Techno-economic Feasibility Investigation of an Integrated Renewable Energy System

Despite the number of electrification schemes in India, households in rural sectors at isolated locations do not have access to power due to the higher cost and intricacy of grid extension. All these issues can be addressed by utilizing locally available renewable energy resources. The objective of this study is to develop an integrated renewable energy system (IRES) design framework and to evaluate the techno-economic viability of potential IRES to provide electricity to remote rural hilly area. As a case study, Munsyari Tehsil of district Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand (India), has been considered and a thorough load-resource assessment is carried out for this area. Considering the estimated renewable energy sources, system size optimization and sensitivity analysis is performed on the SPV/HEP/BOG/BES in the MATLAB environment using the chimp optimization algorithm to meet peak-load demand. Based on the constraints of available land area and energy reliability, optimization results have been obtained. Results revealed that the system optimized with land constraint is 25% more cost-effective than the system optimized without land constraint, with a total life cycle cost of INR 51.365 million. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed, and it is found that the land area constraint has a significant impact on the system's energy reliability. The study findings will help policymakers, analysts, and planners of IRESs to pinpoint site-based design limitations and create effective IRES solutions in hilly remote rural areas.