Optimal Economic Analysis of Hybrid Off Grid (Standalone) Energy System for Provincial Capitals of Pakistan : A comparative Study Based On Simulated Results Using Real-Time Data

Pakistan is suffering from acute shortage of electricity. Electricity supply shortfall is increasing day by day. The main purpose of this research is to design a technical and economical feasible standalone/hybrid (PV/Wind/Diesel/Battery) off-grid system to raise the contribution of renewables in the total energy mix of Pakistan. In this study, every 10 minutes measured real-time weather data for solar irradiance (Kwh/m
²
/day) is taken from MHPs stations installed by the World Bank in the different nine cities of Pakistan. Seven different cases are considered, two as standalone while five as hybrid energy models to design the system. The load data is estimated by a number of devices per home with an average of five family members per household and their usage. HOMER Pro is used to perform optimization and simulation for all the selected Provincial capitals of Pakistan using their own climate data while viability is examined on financial parameters like the cost of energy (COE) and net present cost (NPC). The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid energy system is more feasible than stand-alone proposed systems for all selected Provincial capitals of Pakistan.