Modeling, Simulation, and Experimental Analysis of a Photovoltaic and Biogas Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Electrification of Rural Community

Abstract

This research is a numerical study, with simulation and experimental investigation of a novel photovoltaic and biogas hybrid renewable energy system. PVSYST simulation software is used to evaluate the energy generation of photovoltaic (PV) systems installed at optimum tilt angle and interrow spacing, as well as measure the performance ratio and system losses. The results obtained from simulations show that annual energy production from designed PV system is 16 654.80 kWh year−1 and its annual specific energy production is 1556.5 kWh kWp year−1. The average annual performance ratio is about 84.3%, normalized array production is 3.23 kWh kWp day−1, normalized system losses are 0.07 kWh kWp day−1, and normalized system production is 3.16 kWh kWp day−1. With SuperPro Designer software, a model is developed for simulating anaerobic digestion for treating animal manure to produce biogas. The simulation yields 88.13% of CH4 and 6.49% of CO2. The performance of the installed experimental setup is examined for 30 d. The maximum load demand of all houses is 46.902 kWh, whereas maximum energy produced by a hybrid PV/biogas system is 61.06 kWh. The payback period for a hybrid photovoltaic/biogas system is estimated to be 4.47 years and levelized cost of energy is 0.0186 USD kWh−1. The hybrid PV/biogas system results in net CO2 mitigation of 20.45 tCO2(e).