A Study on Dairy Farm-Based Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems in South Africa

Hybrid renewable distributed generation systems are a potential solution to both South Africa's high greenhouse gas emissions and aspirations for universal electrification for remote rural communities. Indigenous resources such biomass, solar and wind are widely available in the country which can preferably be harnessed to supply energy to these communities by implementing hybrid renewable energy systems. For implementing such projects, economic feasibility studies are necessary to compare various scenarios of hybridization in terms of cost parameters such as Net Present Cost (NPC) and Cost of Electricity (COE). This paper presents the economic feasibility analyses of biogas, solar and wind-based stand-alone and grid-connected HRES for dairy farm-based energy generation. These systems are designed to not only cater for the energy needs of the farm but also for the local community. The possibility of grid-sales is also studied for grid-connected systems. Based on the findings, recommendations are made to include principles on financing and regulation to ensure that these distributed systems are more economically viable and more widely adopted.