Optimum Site Selection of Hybrid Solar Photovoltaic (PV) - Hydro Power Plants in off Grid Locations in Cameroon using the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA)

Abstract

The deployment of renewable power systems is influenced by the geographical, economic, social, and environmental aspects of the location. These factors play a leading role in the project’s sustainability and compel developers to carefully analyze them before the decision to install. In Cameroon, there are reported cases of off-grid systems that were deployed arbitrarily such that they could not generate power within the systems’ economic life. This necessitates the development of a viable framework of criteria on the sites earmarked for the implementation of these systems. Six potential off-grid sites for the implementation of hybrid solar PV – hydro were examined with the aim of determining the suitable location of the hybrid solar – hydro system in Cameroon. The sites were selected from the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon and were assessed in this paper. In this framework, the computation of the weighted values of the criteria was done through brainstorming with energy experts in Cameroon. The hybrid AHP-TOPSIS method was used in the site selection analysis. The results of this study showed that accessibility of site, resource availability (solar and mini-hydro resources), acute power need, good topography, and distance from the nearest grid-connected locality were the most effective factors influencing the placement of a hybrid solar PV – hydropower system in an off grid location. Munkep was the most suitable site for the installation of the hybrid solar – hydropower system with a performance score of 0.63, hence, it was ranked the first in the analysis. In descending order, Munkep, Zhoa, Esaghem, Kingomen, and Wone were ranked with values of index of proximity to the ideal solution (Rp) of 0.638, 0.491, 0.487, 0.45, and 0.39 respectively.