Optimum Design of Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Sustainable Energy Supply to a Remote Island

Renewable energy technologies can not only help in mitigating the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but it can also be very useful for electricity generation at remote locations, where no other means of power are available. The present study focuses on the techno-economic optimum design of a small hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) consisting of wind-solar as primary energy sources. The HRES was modelled for a remote island (Deokjeok-do Island, South Korea) using real electricity consumption data for one complete year. A daily mean load of 24,720 kWh was entered at Deokjeok-do Island with a peak load of 2291.54 kW. Average annual values of wind speed and daily solar radiations were estimated to be 3.6 m/s (10 m height) and 4.13 kWh/m(2), respectively. A total of 8760 simulations were performed to achieve the hourly load demand of the mentioned island. In order to deal with the surplus and electricity deficit, two different types of energy storage systems (ESS) were modelled i.e., battery and pumped hydro storage (PHS). Four different HRESs were also evaluated as the most suitable based on levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and net present cost (NPC). A detailed economic break-down of each component and the impact of different sensitivity variables on decision making have also been discussed in detail.