Technoeconomic Analysis on the Development of Solar-Wind Hybrid Power Plant in Komodo Island

This research discusses the electrification of Komodo Island, one of Indonesia's premier tourist destinations. To provide electricity for the island, three diesel generators with capacities of 2 × 80 kW and 60 kW are used. The main challenge of designing hybrid power plant is how to determine the capacity to achieve the best results both technically and economically. This research analyses whether the feasibility of using renewable energy can be utilized to complement or replace these three generators in line with de-dieselization programs by Indonesia government. Among the proposed renewable energy options here are a 10-kW wind turbine, solar PV, power conversion system and batteries. Consequently, the aim of this study is to conduct a techno-economic analysis and optimize the proposed hybrid diesel generator and renewable energy system (Solar-Wind) for the Komodo Island tourist site. The Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) Pro software was used for simulation and optimization in this analysis. Calculations are based on the current diesel price including transport cost per liter. Results indicated that renewable energy could supply 74.4% of the power through the optimized system. The Net Present Cost (NPC) dropped from USD 2.83 million to USD 1.36 million, while the Cost of Energy (CoE) decreased from 0.505 USD/kWh to 0.243 USD/kWh. The optimized system achieved an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 33% and a Return on Investment (ROI) of 28%, with a simple payback period of 3.1 years. This research showed that technically and economically, solar-wind hybrid power generation strengthened previous studies where this hybrid configuration is the most optimal configuration.