Optimal Design of a Grid-Connected Microgrid Incorporating Biomass: Case Study in New Valley, Egypt

This article evaluates grid-connected hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) including biomass, photovoltaic (PV), and wind turbine. These systems provide reliable, cost-effective energy, supporting utility networks and rural electrification with and without an extensive grid expansion. The research focuses on optimizing system sizing by analyzing key components and parameters to address challenges such as net present cost (NPC) and capacity shortages arising from supply-demand mismatches. A case study is conducted on a grid-connected hybrid power system in New Valley, Egypt, leveraging solar, wind, and biomass resources suing HOMER software for various feasibility analyses. The planned grid-connected PV/wind/biomass hybrid system is shown to be cost-effective and technically viable for rural energy applications. The on-grid system achieves a net present cost of $1,490,768 and a levelized cost of $0.01374/kWh. Renewable energy sources, including biomass, contribute 95.6% of total electricity, with the remaining 4.43 % sourced from the grid. The optimal configuration reduces CO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> emissions compared to a grid-only system.