Resource Assessment and Optimization Study of Efficient Type Hybrid Power System for Electrification of Rural District in Ethiopia

The Somali region in Ethiopia enjoys an average wind speed of 5m/s at 10m elevation and an average daily solar radiation of 7.5kwh/m2/day. Within this perspective, a remote rural village in Somali region calledWerder district (6050'N 45030' E) can be electrified with a stand-alone hybrid renewable energy system. The village is far away from the national electric grid and the electrical load density in the village is low. Extension of national grid to this village which is located 576km away from national grid is not economically feasible. Therefore, this study aims to explore techno-economic analysis of electrifying the village with hybrid renewable energy. The software HOMER was used in this study to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of various hybrid energy alternatives to the village. The economic analysis compares the levelized cost of electricity generation for the three option; wind/PV/diesel generator, diesel generator only system and national grid extension. The levelized cost focusing on the elements causing differences such as fuel price, PV modules, with battery or generator rather than the elements that are similar across the technology choices (distribution, metering, etc). The finding indicate that photovoltaic/wind/diesel generator hybrid system was feasible systems based on some important parameters such as high renewable penetration, less annual diesel consumption, less carbon dioxide emission, less unmet load, less capacity shortage and cost of energy. A thermal load (boiler) is added to the system that uses the excess power generation during the night rather than dissipating it to the dump load; which greatly improved the efficiency of the system at small cost of diesel to the boiler.