A hierarchical methodology for the integral net energy design of small-scale hybrid renewable energy systems

David Hernández-Torres, Alberto J. Urdaneta Urdaneta and Paulo De Oliveira-De Jesus

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2015, vol. 52, issue C, 100-110

Abstract: In this paper a two level hierarchical methodology is presented for the integral design of hybrid power generation systems based on alternative renewable energy (ARE) systems using the net energy concept and considering technical, economical, societal as well as environmental aspects. Results are presented for the design of a small-scale hybrid renewable energy system using the proposed methodology in Margarita Island, Venezuela. The proposed methodology applies the integrated analytical hierarchy process (AHP) methodology to the selection of the best hybrid renewable energy system using the concept of net energy and is divided in two phases: a classic optimization process using levelized costs minimization and an AHP implementation for decision making problems. Under this methodology technical–economical aspects are considered as quantitative parameters, while social–environmental aspects depend largely on the criteria of the system planning engineers and future users of the system. Technical–economical aspects are considered using specialized software, used to optimize and compute the best configuration of an ARE project. Social–economical aspects are defined as a series of parameters that should be considered by the planning team, a meeting of experts or a community consensus on the project site. Several diesel price scenarios (low, intermediate and high) are considered. The results show the importance of the proposed tools for decision making problems.

Keywords: Alternative renewable energy; Power generation; Levelized costs; Analytic hierarchy process (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032115006553
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:rensus:v:52:y:2015:i:c:p:100-110

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 600126/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.008

Access Statistics for this article

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews is currently edited by L. Kazmerski

More articles in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().