Design of an isolated renewable hybrid energy system: a case study

TLDR

Renewable energy technologies have become cost‑competitive and are viewed as essential for global environmental goals, yet in Palestine they are crucial for relieving long‑standing energy crises in cities such as Jenin. This study evaluates the availability of renewable energy resources in Jenin Governorate, West Bank, Palestine. Using two years of hourly solar, wind, biomass, and load data, the authors estimated potentials with SAM and optimized a hybrid system via HOMER, producing an 80 MW PV, 66 MW wind, and 50 MW biomass plant that generates 389 GWh/yr, meeting 100 % of the 372 GWh/yr demand with a 4.57 % surplus and less than 2 h of unmet load annually. The hybrid system achieves a levelized cost of energy of $0.313 per kWh.

Abstract

Abstract In addition to the fact that most renewable energies such as solar and wind energy have become more competitive in the global energy market, thanks to the great development in conversion technologies, it believes that renewable energy can play a crucial role in global environmental issues. However, in Palestine, the situation is different from anywhere else; renewable energy is not only an economic option, but an absolute necessity to get out of the energy crisis that Palestinian cities suffer from long years ago and continue nowadays . The cornerstone of the present research is focusing on the availability of renewable energy resources in Jenin Governorate (JG)—West Bank (WB)—Palestine. Two-year time-series of hourly solar, wind, biomass, and 1-year hourly electrical load data are used in the analysis in this paper. The energy potentials were estimated using System Advisor Model software (SAM), and the optimum combination and sizing of the hybrid renewable energy system were determined using Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER). The proposed Hybrid Renewable Energy System (HRES) consists of an 80 MW PV solar field, 66 MW wind farm, and 50 MW biomass system with an initial investment of $323 M. The proposed HRES generates 389 GWh/yr and is enough to meet 100% of the electrical demand of JG (372 GWh/yr) with excess in electricity generation of about 4.57% and the unmeet electric load is about 109.6 MWh/yr which is equivalent to less than 2 h off in a year. The estimated Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) was found as 0.313 $/kWh.