scholarly journals Design, Simulation, and Economic Optimization of an Off-Grid Photovoltaic System for Rural Electrification

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 4735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haytham El-houari ◽  
Amine Allouhi ◽  
Shafiqur Rehman ◽  
Mahmut Sami Buker ◽  
Tarik Kousksou ◽  
...  

Access to clean and affordable energy in rural African regions can contribute greatly to social development. Hence, this article proposes the design, simulation, and optimization of a stand-alone photovoltaic system (SAPV) to provide non-polluting electrical energy based on a renewable source for a rural house located in Tazouta, Morocco. Real monthly electrical demands and hourly climatic conditions were utilized. An initial design process indicated that, with a 1080 Wp total capacity of PV modules and 670 Ah of battery storage, the proposed SAPV system was able to meet a considerable part of the dwelling load with an average solar fraction of about 79.1%. The rest of the energy demand was ensured by a diesel generator (DG). Also, a life cycle analysis of the PV system revealed that the life cycle cost is 10,195.56 USD and the unit electricity cost is 0.57 USD/kWh for an initial investment of 4858.68 USD. Thereafter, an optimum design based on Homer Pro software was carried out indicating that lower PV capacity can decrease the unit energy cost to 0.356 USD/kWh while reducing the solar fraction to 54.9%.

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Okakwu, I.K ◽  
Olabode, O.E ◽  
Ade-Ikuesan, O.O ◽  
A.E Airoboman

It is needless to re-emphasize that modern day healthcare systems require uninterruptible power supply, relying on the national grid for power supply most especially in remote areas in Nigeria is a deliberate attempt to paralysis and underutilize both the human and non-human resources. This paper presents the sizing of a stand-alone photovoltaic system and economic comparison with petrol generator in powering a rural Primary Health Care Center (PHC) in Agbado, Ado-Odo, Ota Local Government, Ogun State, Nigeria. Load survey of the PHC was done in order to know the daily energy demand. The average annual solar radiation and the estimated load for the PHC used as case study are 4.89kWh/m2/day and 14.40kWh/day respectively. The result obtained from sizing the photovoltaic system reveals that the estimated load will require 5.25kW photovoltaic array capacity, 21 modules (24V, 250W each), 10 batteries (12V, 200Ah each), 3 solar charge controllers (24V, 80A each), 1 unit of 4kW inverter (24Vdc/220Vac, 50Hz), 3x70mm2 insulated flexible copper cable and 3x2.5mm2 insulated flexible copper cable. Life Cycle Cost (LCC) technique was used to assess the most economically viable option in powering the PHC. The study also reveals a savings of 64.4% in LCC using PV system as against petrol generators in powering the PHC. The replacement cost constitutes the higher factor affecting the LCC of the PV system constituting about 47.7%, while the operation and maintenance cost forms the least factor with about 28.9%. Also, for that of petrol generator, the fuel cost constitutes the highest factor affecting the LCC, constituting about 87.6%, while the initial capital cost forms the least factor which is about 0.24%. The insights from this study can be reciprocated to other rural PHCs in Nigeria.


Author(s):  
Charles Chukwuma Mbah ◽  
Ogbonna Ukachukwu Oparaku ◽  
Emmanuel Chibuikem Nnadozie

The human and economic development of any nation is largely tied to the availability of energy, hence the need for an adequate supply of electricity by reliable energy systems. Nigeria’s economic growth is undermined by the epileptic nature of its electricity supply system. Consequently, the populace is forced to turn to alternative sources of power. However, this presents another problem - conflict of choice between available options for power generation. There is, therefore, the need to assist electricity consumers in Nigeria make better and cost-effective choices in this regard. In this paper, a software computer program is developed to determine/compare life cycle cost (LCC) of solar photovoltaic (PV) and diesel generator systems as preferences for electricity generation in Nigeria. The software is developed through an approach involving load determination, energy resources determination, system sizing and a typical residential building. The key methodology adopted is evolutionary prototyping which focuses on vertical dimension approach. Typical load description of a household located in Amawbia Awka of Anambra state in Nigeria was used to test the efficiency of the source code. The initial cost and life cycle cost for the two systems over a period of 30 years was ascertained. The test results showed the solar PV system to be a more cost-effective solution than the diesel generator based on total life cycle costs. The study recommends among others, the need to increase awareness of the long-term benefits of solar energy systems as an alternative source of electricity in Nigeria.


