Resource assessment and techno-economic analysis of solar pv integrated hybrid off-grid power generation system: a case study of Krishnanagar, India

Integrating renewable energy resources with conventional sources offers a viable option for supplying electricity to remote regions of India, addressing the challenge of inconsistent grid power availability. The study intends to assess the efficacy of solar PV array by estimating several performance metrics, demonstrating the potential for deploying solar PV technology at Krishnanagar located in the eastern part of India and designing a solar PV integrated power generation system (IPGS) by carrying out a comprehensive techno-economic analysis specific to the region. Under the climatic conditions of the aforementioned region, the solar PV system exhibits an annual average Performance-ratio (PR) of 77.50% and a Capacity-factor (CF) of 16.78%. The design and optimization of the IPGS are conducted employing the HOMER Pro application. The obtained result depicts that combining a 12.4 kW PV system, a 6.3 kW diesel generator (DG), a 19 kWh battery energy storage system (BESS) and a 4.83 kW bi-directional converter system (BCS) for a load of 30.39 kWh/d provides the best outcome in terms of least cost-of-energy (COE) and net-present-cost (NPC), while minimising carbon emissions and attaining the maximum renewable fraction (RF). The COE and NPC of the optimal IPGS design are obtained as 0.248 $/kWh and $35,627.85 respectively, with a RF of 96.66%. The carbon emissions obtained from the proposed system is only about 2.5% compared to the DG only configuration. Moreover, the NPC and COE get reduced by 76.4% when compared with DG-only systems. Finally, to further validate the suitability of the proposed system at the considered location, a unique multi-dimensional sensitivity analysis is carried out depicting the variation in COE by varying various parameters that influence power generation and economics.