Optimum sizing and economic assessment of hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) in Zerbattiya and Al-Faw

Energy management and sustainable resources are regarded as major concerns when designing hybrid energy systems. Finding an efficient framework that combines a reliable design under varying weather conditions, and which is environment friendly, at minimal cost at all conditions is essential and this is the main goal of designing hybrid renewable energy systems. Electrification to remote areas with limited or no access to grid connection is one of the most challenging issues in developing countries like Iraq. The problem is that many of the remote areas in Iraq have randomly expanded in the past years with the same generation stations. Due to physical inaccessibility, rough and difficult terrains, and the absence of required infrastructure, the possibility of delivering electricity to these are becoming time consuming, costly, and beyond the capability of the remote area. The study presented work analyses the feasible sizing of hybrid renewable energy system (HRES), PV-Wind hybrid system. The proposed system includes battery unit for storage purposes and diesel generator for reliable operation, and auxiliary tools, as a means of compensating for power supply shortage. To determine the optimal system set up and components, the application of optimization techniques such as Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) and HOMER optimization is imposed on the design. Through this method, this research looked into producing of the best combination of hybrid renewable energy system that prioritized reliability, highest possible renewable energy penetration, according to minimum expenditure value for over 20 years of the proposed system of life expectancy. Results revealed that the most techno-economic feasible hybrid system solutions for both Zerbattiya and Al-Faw are of Wind-Diesel-Battery (WT-DG-BT) configuration under the MOPSO and HOMER optimization techniques. As for the city of Zerbattiya, through MOPSO optimization techniques, the results showed a very high hybrid systemreliability of 99.97%, very good renewable penetration coverage of 85.23%, and a low cost of energy (COE) of 0.125US$/KWh. In the case of Al-Faw, analysis pointed to a very high hybrid system reliability of 99.93%, penetration rate of 82.12%, with a cost of energy at 0.13 US$/KWh. The outcome of this research showed that, the hybrid system has high capability for the electricity to reach the remote areas such as Zerbattiya and Al-Faw. With thorough analysis, the implementation of the proposed hybrid systemis able to meet the basic needs such as electricity for the benefit of the societies in all remote areas of the world.