Techno-Economic Analysis of Hybrid Diesel Generators and Renewable Energy for a Remote Island in the Indian Ocean Using HOMER Pro

Abstract

This study is about the electrification of the remote islands in the Indian Ocean that were severely affected by the tsunami in the 2004 earth earthquake. To supply electricity to the islands, two diesel generators with capacities of 110 kW and 60 kW were installed in 2019. The feasibility of using renewable energy to supplement or replace the units in these two generators is investigated in this work. In 2019, two diesel generators with capacities of 110 kW and 60 kW were installed in the islands to supply electricity. This work analyses whether the viability of using renewable energy can be used to supplement or replace these two generators. Among the renewable energy options proposed here are a 100 kW wind turbine, solar PV, a converter, and batteries. As a result, the study’s goal is to perform a techno-economic analysis and optimise the proposed hybrid diesel and renewable energy system for a remote island in the Indian Ocean. The Hybrid Optimisation Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) Pro software was used for all simulations and optimisation for this analysis. The calculation is based on the current diesel price of USD 0.90 per litre (without subsidy). The study found that renewable alone can contribute to 29.2% of renewable energy fractions based on the most optimised systems. The Net Present Cost (NPC) decreased from USD 1.65 million to USD 1.39 million, and the levelised Cost of Energy (CoE) decreased from 0.292 USD/kWh to 0.246 USD/kWh, respectively. The optimised system’s Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is 14% and Return on Investment (ROI) 10%, with a simple payback period of 6.7 years. This study shows that it would be technically feasible to introduce renewable energy on a remote island in Indonesia, where numerous islands have no access to electricity.

Design and Performance Analysis of a Grid-Connected Distributed Wind Turbine

“…As part of the National Wind Institute (NWI) research center is based at Texas Tech University (TTU), the city has become a wind energy research and technology hub, with multiple ongoing research projects taking place in the local area [38]. On the other hand, Reese Technology Centre (RTC), which is a research facility located in a former US Air Force base near Texas Tech University (TTU), collaborates with West Texas Mesonet by consistently collecting wind and solar data to explore the renewable potential of West Texas [51][52][53]. These organizations are studying the performance of large-scale turbines under typical wind conditions and the applications of wind energy as a distributed energy resource.…”

“…For the purpose of computing the techno-economic analysis of the proposed DERbased system, some economic data are required [50]. The project lifetime, nominal discount rate, inflation rate, and emission penalty for the project location can be found in [50,51]. Considering the economic data required for this analysis, a number of economic formulas are considered, as shown in Equations ( 5)- (8), in which C refers to cost.…”

Study the Impact of Fuel Cell Integration in Hybrid Autonomous Systems on Technical-Economic Performance

“…-In [15] a feasibility study of the implementation of renewable energy sources on an isolated island in the Indian Ocean to complement or replace two generators is carried out. A technoeconomic analysis and optimization of a proposed hybrid diesel and renewable energy system using Homer Pro software is carried out.…”

Techno-Economic Analysis for Raja Ampat Off-Grid System

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“…As for Teupah Island, Indonesia, Riayatsyah et al proposed an optimal hybrid diesel and PV system. The optimal configuration reduces annual operating costs by up to 29.9%, cuts CO2 emissions by 33.4%, and lowers the CoE from $0.292/kWh to $0.246/kWh [25].…”