Author(s):  
Ben Morelli ◽  
Sarah Cashman ◽  
Xin (Cissy) Ma ◽  
Jason Turgeon ◽  
Sam Arden ◽  
...  

Abstract The wastewater industry is undergoing a paradigm shift from focusing solely on treatment to incorporating concepts aimed at mitigating environmental impacts such as energy and nutrient recovery and water reuse. This study uses life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis to investigate the effect of expanding anaerobic digestion (AD) capacity and adding combined heat and power on environmental and cost indicators at a mid-sized wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) in Massachusetts, USA. Since 2014, Massachusetts has banned the disposal of organic waste from commercial organizations producing more than one ton of material per week. The WWTF's additional digester capacity allows the co-digestion of municipal solids with a food-based engineered bioslurry due to this ban. Study data were compiled for several AD feedstock quantity and performance scenarios, and compared to a baseline scenario representative of historic plant operations prior to co-digestion. Reductions in environmental impact are demonstrated for six of eight environmental impacts, including global climate change potential and cumulative energy demand. Eutrophication potential increases by 10 percent and 24 percent across assessed scenarios. Water use remains relatively constant across scenarios. Facility energy production increases dramatically with co-digestion, satisfying 100 percent of the WWTF's thermal energy requirement and producing surplus electricity assuming full AD capacity utilization.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Yee Teoh ◽  
Say Yen Khu ◽  
Chee Wei Tan ◽  
Ing Hui Hii ◽  
Kai Wee Cheu

A 1 MW grid-connected PV system is studied and analyzed in this project using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s HOMER simulation software. The economic feasibility of the system in a small industry area of Malacca, Rembia in Malaysia, is investigated. The aim of the proposed PV system is to reduce the grid energy consumption and promote the use of renewable energy. In this paper, the emphasis is placed on the reduction of greenhouse gases emission. HOMER is capable of performing simulation on renewable energy systems as well as system optimization, in which, the optimization is based on the available usage data and the renewable energy data, such as solar irradiance and temperature. In addition, HOMER can perform sensitivity analysis according to different assumptions of uncertainty factors to determine its impact on the studied system and also the per unit energy cost. Finally, the most suitable or the best configuration system can be identified based on the requirements and constraints.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2233
Author(s):  
Tamer Khatib ◽  
Dhiaa Halboot Muhsen

A standalone photovoltaic system mainly consists of photovoltaic panels and battery bank. The use of such systems is restricted mainly due to their high initial costs. This problem is alleviated by optimal sizing as it results in reliable and cost-effective systems. However, optimal sizing is a complex task. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been shown to be effective in PV system sizing. This paper presents an AI-based standalone PV system sizing method. Differential evolution multi-objective optimization is used to find the optimal balance between system’s reliability and cost. Two objective functions are minimized, the loss of load probability and the life cycle cost. A numerical algorithm is used as a benchmark for the proposed method’s speed and accuracy. Results indicate that the AI algorithm can be successfully used in standalone PV systems sizing. The proposed method was roughly 27 times faster than the numerical method. Due to AI algorithm’s random nature, the proposed method resulted in the exact optimal solution in 6 out of 12 runs. Near-optimal solutions were found in the other six runs. Nevertheless, the nearly optimal solutions did not introduce major departure from optimal system performance, indicating that the results of the proposed method are practically optimal at worst.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nevzat Onat

