Comparative Investigation of On-Grid and Off-Grid Hybrid Energy System for a Remote Area in District Jamshoro of Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

To meet electricity requirements and provide a long-term, sustainable existence, remote areas need to promote renewable projects. Most of the time, wind and solar power sources are selected as renewable energy technologies to help satisfy some of the power requirements. Alternative approaches should be employed, considering the inconsistent characteristics among those resources, to offer efficient and long-lasting responses. Electricity production needs to be conducted with the help of a wide range of energy sources to be productive and efficient. As a result, the current research concentrates on feasible analyses of interconnected hybrid energy systems for such remote residential electricity supply. To help a remote area’s establishment decide whether to adopt renewable electricity technology, this paper evaluates the techno-economic effectiveness of grid-connected and standalone integrated hybrid energy systems. The electricity requirements for the entire selected remote area were determined first. Furthermore, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a national renewable energy laboratory, was used to evaluate the possibilities of green energy supplies. A thorough survey was performed to determine which parts were needed to simulate the interconnected hybrid energy systems. Employing the HOMER program, we conducted a simulation, optimizations, and economic research. Considering the net present cost, cost of energy, and compensation time, an economic comparison was made between the evaluated integrated hybrid systems. The assessment reveals that perhaps the grid-connected hybrid energy system is the best option for reliably satisfying remote areas’ energy needs.

Keywords

• on-grid
• off-grid hybrid
• HOMER
• techno-economic analysis