Techno-Economic and Probabilistic Analysis of Integrating Algal Bioenergy with Wind and Solar Power for Zero-Emission Sports Venues

This study presents a scenario-based assessment of a venue-scale renewable-energy concept that combines photovoltaic (PV) generation, wind power, algal bioenergy, battery storage, and limited grid support for a representative 50,000-seat sports stadium. The engineering phase compares individual and hybrid configurations using HOMER-based techno-economic indicators, environmental metrics, and Monte Carlo uncertainty ranges. The social-implementation phase uses expert interviews and survey-based exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to identify barriers specific to algal bioenergy. Under the stated assumptions, the integrated configuration supplies 12,000 MWh/year, with an LCOE of 0.062 ± 0.007 $/kWh, an estimated 99.5% probability of positive NPV, 97% ± 1% reliability, and an 8.2 ± 0.9-year payback period. These values represent a comparative scenario assessment rather than a site-specific investment design. The study’s distinct contribution is the combined evaluation of a solar-wind-algae venue concept and a structured assessment of algal implementation barriers. The results support conditional feasibility and a staged pilot pathway rather than immediate full-scale deployment. The central scientific insight is that algal bioenergy can add a controllable renewable contribution and resource-recovery potential to a solar-wind portfolio, but it simultaneously becomes the dominant water- and cost-sensitive component; this trade-off is particularly relevant to stadiums because their electricity demand is strongly event-driven and can rise sharply during night-time lighting and high-occupancy operation.