• Energy Research

This paper involves the hybrid power potential implementation in view of six climatic zones in Indian state of Tamil Nadu. An intertwined techno-economic feasible study and energy management analysis of Hybrid Renewable Energy System (HRES) has been proposed to cater to need of the electrical energy requirement in un-electrified village hamlets of Tamil Nadu. The HRES feasibility, size optimization, cost and sensitivity analyses are performed to satisfy the electrical energy requirements of the considered area. A combination of Demand Side Management (DSM) and optimum tilt solar panel approach has also been analyzed through HOMER Energy® simulation. The selection of HRES configuration is based on real-time data collected from six different climatic zones. The optimization results of the considered system are presented and compared with and without DSM strategy. The optimum planning of HRES is based on ranking scheme which includes technical and ecological aspects for sustainable development. In addition, to evaluate the most feasible consideration of the system, sensitivity analysis has been performed upon the load variation, biomass and diesel price too. The simulation results of the proposed HRES configuration can improve the renewable fraction and offer more employment opportunities to the local people, compared to the existing PV-DG-Battery HRES.

Abstract In recent days, sustainability is considered as an important mechanism due to contemporary increase in demands and worldwide limited resources. This paper presents the possibility of integrating a renewable energy system with an existing grid to meet electrical energy demand of institutional buildings located in Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Currently, the Tamil Nadu state electric-grid power is not surplus and experiencing 40% short fall in generation. In this present paper a modern approach for the optimum planning of electric power system (EPS) is proposed based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). An intertwined analysis on energy management and techno-economic optimization of grid connected renewable energy system is proposed. The prospects of different fixed tilt solar panels and peak load shifting based energy management are performed through HOMER Energy® simulation. The AHP multi-criteria decision analysis reveals that annual optimum tilt grid connected photovoltaic system is the optimum configuration for study location. The effectiveness of the AHP approach is evaluated with best-worst method and stochastic multi-criteria acceptability analysis for prioritizing the renewable energy system options in order to select best EPS. In addition, the optimum configuration is implemented in the institutional buildings and performance is analyzed under varying climatic conditions.

This paper studies the optimum sizing and techno-economic feasibility of photovoltaic systems for rural healthcare building located in a south Indian State, Tamil Nadu, which experiences tropical weather climate. In this study, fixed tilt, annual optimum tilt (AOT), and six other sun tracking installation types are analyzed using hybrid optimization of multiple energy resource (HOMER) energy to understand the power generation potential. As a first step, weekly and monthly optimum tilt angles and AOT are estimated for the study location. The selection of the optimum configuration is arrived with the lowest values of initial cost, operating cost, total net present cost, and levelized cost of energy. It has been found that AOT with fixed installation is the optimum configuration for the study location. However, the performance would vary when the system is put to operate in practical conditions. In order to understand the varying performance, a prototype model is implemented for horizontal axis sun tracking system. The performance of the prototype is analyzed as per the varying real-time weather conditions for four days typically considering the sandstorm day, cloudy day, clear day, and partially cloudy day.

Abstract In developing countries like India, very limited observatory stations are available to collect daily global solar radiation (GSR). This paper focuses to develop a common model for daily GSR estimation and standalone hybrid power system (HPS) design in view of six different climate locations in India. A new strategy is applied for finding the daily GSR model in Madurai location in Tamil Nadu, India. It is based on new parameter, which is named as 'approximate-bright sunshine duration' from the real-time measurement. The remaining six locations are estimated from the new model developed. In addition, to improve the accuracy of estimation, the developed linear one input variable model is further modified as two input variable model, based on the latitudes of six different climatic locations. The performances of developed one-input and two input models are analyzed using statistical indicators. The result shows that the developed two input variable model has provided excellent estimations for Madurai and also other six Indian climatic locations of latitudes ranging from 9°N to 13°N. This work also projects a detailed analysis of HPS design based on three meteorological data inputs to cover the residential energy demand. The NASA data, predicted ANFIS data (estimated data) and the measurement data are used in the analysis for the HPS feasibility and size optimization. The analysis shows that the hybrid configurations are same for all the locations, whereas PV and converter sizes are varied in the range of 47–52 kW and 23–27 kW, respectively.

Abstract Water scarcity is increasing in most Indian cities, exemplified by the recent 2019 Chennai water crisis. Though there were measures initiated at both institutional and local levels, water scarcity has continued. One possible solution is to install energy-efficient renewable energy-powered desalination plants (REpDP) for Indian cities, especially those in favorable climatic zones. The modeling of REpDP combined with multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is proposed to prioritize the optimal site and REpDP selection for providing low-cost freshwater. A standalone seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) based REpDP that delivers water at a rate of 1.5 m3/h is modeled. Based on the SWRO operation; analytical modeling is carried out to optimize the hybrid energy configuration that combines solar, wind, hydrokinetic with backup energy facilities. The Fuzzy-TOPSIS MCDA with five attributes is performed to rank the modeled alternatives for selected coastal cities. The analysis identified Dwarka in the state of Gujarat, India, as the most suitable urban zone. The results also indicated that the electricity and freshwater production cost for the optimal configuration with an energy recovery scheme provide savings up to 10% and 36.4%, respectively. A comparison is made with EDAS and BWM methods. It provides consistency in results with the Fuzzy-TOPSIS.