Assessing Socio and Techno-economic Impacts of Hybrid Renewable Energy System with Energy Storage for a Rural Development in Malaysia

Abstract

The electrification prospect at rural areas in Malaysia is limited because of no access to grid connection. This challenge has aroused concerns in finding alternative source of energy. Hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) appears as a promising solution in dealing with that problem. In this study, a linear programming model is employed to estimate socioeconomic and techno-economic analysis of HRES at Tanjung Labian. The target location is a rural area in Sabah, with the major source of income comes from timber. The socioeconomic evaluation of this study reveals the minimum values of loss of load probability (LOLP) and expected demand not served (EDNS) from the configuration of hybrid PV-diesel with battery and this result contributes to the highest number of students who passed the examination. Apart from that, the HRES that generates electricity equivalent to 57.7% from Photovoltaic (PV) system, 5.21% from diesel generator 1, 3.59% from diesel generator 2 and 33.5% from diesel generator 3 is found to be an optimal hybrid configuration according to the net present cost (NPC) and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) values. The investigation also demonstrated the impact of load demand growth, diesel prices, the capital cost of battery and PV panel on the NPC and LCOE values. Additionally, based on harmful gas emission rate released to the environment, the hybrid PV-diesel with battery configuration is the most environmentally friendly system compared to other configurations. The result presented in this study may encourage the adoption of hybrid renewable energy with battery system in Malaysia. https://dorl.net/dor/ 20.1001.1.13090127.2021.11.2.17.6