Techno-economic optimization of hybrid power generation systems: A renewables community case study

This paper presents a techno-economic optimization procedure for selecting the best energy mix of renewable energy sources to meet the predefined power demands of an isolated community. The simulation model, based on Trnsys software, incorporates the technical characteristics of each plant component, site meteorological data, investment, and operation and management costs. An optimization procedure selects the best combination and sizing of each generation system and energy storage capacity to achieve the minimum value of Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) for different renewable energy fractions from 40% to 100%. A case study for a new renewable community with a peak load of 50 MW in the Tabuk region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is presented and discussed. The implementation of a complete renewable system raised the LCOE trend to 0.156 USD/kWh from 0.081 USD/kWh. The optimal renewable penetration for the analyzed case is approximately 80%, with an overall LCOE of 0.092 USD/ kWh. The optimized power mix highlights the possibility of providing clean energy without a huge cost burden.