Techno-economic and environmental analysis of utility-scale hybrid renewable energy system integrating waste-to-energy plant to complement an unreliable grid operation

While there are growing interests in the design and analysis of hybrid power systems fueled by solar, wind, and diesel resources, the integration of municipal solid wastes into the energy mix is rarely reported. Given this, the present study conducted a techno-economic and environmental feasibility analysis of hybrid wind-solar energy systems incorporating municipal solid waste-fueled power plants to complement an unreliable grid wheeling electricity to a district in Abuja, Nigeria's capital city. A hybrid optimization model for electric renewables was employed to explore various design options. According to the results, the optimal system ranked based on the lowest net present cost comprised solar photovoltaic panels of 20,000 kW, waste-to-energy plants of 500 kW, a power converter of 5000 kW, grid power of 999,999 kW and 25,000 strings of battery energy storage system. The operating cost, levelized cost of energy, and net present cost of this system are lower by 55%, 68%, and 85%, respectively, compared to using grid/diesel generator architecture. Similarly, the environment will be saved from the emission of carbon dioxide of 7148 tons/year, sulfur dioxides of 21.57 tons/year, nitrogen oxides of 34.75 tons/year, carbon monoxide of 35.30 tons/year, unburned hydrocarbons of 1.53 tons/year, and particulate matter of 0.80 tons/year if the proposed model were to be implemented. This study, therefore, concludes that municipal solid waste is a viable candidate to offset carbon-intensive diesel in hybrid renewable energy systems operations.