Design and optimization of various hybrid renewable energy systems using advanced algorithms for powering rural areas

This work presents the design of an off-grid Hybrid Energy System (HES) that consists of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, hydrogen energy storage systems, and diesel generators to meet the electrical load demands of rural communities. Four newly developed meta-heuristics algorithms, namely, GOOSE algorithm, Liver Cancer Algorithm (LCA), Blood-Sucking Leech Optimizer (BSLO), and the Osprey Optimization Algorithm (OOA) are first time applied in the history of HES design problems. The four off-grid systems such as solar PV/Wind Turbine/Battery Energy Storage System/Diesel Generator/Hydrogen Energy Storage System (SPV/WnT/BESS/DG/HESS), SPV/WnT/BESS/DG, SPV/BESS/DG, and WnT/BESS/DG are compared on the basis of techno-economical, social, and environmental analysis. After comparing the search capabilities of the stated algorithms on the sizing issue, it has been determined that the BSLO algorithm outperforms the other algorithms. The results also demonstrated that the SPV/WnT/BESS/DG configuration is the most economical choice for fulfilling the load demand of the 3 different geographical areas represented as case-1 (Kanyakumari), case-2 (Trichy), and case-3 (Chennai). The obtained optimal findings include Annual System Cost (ASC), Net Present Cost (NPC), and Cost of Energy (COE) of the SPV/WnT/BESS/DG system. For case-1, the values of ASC, NPC, and COE are 89972 $/year, 1278700 $, 0.1095 $/kWh. Similarly, for case-2, the values are 113840 $/kWh, 1617900 $, 0.1385 $/kWh, and for case-3, the values are found to be 76019 $/year, 1080400 $, 0.0925 $/kWh. Besides optimizing the techno-economic parameters, the algorithm yields minimal GHG emission and it is found to be 157.282 kg/year, 239.3530 kg/year, and 3.4116 kg/year for the respective three cases. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to assess the impact of Loss of Power Supply Probability ( L P S P m a x ) on the performance of the SPV/WnT/BESS/DG system, to choose a more appropriate design thereby maintaining a human development index at the recommended level.