Optimal sizing of an off-grid and grid-connected hybrid photovoltaic-wind system with battery and fuel cell storage system: A techno-economic, environmental, and social assessment

On the social index of access to clean energy, the country of CHAD is one of the least electrified in the world and the last in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with only 11.3% of its population having electricity access. The access is considerably lower in rural areas of CHAD (1.3%), meaning that 98.7% of the Chadian rural population currently depends on the unsustainable and polluting fuels such as wood and charcoal to meet their energy needs. The absence of electricity is also an opportunity to find a new solution for sustainable, clean, affordable and reliable electricity, which is a prerequisite for social and economic growth. This paper proposes an approach for performing a techno-economic, environmental, and social assessment based on optimal modeling of PV/wind/battery/fuel cell systems in both connected to the grid and standalone configurations for delivering electricity to rural areas within the context of CHAD using MATLAB R2023b to implement and run two (2) meta-heuristic optimization methods: Non-dominate Sorting Genetic Algorithm and Cuckoo Search Algorithm. To fulfill this purpose, we used 2 study cases in two (2) regions of the Sahelian zone of CHAD (MASSAKORY in the HADJER-LAMIS region and MAO in the KANEM region) with geographical coordinates of 13°00′N 15°44′E and 14° 7′ 16“ N et 15° 18’ 37” E, respectively. The hourly load profile data for a whole year, the hourly metrological data and the characteristics techno-economic of the proposed system components are utilized for the same purpose. The Annualized System Cost (ASC) and the System Self-Sufficiency Index (SSSI) were chosen as objective functions. The simulation results demonstrate that the Net Present Cost (NPC) of proposed systems are $2,107,900 (grid connected), $ 512,650 (off-grid), the cost of the grid is $2100, the LCOE is 0.1457$/kWh (grid connected), 0.0538$/kWh (off-grid), and the LCOH is 2.2892 US $/kg. These last two criteria are the lowest in comparison to the findings of previous work conducted in CHAD by HOMER Pro. The yearly equivalent avoided Greenhouse gas (GHG) is 460,480 kg (grid connected system), 463,467 kg (off-grid system), the grid GHG emission is 3400 kg and the renewable energy sources fraction is 99.27%. Each of proposed systems will create four (4) new jobs and improve the HDI by 5.93% (grid connected system HDI = 0.4216) and 25.04% (off-grid system HDI = 0.4991). This study could help designers, companies, investors, policymakers, and the government of CHAD in decision-making during the installation of such a system in specific rural areas and also provide a better practical energy design tool.