Optimal Design of an Isolated Hybrid Microgrid for Enhanced Deployment of Renewable Energy Sources in Saudi Arabia

Mohammed Kharrich, Salah Kamel, Ali S. Alghamdi, Ahmad Eid, Mohamed I. Mosaad, Mohammed Akherraz and Mamdouh Abdel-Akher
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Mohammed Kharrich: Department of Electrical Engineering, Mohammadia School of Engineers, Mohammed V University, Ibn Sina Street P.B. 765, Rabat 10090, Morocco
Salah Kamel: Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Aswan University, Aswan 81542, Egypt
Ali S. Alghamdi: Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, Majmaah University, Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia
Ahmad Eid: Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Aswan University, Aswan 81542, Egypt
Mohamed I. Mosaad: Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Yanbu Industrial College, Yanbu 46452, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Akherraz: Department of Electrical Engineering, Mohammadia School of Engineers, Mohammed V University, Ibn Sina Street P.B. 765, Rabat 10090, Morocco
Mamdouh Abdel-Akher: Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Aswan University, Aswan 81542, Egypt

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-26

Abstract: Hybrid microgrids are presented as a solution to many electrical energetic problems. These microgrids contain some renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic (PV), wind and biomass, or a hybrid of these sources, in addition to storage systems. Using these microgrids in electric power generation has many advantages such as clean energy, stability in supplying power, reduced grid congestion and a new investment field. Despite all these microgrids advantages, they are not widely used due to some economic aspects. These aspects are represented in the net present cost (NPC) and the levelized cost of energy (LCOE). To handle these economic aspects, the proper microgrids configuration according to the quantity, quality and availability of the sustainable source of energy in installing the microgrid as well as the optimal design of the microgrid components should be investigated. The objective of this paper is to design an economic microgrid system for the Yanbu region of Saudi Arabia. This design aims to select the best microgrid configuration while minimizing both NPC and LCOE considering some technical conditions, including loss of power supply probability and availability index. The optimization algorithm used is Giza Pyramids Construction (GPC). To prove the GPC algorithm’s effectiveness in solving the studied optimization problem, artificial electric field and grey wolf optimizer algorithms are used for comparison purposes. The obtained results demonstrate that the best configuration for the selected area is a PV/biomass hybrid microgrid with a minimum NPC and LCOE of $319,219 and $0.208/kWh, respectively.

Keywords: microgrid design; hybrid microgrid system; optimization of power systems; Giza Pyramids Construction algorithm (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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