Investigations on Off-Grid Hybrid Renewable Energy Microgrid for Sustainable Development Growth

Abstract

The principal aim of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals is to attain a much better and more sustainable future for all. In recent times, microgrids have attracted much attention, given the transformation of software systems and raising the bar for customers in terms of sustainability, reliability and cost predictability. Consequently, there is a need for microgrid development in remote areas. Our paper proposes a hybrid renewable energy microgrid (HREM) that focuses on the affordable, efficient, reliable and sustainable growth of energy systems. This paper presents an optimized off-grid HREM for a remote locality in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The proposed approach employs a configuration of photovoltaic (PV) arrays, AC loads, a diesel generator set, a wind turbine and a battery energy storage system (BESS) connected to AC/DC buses and designed to satisfy the power requirements of a remote, rural community residential area. The primary objective was to carry out a cost optimization of the designed system. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to obtain a feasible solution from the optimized results and evaluate the robustness of the design. The primary objective was to carry out a cost optimization of the designed system. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to obtain a feasible solution from the optimized results and evaluated the robustness of the design. A detailed analysis was made by comparing the [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] and it was found that the former offered better results for the particular location. Overall, it was observed that our proposed system offers renewable energy for residential loads that is relatively inexpensive, reliable and sustainable.