Performance analysis of an off-grid wind-PV (photovoltaic)-diesel-battery hybrid energy system feasible for remote areas

Abstract

A large number of populations of the world; especially in developing countries; are living in rural or remote areas those are geographically isolated from the grid connection. Power supply and uninterrupted fuel transportation to produce electrical power for these areas poses a great challenge. Using renewable energy in off grid hybrid energy system might be a pathway to solve this problem. Malaysia is a hilly land with the gift of renewable energy resources. There is a possibility to utilize these renewable resources to produce electrical power and to limit the dependency on the fossil fuel. In this perspective, a research is carried out to analyze the performance of an off-grid PV (photovoltaic)-wind-diesel-battery hybrid energy system for a remote area named “KLIA Sepang Station” located in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. The system is designed as well as simulated to support a small community considering an average load demand of 33 kWh/day with a peak load of 3.9 kW. The simulation and optimization of operations of the system have been done by HOMER (Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable) software using the real time field data of solar radiation and wind speed of that area. The simulation ensures that the system is suitably feasible with respect to net present cost (NPC) and CO2 emission reduction purpose. The result shows that NPC and CO2 emission can be reduced about 29.65% and 16 tons per year respectively compared to the conventional power plants. The NPC of the optimized system has been found about USD 288,194.00 having the per unit Cost of Energy (COE) about USD 1.877/kWh. The analyzed hybrid energy system might be applicable for other region of the world where the climate conditions are similar.