Resource Assessment and Techno-Economic Analysis of a Grid-Connected Solar PV-Wind Hybrid System for Different Locations in Saudi Arabia

The economic growth and demographic progression in Saudi Arabia increased spending on the development of conventional power plants to meet the national energy demand. The conventional generation and continued use of fossil fuels as the main source of electricity will raise the operational environmental impact of electricity generation. Therefore, using different renewable energy sources might be a solution to this issue. In this study, a grid-connected solar PV-wind hybrid energy system has been designed considering an average community load demand of 15,000 kWh/day and a peak load of 2395 kW. HOMER software is used to assess the potential of renewable energy resources and perform the technical and economic analyses of the grid-connected hybrid system. The meteorological data was collected from the Renewable Resources Atlas developed by the King Abdullah City of Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE). Four different cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, namely, the cities of Riyadh, Hafar Albatin, Sharurah, and Yanbu were selected to do the analyses. The simulation results show that the proposed system is economically and environmentally feasible at Yanbu city. The system at this city has the lowest net present cost (NPC) and levelized the cost of energy (LCOE), highest total energy that can be sold to the grid, as well as the lowest CO2 emissions due to a highly renewable energy penetration. This grid-connected hybrid system with the proposed configuration is applicable for similar meteorological and environmental conditions in the region, and around the world. Reduction of some greenhouse gasses as well as the reduction of energy costs are main contributors of this research.