Techno-economic Analysis fo Hybrid Energy System for Rural Electrificationusing Open Source energy Modeling Tool

Abstract

The world energy demand continues to increase due to the rising population growth and industrialization. In Algeria, the conventional energy resources represent the backbone of the energy sector while the huge renewable energy potential is not exploited. The country presents an electrification rate of 100%. However, Algeria is not fully connected to the grid; people in villages that are far from the grids, are left to the use of diesel generators for electricity supply. Those generators pollute the environment and are costly. In addition, the grid-connected sites in the south are plagued with incessant power outages and poor performance of the grid during summertime. Microgrid system is found to be the best solution for rural electrification, since it can be on- or off grid-connected. This work aims to conduct the techno-economic feasibility of Hybrid Micro-Grid energy system (HMG) for a village in Adrar province in the south of Algeria. A microgrid tool based on Oemof was designed and several scenarios were examined based on the available resource. For each scenario, the power system was optimized to get the most cost-effective electricity output. The systems have been analyzed based on selected decision criteria such as Levelized cost of electricity, net present value, and renewable energy share. The wind_LPG system gives the optimum system for the selected location with an LCOE of 0.192USD/kWh and 82,71% share of wind energy, thereby presenting the best compromise between RE share and energy cost. Sensitivity analysis was also performed on all the scenarios to track the effect of variation of the decisive parameters on the optimum energy system. The selected hybrid microgrid will assist in providing reliable energy to the village and reduce the carbon emission by 73% compared to LPG fuel only system.