Abstract
Grid extension from the distribution network is being used to meet the demand for rural electricity all over the world. Due to the extra cost of extending electric lines to rural villages, it is not feasible as the installing and commissioning costs are directly related to several constraints such as distance from the main grid, the land location, utilities to be used, and the size of the approximate load. Consequently, it becomes a challenge to apply technoeconomic strategies for rural electrification. Therefore, considering the above issues of rural electrification through grid power, the renewable energy system can be an attractive solution. This research analyzes different types of loads considering domestic, industrial, and agricultural requirements for a remote village in a developing country like Bangladesh. In this paper, four types of demand scenarios are developed considering the income level of inhabitants of the village. The investigation identifies the optimal scope for renewable energy-based electrification and provides a suitable technoeconomic analysis with the help of HOMER software. The obtained results show that a combined architecture containing solar panel, diesel generator, and battery power is a viable solution and economically beneficial. The optimal configuration suggested for the primary scenario consists of 25 kW diesel generators to fulfill the basic demand. The hybrid PV-diesel-battery system becomes the optimal solution while the demand restriction is removed for secondary, tertiary, and full-option scenarios. Commercial and productive loads are considered in the load profile for these three scenarios of supply. For the primary scenario of supply, the electricity cost remains high as $0.449/kWh. On the other hand, the lowest electricity cost ($0.30/kWh) is obtained for the secondary scenario. Although the suggested optimal PV-diesel-battery might not reduce the cost of electricity (COE) and NPC significantly, it is capable to reduce dependency on diesel utilization. Hence, the emission of carbon is reduced due to less utilization of diesel that helps to minimize the greenhouse effect on the environment.
Highlights
It is a challenge to supply electricity properly to the rural or isolated areas in a country
The present study will provide sufficient information in favor of renewable energy systems as a cost-effective source of energy, and social and economic development of a rural area mainly depends on the well-organized rural electrification
HOMER software package is used for the technoeconomic analysis of this hybrid renewable energy system
Summary
It is a challenge to supply electricity properly to the rural or isolated areas in a country. A study for rural electrification is done for a community in Bangladesh with 24 kW base load while considering DG, hydrogen energy source, wind, and solar resources [12, 13]. The study focused mainly on the need for electricity in domestic use but not for other important needs of the village like irrigation, agriculture, small manufacturing facility, and mobile communication tower. Instead of HOMER modeling software, the RET screen is used by some authors for the feasibility study of a combined energy system for wind and solar resources [14,15,16,17,18,19,20]. The present study will provide sufficient information in favor of renewable energy systems as a cost-effective source of energy, and social and economic development of a rural area mainly depends on the well-organized rural electrification
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