Techno‐economic feasibility analysis of stand‐alone hybrid wind/photovoltaic/diesel/battery system for the electrification of remote rural areas: Case study Persian Gulf Coast‐Iran

Abstract

In this study, a techno‐economic feasibility study of off‐grid hybrid power systems is performed for a rural area, which is located at a significant distance from the grid connection in Bushehr province of Iran, beside the Persian Gulf. HOMER simulation software is used to determine the economic feasibility of the systems. The simulations were focused on net present cost which includes cost of energy (COE) and renewable fraction of the hybrid configurations. The results indicate that the wind/PV/diesel/battery hybrid renewable system configuration is the optimum system, primarily based on COE and achieving a 61.4% renewable energy fraction. The proposed hybrid power system not only exhibits better performance in fuel consumption but also reduces carbon dioxide emissions. It could mitigate the emission of 664 tons of greenhouse gases to the local atmosphere of the village, as well as other air pollution emissions, which could offer substantial benefit to both residence and environment. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis shows that a rise in fuel prices will derive more demand for alternative energy sources. For instance, when the fuel price is more than $0.5/L, the optimal energy option would be the wind/PV/battery system. In that case, it is no longer economical to use the diesel generator and renewable energy penetration becomes 100%. © 2019 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 38:e13146, 2019