Techno-economic analysis of off-grid solar/wind/biogas/biomass/fuel cell/battery system for electrification in a cluster of villages by HOMER software

Electrification of villages is a vital step for improving the techno-economic conditions of rural areas and crucial for the country's overall development. The villages' welfare is one of the main aims of the rural electrification programs. Rural electrification is relatively costly compared to electrification of urban areas. Now, the research question is to find the best combinations of HRES from the available resources in a given village location that can meet the electricity demand in a sustainable manner and to see whether this is a cost-effective solution or not. This study is an attempt to structure a model of electricity generation based on multiple combinations of HRES with the application of HOMER energy software at an identified off-grid village location in India. The main objectives of this study are to analyze the best-suited configuration of a hybrid RE system out of various combinations to meet the village load requirement reliably, continuously and sustainably. The study also reduces the total system net present cost and least cost of energy (COE) using multi-objective HOMER Pro software. In this study, a resource assessment and demand calculation have been carried out and the COE per unit has been ascertained for different systems and configurations. A combination of PV-Wind-Biomass-Biogas-FC along with battery has been identified as the cheapest and most dependable solution with a COE of $0.214/kWh.