Optimal power dispatch of an off-grid renewable energy-based system using linear programming

The provision of electricity through renewable energy sources have become the pivot for sustainable development in most remote rural communities. This paper presents the optimal power dispatch of an off-grid hybrid energy system which consists of a solar PV, wind energy and small hydropower system. Linear programming technique is proposed to solve the optimization problem. The objective of the optimization problem is to minimize the cost of electricity taking into account the constraints of the hybrid energy system. A case study for a remote rural community in Zimbabwe is used for this study. The results show that the off-grid renewable energy system is able to supply the load demand of the rural community and it is therefore a feasible solution for energy provision in remote rural communities.