A feasibility study and cost benefit analysis of an off-grid hybrid system for a rural area electrification

Abstract

Off-grid power production utilizing renewable sources of power has become more significant and viable to meet the limited demands of remote locations. The primary goal of this study is to develop an economic and optimal hybrid PV/Biogas configuration for power production for rural common facilities including one Primary school, Junior school, and Panchayat Ghar buildings of Sarai Jairam village in Uttar Pradesh, India. Data on the electric load was gathered for two schools and Panchayat Ghar. The PV/biogas hybrid configuration was designed utilizing the Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) and techno-economic analysis is carried out to fulfill the load requirements. The available biomass potential and the data on solar irradiance of the study area were utilized in the HOMER software to carry out the analysis. The HOMER analysis produced a solution that included total net present cost (NPC) and cost of electricity (COE), and these results were then further improved using sensitivity analysis. The sensitivity analysis employed sensitivity parameters like biomass potential, biomass pricing, solar irradiance, and variation in loads. Based on the NPC and COE, this analysis evaluates the system performance and demonstrates that it is techno-economically feasible.