Soft computing tool for aiding the integration of hybrid sustainable renewable energy systems, case of Putumayo, Colombia

Abstract

This study contributes to the development of a soft computing tool used for the integration of hybrid renewable energy systems. The tool consists of the integration of a forecasting sub-tool for assessing quantitative and qualitative data. These data are input for a fuzzy multi-objective decision model developed in GAMS, where the total present value and the CO2 emissions of the system are minimized to obtain a set of Pareto alternatives. These alternatives are used as input for a fuzzy multi-attribute model developed in MATLAB. The CO2 emissions and the total present value, together with social, technologic, and environmental criteria are used as inputs for choosing the most sustainable alternative. Finally, the tool is tested in Puerto Guzmán, a small village of the department of Putumayo in southern Colombia. The selected and most sustainable alternative is composed of 31.2% diesel, 47.7% gasification of biomass, 7.9% solar photovoltaic and the rest with small hydro. The total present value of the system is 0.56 million USD and CO2 emissions are 0.4 million kg.