Chapter 13 - Techno-economic modeling of stand-alone and hybrid renewable energy systems for thermal applications in isolated areas

Abstract

Energy is a key factor in the global economy, and therefore modeling of energy systems has received significant research attention. Energy system models are the mathematical models, which are built to represent various problems, related to energy as accurately as possible. Most of the world's energy generation is from fossil fuel, resulting in a continuous depletion of this resource. Production of milk, fruit, and vegetable along with their processing spread over 70% of the population in countries like India. Agricultural produce loses its value in remote areas due to the inadequate preservation facilities available during its storage and transit. At a local village level, this spoilage could be avoided by supplying short-term cooling systems. Since the availability of feedstock and conversion processes are adequate, serious research has to be carried out to ensure a constant flow of energy services by introducing renewable energy-based technologies. In this chapter, a model is proposed for the technoeconomic assessment of a chilling device powered by hybrid renewable energy to satisfy the cooling needs in isolated areas where there is plenty of bioenergy and solar energy resources available. There is no appropriate research available for hybrid energy systems, with the mixture of existing renewable energy resources as reported in this work. To implement renewable energy for a chilling system, a comprehensive study is also required to find a suitable combination of different renewable energy sources to satisfy the cooling requirements in any remote region. The study conducted in the selected regions shows that the recommended milk chilling system with hybrid renewable energy could work with an overall system performance of 0.17–0.195 and a low payback period of 4.6–5.4 years, besides a positive net present value.