Generating electricity using pico hydro-based power plant in Koohrang county, Iran: effect of energy storage type

Abstract

Hydropower boasts the capability to consistently generate electricity throughout the year, offering the lowest operating costs and the longest lifespan among renewable energy technologies. Given the aforementioned considerations and the absence of prior investigations into Iran's hydropower potential, this study employs HOMER software to explore the feasibility of supplying electricity to a village comprising 10 households near Koohrang Tunnel in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, leveraging solar, wind, and hydro turbine renewable energies. Three distinct scenarios, centered around hydro turbine utilization, were examined. These scenarios aimed to provide electricity in off-grid (1st scenario) and grid-connected modes (2nd scenario), as well as to generate electricity and hydrogen in a grid-connected mode (3rd scenario). In the first scenario, the most economically viable design yielded a cost of $0.187 per kWh of generated electricity, with 99% of the electricity sourced from the hydro turbine and the remaining 1% from a diesel generator. This scenario resulted in a CO2 emission of 23.2 kg/y. In the second scenario, the most cost-effective option supplied 94% of the electricity from the hydro turbine and the remaining portion from the main grid, at a cost of $0.033 per kWh. Notably, surplus electricity sold to the main grid facilitated an annual reduction of 1297 kg of CO2 emissions. The third scenario, which combined the hydro turbine with the main grid, presented the most financially viable option. Here, the costs of per kWh of generated electricity and per kg of produced hydrogen were $2.012 and $0.49, respectively.

Keywords

• pico hydro
• reformer
• hydrogen
• homer