Optimal Determination and Sizing of Standalone Solar Power AC Home System for Rural Area [A Case Study at Doni Kombe Rural Area]

Abstract

The energy obtained from solar is a clean and renewable source of energy. The main objective of this thesis was to determine optimal size of standalone solar power AC home in order to provide an electric power supply for Doni Kombe rural area with the best techno-economic system. Therefore, a standalone power system based on renewable energy sources is an option to overcome the power supply problem for rural electrification. In this thesis, standalone PV, Battery bank, and the inverter has been simulated and optimized for the rural area of Doni Kombe village among Boset Woreda of East Shewa Zone in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. Based on the design of the standalone system. During optimization of the power system, HOMER Software has been used to design an optimal standalone power system. Solar PV was considered the primary source to supply electricity to the load that has been suggested for residential. While designing this system, the simulation and optimization were performed based on the load demand, climatic data, the economics of integrated system components, and other parameters in which the total NPC and COE have to be minimized to select an economically and technically feasible standalone power system. So that, a standalone PV/battery bank system has been investigated by the thesis as an optimal system with the primary load demand, the peak load of the village, scaled annual average, PV/battery bank system components concerning its initial cost, O&M cost, NPC and COE for a household with a total number of 1643, 864kwh/day, 171kW, 6.05 Kwh / m2 / day , 836 number of batteries, 1078 number of modules, 214kW inverter, $1,219,716,$156,313/year,$ 2,888,32 and $0.858 respectively as well as a large number of CO2 was avoided. Therefore, this study has concluded that a standalone power system can be examined and optimized during the peak load hours of the Doni Kombe rural area as well.