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A solar farm is currently for sale at $11,000. Solar Harvest Inc. purchases this farm with the intention of using solar panels for future electricity

image text in transcribed A solar farm is currently for sale at $11,000. Solar Harvest Inc. purchases this farm with the intention of using solar panels for future electricity production. The total cost associated with upgrading the farm's existing solar facility is $85,000. This cost is divided into six equal monthly instalments paid in advance, with the first payment coinciding with the acquisition of the farm. The commencement of electricity production is scheduled six months after the farm is purchased. Due to the farm facility upgrades, it produces 80,000 units of electricity per annum, and a uniform production is assumed over each year. Solar Harvest Inc. intends to sell the electricity production to a power supplier at a rate of $0.12 per unit. In exchange, it receives the payments of electricity production from this power supplier quarterly in arrears. The amount of electricity production decreases over time due to the depreciation of the solar panels. Specifically, electricity production is reduced by 0.5% per annum. This decline occurs annually, with the first 0.5% decrease taking place 6 months after the commencement of the electricity production. Solar Harvest Inc. starts monthly maintenance work half-year after the commencement of electricity production. The predicted maintenance costs are $1,000 per annum, and this cost occurs monthly in arrears. Annual maintenance costs increase by 3% per annum, with the first 3% increase occurring 1 year after the maintenance work starts. The risk discount rate (RDR) is 6.25% p.a. effective. a) Create an annual cashflow schedule for Solar Harvest Inc. covering the initial 30-year horizon of the project. b) Use the schedule from part (a) to calculate: i. The accumulated profit 30 years after (i.e., at t=30 years). ii. The year (or the time) when the project's accumulated profit turns from negative to positive. (Hint: Show all the workings of (a) and (b), including the relevant interest rate conversion, in the Excel 'STAT2032 Assignment Excel Template' with the spreadsheet tab named 'Q2(a\&b)_working'. Use Excel to show cashflows (CFs) in the form of an annual schedule. The annual CF schedule should include time points t at 0, 1, 2, ..., 30 (in years) in rows, and the corresponding cash inflows and outflows in columns. For multiple CFs that occur across one year, you may either accumulate those CFs to the end of the year or discount CFs to the beginning of the year to present their values. Do NOT include any non-annual CF schedule or calculations in Excel. A student who uses a non-annual cash flow schedule (e.g., quarterly, or monthly) to calculate the answer will receive a 0 mark. Present the answers to (b) in the spreadsheet tab named 'Q2_answer'. Do NOT include any discussions of part (a) or (b) in the assignment answer sheet as they will NOT be marked.) c) Comment on the appropriateness of Solar Harvest Inc.'s use of this model, approaches, and assumptions above. (Hint: Present the answers to (c) in the spreadsheet tab named 'Q2_answer'. Do NOT include any discussions of part (c) in the assignment answer sheet as they will NOT be marked.) d) Suppose the government offers an incentive for renewable electricity production. The incentive paid is at a rate of $0.2 per unit of electricity production, but only over the first five years of electricity production. The incentive is paid every half-yearly in arrears. Without performing any calculations, explain the changes in part (b - ii) with the introduction of this incentive payment. Discuss the underlying reasons that lead to different results between parts (b-ii) and (d)

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