Optimization and Feasibility Analysis of an Off-Grid Solar Photovoltaic Hybrid System for a Specific Coastal Area in Bangladesh

Abstract

In today's world, it is almost impossible to live without electricity. This paper represents an optimization of a solar PV hybrid system for off-grid. We have selected Char Andar, Patuakhali, a char area where electricity is almost non-existent during the day so that a solar hybrid system can be a significant solution there. Our proposed system is made for a primary load demand of 1212.36 kWh/day, having a residential peak load of 163.94 kW and commercial peak load of 11.78 kW. Among them, the residential load is 1147.60 kWh/day, and the commercial load is 64.76 kWh/day. HOMER modeling software has been used to design the off-grid system. Solar energy is considered the primary source of energy, wind energy is a subsidiary energy source, and a diesel generator is added as a backup energy source. A converter is used to convert power from DC to AC. The battery is obviously added to store energy. Most important parameters, such as Renewable Penetration (RP), are selected at 80% to reduce GHG emissions. Other parameters like COE, diesel fuel consumption, simple payback, IRR, and ROI were also considered so that the proposed system would be technoeconomically feasible. From HOMER optimization, we get 660 kW PV, four 10kW wind turbines, and a selected 150kW diesel generator for a backup energy source. The energy generation cost is estimated at 0.0846/kWh. We also make financial assessments on RETScreen software and compare them with HOMER simulation results. From RETScreen software, we get a simple payback of 4.7 years by mainly analyzing the capital of PV, wind turbines, and diesel generators. In HOMER system optimization, we obtained a simple payback of 2.7 years. For economic feasibility, we preferred HOMER-optimized results.