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The public's awareness of threats to the natural environment, as well as the hazard to human lives and health posed by the use of fossil fuels to generate energy has resulted in the growing interest in renewable energy sources, thus promoting attempts to reduce the dependency on conventional energy sources. Among the former, solar energy is one of the most promising. The aim of this study is to assess the macroeconomic efficiency of investments in photovoltaic installations to meet the demand for electricity of farms and agricultural production. Calculations were prepared for 48 variants comprising three farm types (dairy farms, field cropping farms, and mixed production farms), as well as 16 locations throughout Poland. The obtained results indicate high efficiency of electricity production using photovoltaic installations to cover the needs of farms in Poland. In macroeconomic accounting, NPV ranges from EUR 8200 to almost EUR 23,000, with the payback period depending on the farm type ranging from 4.3 up to 6 years, while the internal rate of return amounts to 21–32%. Increasing the scope of investments in photovoltaics (PV) to cover the electricity demand not only of the household, but also of the agricultural production leads to improved economic efficiency of energy production both in the macro- and microeconomic terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increase in energy demand that is caused by fast economic development, a limited and constantly decreasing supply of traditional energy sources, as well as excessive environmental pollution that is caused by an increasing concentration of dust and gases in the atmosphere constitute the main factors that contribute to the ever-increasing interest in renewable sources of energy. The most important and promising renewable source of energy is thought to be solar energy. The aim of the paper is to assess the macroeconomic investment efficiency of photovoltaic installations in order to meet the demand for electric energy in single-family homes in Polish conditions. The conducted analysis comprises market characteristics and legal regulations concerning the sale of electric energy in Poland. Calculations were made for 320 variants that differed with regard to investment location, building orientation, and roof inclination. The results indicate that the most beneficial region for photovoltaic micro-installations, from a social perspective, is the south-east of and central Poland. The highest values of economic efficiency were achieved in the case of a southern roof inclination as well as a south-eastern and south-western building orientation. No big differences were observed in the economic investment efficiency for the panel inclinations. The calculated Discounted Payback Period, depending on the calculation method, equals 5.4 to 10 years. The results of the study confirm that the implemented support instruments for investments in photovoltaic installations producing energy for single-family house demand is economically viable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]