potential impact of introducing CO2 emission reduction cost in the solar PV electricity generation. The result shows that the emission reduction is of the order of hundreds of tons of CO2 and CO2 emission reduction cost has a positive impact on the cumulative cash flow of the system. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.