Feasibility Study of Hybrid Power Systems for Remote Dwellings in Tamil Nadu, India

Hybrid power systems are technically suitable for providing continuous and quality power to remotely located dwellings and have the potential of reducing the greenhouse gases emissions. The present study aims at finding an optimal hybrid power system based on wind, solar, diesel, and battery backup, which can address the load requirements of a village (Muhavoor, India). The present study utilizes the HOMER software for sizing the major power components, performing economic analysis and estimating greenhouse gas emission. It uses the minimum cost of energy as the basis for optimum system selection. Local load, wind speed, and solar radiation data along with technical and financial input of wind turbines, solar photovoltaic panels, diesel generators, inverters, and fuel are considered in the simulation. Several options have been considered in the study including: diesel, PV/diesel/battery, wind/diesel, and PV/wind/diesel/battery hybrid power systems. Based on the simulation results and analysis, the PV/diesel/battery system with 53MW capacity of PV, 16.55MW diesel generator capacity, 3,520MWh of battery backup, and 15.5MW of converter is recommended as the best option for the concerned village. This system is capable of meeting the entire load of the village with annual energy yield of 92,549MWh with an excess energy of 7,262MWh. Of the total electricity produced, PV panels generate 92.71% with a renewable fraction of 89.2% at an energy cost of 0.117US$/kWh. The total cost of the proposed hybrid power system can be recovered in 11 or 8 years with positive cash flows at the end of year 12 or 9 based on sale of electricity alone or with additional income from fuel savings and greenhouse gases credit incentive.