Feasibility of solar hybrid energy system at a conservation park: Technical, economic, environmental analysis

Access to clean, reliable, affordable energy has become vital for sustainable development. However, such energy facilities are still unavailable in many rural areas worldwide. The implementation of the clean energy system in remote locations is often challenging. This paper aims to design a hybrid energy system for a conservation park and analyze its technical, economic, and environmental performance. A campsite located in Royal Belum State Park, Malaysia, is chosen as a case study. HOMER Pro software is used to assess the feasibility of different system configurations. In terms of net present cost (NPC), the best system configuration is a 4.13 kW PV array, 11 kWh battery bank, and 0.85 kW converter. It is followed by a PV/DG/Battery system with an NPC of 12767.91 USD. A rise in battery capacity, energy generation, and the initial cost are observed with the increase in the share of PV capacity. It was understood that the PV/DG/Battery hybrid system is technically superior to the standalone diesel system in terms of renewable energy fraction and energy storage autonomy. In terms of economic performance, the PV/DG/Battery system fares better than other configurations with the lowest cost of electricity, payback period, and highest return on investment. High carbon avoidance and negligibly small carbon emission are the unique benefits expected from PV/Battery configurations. In this study, PV/Battery is expected to avoid around 3407.39 kgCO(2) annually. This study is expected to shed light on designing an effective hybrid energy system at a conservation park. (c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This paper aims to design a hybrid energy system for a conservation park and analyze its technical, economic, and environmental performance. A campsite located in Royal Belum State Park, Malaysia, is chosen as a case study. The best system configuration is a 4.13 kW PV array, 11 kWh battery bank, and 0.85 kW converter in terms of net present cost.