Techno-Economic Optimisation of Grid-Connected PV under Regulatory Constraints: A University Case Study

The optimisation of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems in policy-constrained electricity mar kets presents a crucial yet underexplored challenge in large-scale institutional energy planning. While behind-the-meter configurations are well documented, limited research has rigorously quantified system performance under Front-of-the-Meter (FTM) wheeling schemes, which include statutory transmission losses, variable transit tariffs, and fixed capacity charges. This study develops an integrated techno-economic modelling framework in HOMER Pro that explicitly incorporates FTM regulatory parameters into multi-megawatt PV system optimisation. A 3.02 MWp PV installation at Al-Hussein Bin Talal University (Jordan) is used as a detailed empirical case study. Multiple expansion architectures, incorporating incremental PV capacity with and without Lithium-ion Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), are evaluated against hourly university load profiles. Results show that under a 1:1 FTM wheeling framework, the utility grid acts as a high-capacity virtual storage, making BESS deployment techno-economically suboptimal, as capital costs and round-trip efficiency losses outweigh avoided grid transit costs. The most cost-effective configuration involves a simple PV expansion of 1,494 kW, resulting in a minimum Net Present Cost (NPC) of 4.56 M JOD, a Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) of 0.0364 JOD/kWh, and a payback period of 1.6 years. Net annual ??2 emissions are reduced to ?696,108 kg through surplus renewable exports. The framework offers a replicable decision-support tool for maximising financial returns and decarbonisation in FTM regulated electricity markets.