Techno-Economic Feasibility of a Grid-Connected Hybrid Renewable Energy System for a School in North-West Indonesia

Date

2020-03-18

Advisors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Hapres

Type

Article

Peer reviewed

Yes

Abstract

Background: Schools typically have high diurnal fluctuation in electricity demand, with peak loads during daylight hours, which could be adequately met through harnessing solar renewable resources. This study demonstrates the strength of techno-economic assessment in selection and optimization of a grid-connected hybrid renewable energy system (HRES), utilizing local renewable resources to fulfil the daytime electricity demand for a school in northwest Indonesia.

Methods: Three different scenarios are developed for optimizing the HRES configurations, comprising of PV panels, Wind turbine, Battery and Inverter. The following optimization parameters are used—one, technological performance of the HRES, in terms of their energy output to fulfil the energy deficit; two, economic performance of the HRES, in terms of their net present cost (NPC) and payback periods.

Results: A clear trade-off is noted between the level of complexity of the three HRES, their renewable electricity generation potentials, NPC and payback periods. Scenario II, comprising of Solar PV and Inverter only, is found to be the most feasible and cost-effective HRES, with the optimized configuration of 245 kW PV capacity and 184 kW inverter having the lowest initial capital cost of US$ 51,686 and a payback time of 4 years to meet the school’s annual electricity load of 114,654 kWh. Its NPC is US$ −138,017 at the 20th year of installation. The negative value in year 20 is achieved through the sale of 40% of the renewable energy back to the grid.

Conclusions: Techno-economic assessment can provide useful decision support in designing HRES relying on solar energy to serve predominantly daytime school electricity requirements in tropical countries.

Description

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link. open access journal

Keywords

grid-connected, HRES, NPC, payback, school, techno-economic

Citation

Illiandi, B. and Tiwary, A. (2020) Techno-Economic Feasibility of a Grid-Connected Hybrid Renewable Energy System for a School in North-West Indonesia. Journal of Sustainability Research, 2(2).

Rights

Research Institute