Modeling and Simulation of a Micro Hydro-Wind Hybrid Power Generation System for Rural Area of Ethiopia (Study Area Hamsa Gasha Village)
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Date
2013-03
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Ethiopia is a developing country, where majority of the population lives in rural areas without access to electricity. And 83% of the total population of country use traditional biomass energy as a basic source of energy. In contrast, the country is endowed with sufficient renewable energy resources which can be used as a standalone electric energy supply system for electrifying remote areas of the country. These resources are mainly micro hydropower and wind which can be used individually or the best combination of one another. The application of hybrid renewable energy system has become an important alternative solution for rural electrification program. The aim of the work is to model and study the feasibility of micro hydro-wind hybrid system for electrification of a rural area in Ethiopia. Since hybrid combination of renewable energy technologies is generally considered to be the best suited alternative to an expensive grid extension for remote rural areas, this thesis focuses on creating a model for electricity generation from the above mentioned hybrid system for a village which is called Hamsa Gasha found in Oromia regional state. The village is located at Latitude 7°47' N and Longitude 39°03'E. The total population of the village is 3,102 out of which 1,604 are males and 1,498 are females. The village has 586 households, one primary school, two churches, one Mosque, and one health center. Firstly, the wind energy and hydro power potential of the village is evaluated based on the available primary and secondary data. And the electrical load of the community is estimated taking critical assumptions. Next the energy equipments are selected and modeled based on the electrical load of the village. A standalone wind/micro hydro/battery hybrid system and only micro hydro system options are considered separately in order to electrify the selected village. HOMER simulation software has been used as the modeling and designing tool. For the first option many feasible hybrid system combinations are listed and sorted according to their net present cost. Accordingly, levelized (COE) and breakeven grid extension distance depend on the selected sensitivity variables. The COE the most favorable wind/micro hydro hybrid system is $0.112 /kWh. Likewise, the breakeven grid extension distance of the hybrid system 23.2km.On the other hand the levelized COE of the micro hydro system is $0.035/kWh which is smaller than that of hybrid system. And it is believed that the standalone micro hydro system is economically feasible and pollution frees to implement for this particular. Key words: - HOMER, COE, Hybrid, Micro Hydropower, Wind, Electrical Load
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Keywords
HOMER, COE, Hybrid, Micro Hydropower, Wind, Electrical Load