Simulation-based optimal sizing and techno-economic analysis of a standalone solar-wind hybrid drying system with dynamic load shifting: A case study in Tlemcen, Algeria

This study presents a simulation-based optimization framework for the optimal sizing and techno-economic assessment of a standalone hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) integrating photovoltaic (PV) panels, small wind turbines, and battery storage, applied to power an off-grid agricultural drying facility in the ZENATA region near Tlemcen, Algeria. The optimization here resides in an exhaustive search over two decision variables, the number of PV panels and the number of wind turbines that identifies the minimum-cost configuration meeting the system’s reliability requirement under stated fixed assumptions, rather than an unconstrained global optimum; the hybrid design framework itself spans the full PV-wind-battery search space, and therefore permits, without requiring, a nonzero wind turbine count. A mathematical model of the hybrid energy supply system is developed and simulated under local meteorological conditions to identify the most cost-effective configuration satisfying the drying electrical demand while minimizing total investment cost and energy waste. The simulation results identified an optimal baseline configuration of 18 wind turbines and 47 PV panels, ensuring uninterrupted power supply with a total dumped energy of 671.95 kWh. A comparative analysis of the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of PV-generated versus wind-generated power revealed a significant economic advantage of solar energy under local conditions (0.0166 USD/kWh vs. 0.0493 USD/kWh). To exploit this finding, a dynamic load shifting (DLS) strategy was implemented, redistributing nocturnal drying demand toward daytime hours. Re-optimization under the modified load profile, applied to the hybrid renewable energy system, converged to a PV-dominant configuration (64 panels, 0 wind turbines) under the specific low-wind-speed conditions of the ZENATA site, reducing total investment cost from 221.08 kUSD to 201.49 kUSD and decreasing dumped energy by 252.49 kWh. These results demonstrate that hybrid renewable energy systems combined with dynamic load shifting represent the most effective and reliable approach for off-grid agricultural drying.