Energizing rural Pakistan through optimization of stand alone hybrid systems with techno-economic, multi-criteria decision and sensitivity analysis

Access to reliable electricity remains a challenge for rural communities far from national grids, often leading to high costs and environmental damage from diesel generators. This study examines the use of stand-alone hybrid energy systems in Kappar, a rural village in Pakistan. The hybrid optimization of multiple energy resources Pro software was used to design and evaluate different energy sources, including diesel generators, wind turbines, photovoltaics (PV) panels, and batteries, considering their technical, economic, and environmental impacts. A multi-criteria decision making approach based on simple additive weighting and analytic hierarchy process technique was used to help identify the best system configuration, which was the combined hybrid system of PV panels, a diesel generator, and batteries. This optimal setup had the least net present cost of $964,584 and significantly reduced electricity costs to $0.48 per kWh. Further it cuts carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to 99.8% compared to using only diesel. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis showed that even a small decrease in system capacity could lower costs by over 38%, making it a more economical choice than extending the grid. This research demonstrates how rural areas can achieve sustainable and affordable electrification, offering valuable insights for future energy policy and planning.