A Comparative-Analysis-Based Multi-Criteria Assessment of On/Off-Grid-Connected Renewable Energy Systems: A Case Study

Different configurations of on/off-grid-connected hybrid renewable energy systems (HRESs) are analyzed and compared in the present research study for optimal decision making in Sub-Saharan Africa, facing the problems of electricity deficit. A multi-criteria analysis is performed for this purpose using MATLAB software for simulation. The obtained results show that the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) corresponding to 0% power supply deficit probability (PSDP) is 0.0819 USD/kWh, 0.0925 USD/kWh, 0.3979 USD/kWh, 0.3251 USD/kWh, 0.1754 USD/kWh, 0.1641 USD/kWh, 0.5385 USD/kWh, and 1.4515 USD/kWh, respectively, for the Grid-PV/Wind/Battery, Grid-PV/Battery, Grid-Wind/Battery, Grid-Wind, PV/Wind/Battery, PV/Battery, Wind/Battery, and stand-alone Wind systems. The CO2 emissions are 14,888.4 kgCO(2)/year, 16,916.6 kgCO(2)/year, 13,139.7 kgCO(2)/year, 6430.4 kgCO(2)/year, 11,439 kgCO(2)/year, 14,892.5 kgCO(2)/year, 10,252.6 kgCO(2)/year, and 1621.5 kgCO(2)/year, respectively, for the aforementioned systems. It is found that the Grid-connected PV/Wind/Battery is the most cost-effective system leading to a grid energy cost reduction of 30.89%. Hybridization of different renewable energy sources (RESs) could significantly improve the electricity cost and reduce the CO2 emissions. However, this improvement and this reduction depend on the used RES and the system configuration. On-grid-connected HRESs are more cost-effective than off-grid-connected HRES. The least polluting energy system is the stand-alone Wind system, which allows a reduction in the grid CO2 emissions by 93.66%. The sensitivity analysis has proven that the long-term investment, the decrease in the battery cost, and the decrease in the discount rate could lead to the reduction in the LCOE.