Integrated Load-Source Side Management for Techno-Economic-Environmental Performance Improvement of the Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Rural Electrification

Electricity produced by a hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) is reliable, economical, and environmentally benign. However, effective management of the load-source side is essential to enhance the reliability, affordability, and eco-friendliness of HRES. Therefore, an integrated load-source side management for techno-economic-environmental (TEE) performance improvement of HRES is developed in this paper. The factors considered are namely technical (renewable energy portion, excess energy factor, and unmet load), environmental (particulate matter and carbon emission), and economical (annualized cost of system, total net present cost, and cost of energy). To solve the HRES size optimization problem, a marine predators algorithm (MPA) is used for the first time. HRES is investigated without Load side management (LSM), with LSM, and with LSM integrated with source-side management (SSM). LSM is carried out using the peak shifting technique, which shifts time-movable loads (TMLs) to off-peak hours depending on excess energy availability, taking into account consumer comfort violations and customer behavior uncertainty. For SSM, a comparatively better energy management strategy (EMS) than the load following, cycle charging, and generator order is proposed, which improves the TEE performance of HRES. The integrated load-source side management saves 5% in NPC and 0.008 $/kWh in COE, respectively. To come up with a configuration that is more feasible, a sensitivity analysis for the HRES's component costs and macroeconomic variables is carried out. Furthermore, the optimal configuration COE is slightly higher than that of the most recent study in the literature. By contrasting the MPA result with the HRES PSO result, the accuracy of the MPA result is also confirmed.