Title: Performance evaluation of a standalone hybrid microgrid for a rural community using various dispatch strategies

Authors: Vijay Kumar Garg; Sudhir Sharma

Addresses: I.K. Gujral Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, Punjab, India; Department of Electrical Engineering, UIET, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, India ' Department of Electrical Engineering, DAV Institute of Engineering and Technology, Jalandhar, India

Abstract: Distributed energy sources prove to be a viable alternative for electricity in rural/remote areas. In this paper, the performance of a standalone hybrid microgrid comprising of solar photovoltaic (PV), diesel generator (DG), and battery energy storage system (BESS) has been evaluated for a small rural community. The overall aim is to propose sustainable, economical and reliable electricity supply in rural/remote areas. The optimum sizing of various units has been evaluated using hybrid optimisations multiple energy resources (HOMER) simulations with four dispatch strategies, i.e., load following, cycle charging, combine dispatch, and predictive dispatch. The outcomes show that the PV-DG-BESS system is an optimal solution based on net present cost (NPC) and cost of energy (COE) parameters under a predictive dispatch strategy. The sustainability of the optimum hybrid microgrid has been evaluated using sensitivity analysis using various input parameters.

Keywords: hybrid microgrid; solar photovoltaic; hybrid renewable energy sources; dispatch strategies; sensitivity analysis; cost of energy; COE; battery energy storage system; BESS; hybrid optimisations multiple energy resources; HOMER; net present cost; NPC.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPELEC.2023.129987

International Journal of Power Electronics, 2023 Vol.17 No.3, pp.356 - 383

Received: 30 Sep 2021
Accepted: 14 Dec 2021
Published online: 04 Apr 2023 *

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