Electrifying Remote Communities in Malawi: Addressing Uncertainties in Design & Optimization of Hybrid Renewable Energy-Based System

Efficient and sustainable solutions must address the growing global energy demands in remote off-grid regions. The traditional power system often struggles to provide reliable and affordable energy access in these areas. The drawbacks of existing on-grid systems, which heavily depend on fossil fuels, result in significant greenhouse gas emissions and environmental issues as well. Thus, renewable energy-based systems have gained much popularity. Considering the technical and non-technical uncertainties in operating renewable energy-based systems, this study focuses on designing and optimizing grid-independent Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRES) in remote areas. Integrating solar photovoltaics and wind turbines into HRES offers a practical energy supply strategy. HRES systems in remote areas offer sustainable solutions and economic viability when evaluating costs and the amount of CO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> emission avoided. This research conducted a study on Dowa, Malawi, an African remote region, revealing that a 5.65 MW HRES system offers a levelized energy cost of $0.262/kWh and avoids annual 13,877 tons of CO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> emission. This research also analyzes the impacts of uncertainty factors on HRES design and supporting efforts to enhance energy sustainability and improve living standards in remote regions.