Investigative Study on Emissions Level and Cost Analysis of Diesel Powered and Solar PV-Diesel Hybrid Systems

Abstract

In this work, a comparative study on emissions and cost implications of diesel powered and solar photovoltaic-diesel hybrid systems was carried out for three commercial banks. With the aid of HOMER Pro software, meteorological data, energy demand, system component data, capital and operating costs were used for analysis of the two systems. The results showed that in Bank A, the diesel generator alone releases 111,618 kg/yr of Carbon dioxide while the hybrid system releases 41,618 kg/yr of Carbon dioxide. For Bank B the quantity of carbon dioxide emissions released from the diesel generator in Bank B is 53,830 kg/yr, while the carbon dioxide released from the hybrid energy system is 24,082 kg/yr. For Bank C, the diesel generator alone released 177,799 kg/yr of Carbon dioxide and 129,060 kg/yr of carbon dioxide was released from the hybrid system. This suggests that the diesel generator alone releases more emissions when compared with the hybrid system in all the three banks. The Net present cost of energy and levelized cost of energy were used to find out the cost effectiveness of hybrid systems. The results showed that the levelized cost of energy for the generator alone and hybrid system, respectively in Bank A is $0.713 and $0.343. While for Bank B, it is $0.568 and $0.2553. Finally for Bank C, it was $0.731 and $0.556. Therefore, solar-diesel hybrid system has a comparatively low emission and can be considered as a more economical option for electricity generation.