Optimization of Microgrid System for Community Electrification by using HOMER Pro

Abstract

A microgrid included multiple energy sources such as a diesel generator, photovoltaic system (PV), wind turbines (WTs), and so on. The key reason for the growth of hybrid energy technology or microgrid is the reliability, abundance of renewable energy (RE) and it can use the resources in an efficient manner. This research aims to incorporate a stand-alone community microgrid in Cumilla, Bangladesh to deliver electricity to a residential community and determine the optimum solution to satisfy total demand. The load profile is considered in this study for a residential community situated in Cumilla. Moreover, three case studies are taken into account to analyze the optimum result. The simulation analysis is executed in the optimization software that is the Hybrid Optimization Model for Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER pro). Several types of analysis are conducted such as NPV, COE, emission, energy production, and operating cost. The simulation results reveal that case 3 (solar, wind and diesel generator) is the optimum solution as it has the lowest NPV, COE, and operating cost.