Use of Hybrid PV and Wind Turbine - Grid Connected System in a Local Emirati Home in Dubai-UAE

The Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) software is used to assess the economics of using a PV-Wind Turbine (PV-WT) system to provide clean and renewable energy for a typical local home in the UAE. The system is grid connected and thus contains no electricity storage facilities, e.g. batteries. The HOMER software was used to calculate the Cost of Electric (CoE) for different combinations of cost of grid electricity (CGE), interest rates (i%) and PV & wind turbine combinations. The results show that for interest rates of 4% and 6% a hybrid PV-WT system is economically viable for all four values of CGE studied. When the interest rate is raised to 8%, the hybrid PV-WT system is economically viable only viable a viable to the two highest CGE rates studied. The hybrid PV-WT system was not economically viable for all interest rates higher than 8%. This shows that lower interest rates are needed in order to promote the incorporation of renewable energy in UAE homes. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.