Viabilidade econômica para a geração fotovoltaica em terras agricultáveis em comparação com o histórico do lucro obtido em 10 anos de produção agrícola

Abstract

The constant growth in energy demand and the increasing pursuit of greater sustainability nowadays encourage research on the feasibility and development of new energy sources. This study aims to determine the feasibility of using photovoltaic generation on land with agricultural production potential, considering an area of 1 hectare. The methodology used consists of collecting data from the past 10 years regarding agricultural production (production costs, productivity, and sale price) and energy production from the photovoltaic system (irradiance data, technology, and the sale price of kWh). The analysis compared different cases: regarding agricultural production, one case analyzed data from a specific production unit, and another considered the average values for the entire state of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS). For energy production, the optimal case was considered—taking into account sales during the months with the best kWh prices—and the average case, which used the annual average sale prices. The energy production data were generated through the simulation of a 1,500 kWp photovoltaic mini-generation plant using the PVsyst software. Based on the financial indicators IRR, NPV, and Payback, the investments were found to be viable. The best agricultural production case (in a specific production unit) showed an IRR of 132% and an NPV of R$ 58,362.74 after 10 years. Considering the best energy generation case, it achieved an IRR of 21% and an NPV of R$ 25,876,233.64 at the end of the period. It is observed that the rate of return on agricultural investment is higher; however, in terms of net value after 10 years, energy generation provided a much greater profit, clearly considering that the initial investment for such was also considerably higher. It can be concluded that investing in energy generation on agricultural production land is indeed feasible, both within the 10-year period and when considering the system’s lifespan, which for approximately 15 years will produce a significant amount of electricity, providing the producer with an additional source of income besides agricultural production.