Techno-economic analysis and performance assessment of standalone photovoltaic/wind/hybrid power system in Lakshadweep islands of India

The aim of this paper is to present the techno-economic analysis and performance assessment of standalone photovoltaic (PV)/wind/hybrid energy system based on the simulation model for Lakshadweep islands of India where the islands' inhabitant depends on the use of power generation from diesel generator. In the present work, four Lakshadweep islands (namely, Andrott, Kavaratti, Kiltan, and Minicoy) are considered. The optimized system parameters are obtained from the monthly average solar radiation data, temperature data, and wind speed data for the three proposed renewable energy systems based on the assumed typical summer and winter load profiles. Based on an electrical performance of these three systems, the monthly average electrical power production, monthly average excess electrical production, monthly average unmet electrical load, monthly average converter output, and battery state of charge along with available battery input power over the year are detailed, analyzed, and compared. The techno-economic analysis is also performed among the systems to obtain the cost of energy (COE). The minimum COE for standalone PV-wind hybrid system in comparison with standalone PV or wind system is found to be $0.413 for Andrott island with 1 kW PV array, 1 kW wind turbine, eight numbers of battery, and 1 kW converter, while the COE is found to be $0.426 with 1.2kW PV array, 1 kW wind turbine, eight numbers of battery, and 1 kW converter for Kavaratti, Kiltan, and Minicoy islands. Also, based on net present cost, it is shown that standalone PV-wind hybrid system is more economical as compared to either standalone PV or wind system. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.