Stand-alone photovoltaic (SAPV) systems are widely used in rural areas where there is no national grid or as a precaution against power outages. In this study, technical and economic analysis of a SAPV system was carried out using meteorological data for 75 province centers in seven geographical regions of Turkey. Obtained results for each province center were separated by geographical area. The averages of the centers for each region are taken as output. A calculation algorithm based on MsExcel has been established for these operations. The analyses made with the developed algorithm are repeated for five different scenarios that they cover periods of time when a constant strong load is active for all seasons (winter, spring, summer, and autumn) and all year round. The developed algorithm calculates the life-cycle cost, the unit energy cost, the electrical capacity utilization rate, the amount of generated/excess energy per month, the initial investment/replacement, and operating and maintenance (O&M) costs of each element. As a result, geographical regions of Turkey are compared in terms of these outputs graphically. Further investigations may include the sale of excess energy generated, small-scale PV system cost factors parallel to the grid, and the effects of government incentives.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 790-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Fonseca ◽  
Pedro Moura ◽  
Humberto Jorge ◽  
Aníbal de Almeida

Purpose The purpose of this study was to design a renovation plan for a university campus building (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering) with the aim to achieve nearly zero energy performance, ensuring a low specific demand (lower than 44 kWh/m2) and a high level of on-site renewable generation (equivalent to more than 20 per cent of the energy demand). Design/methodology/approach The baseline demand was characterized based on energy audits, on smart metering data and on the existing building management system data, showing a recent reduction of the electricity demand owing to some implemented measures. The renovation plan was then designed with two main measures, the total replacement of the actual lighting by LEDs and the installation of a photovoltaic system (PV) with 78.8 kWp coupled with an energy storage system with 100 kWh of lithium-ion batteries. Findings The designed renovation achieved energy savings of 20 per cent, with 27.5 per cent of the consumed energy supplied by the PV system. This will ensure a reduction of the specific energy of the building to only 30 kWh/m2, with 42.4 per cent savings on the net-energy demand. Practical implications The designed renovation proves that it is possible to achieve nearly zero energy goals with cost-effective solutions, presenting the lighting renovation and the solar PV generation system a payback of 2.3 and 6.9 years, respectively. Originality/value This study innovated by defining ambitious goals to achieve nearly zero energy levels and presenting a design based on a comprehensive lighting retrofit and PV generation, whereas other studies are mostly based on envelope refurbishment and behaviour changes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-201
Author(s):  
Saja Majeed Hashim ◽  
Osamah Fadhil Abdulateef ◽  
Falah Ibrahim Alattar

This paper displays the improvement of Graphical User Interface programming for sizing principle segment in Stand-Alone PV system and PV- Diesel hybrid power system based on Iraq conditions. The solar system software is a tool depends on the input data by the user to give correct results on the basis of what has been introduced. Therefore, this software tool Includes products (PV modules, charge controller, inverter, battery and diesel generator) which can be obtained from the market with their detail. This software presents a guideline for photovoltaic system integrator to match the load requirement to design the effective size of components and system configuration, in hybrid PV–Diesel system. The ratio of photovoltaic solar energy to diesel generators is introduced by considering the contribution of hybrid system energy.


TECCIENCIA ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (31) ◽  
pp. 15-28
Author(s):  
Asad A. Naqvi ◽  
Talha Bin Nadeem ◽  
Ahsan Ahmed ◽  
Asad Ali Zaidi

Off-grid Photovoltaic (PV) system along with battery storage is very effective solution for electrification in remote areas. However, battery capacity selection is the most challenging task in system designing. In this study, an off-grid PV system along with battery storage is designed for the remote area of Karachi, Pakistan. The system is designed by considering the maximum energy requirement in summer season. The battery storage is selected to fulfill the energy demand during the night and cloudy seasons. On the basis of load, a total of 6 kW system is required to fulfill the energy demand. For such system, 925 Ah of battery is required to meet the energy requirement for a day in absence of solar irradiation. A regression-based correlation between battery capacity and energy demand is prepared for suitable battery sizing using Minitab. An economic analysis of the project is also carried out from which a net present value and simple payback are determined as USD 10,348 and 3 years, respectively. The environmental benefits are also been determined. It is found that the system will reduce around 7.32 tons of CO2 per annum which corresponds to the 183.69 tons of CO2 not produced in the entire project life.


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