Sizing, economic, and reliability analysis of photovoltaics and energy storage for an off-grid power system in Jordan

Abstract

Remote areas in Jordan often rely on expensive and polluting diesel generators to meet their electricity demand. This study investigates 100% renewable solutions to supply the electricity demand of off-grid energy systems through optimal sizing of photovoltaics and energy storage systems. A linear programming approach is proposed to minimise the annualised cost of electricity supply including capital costs of equipment and their operation and maintenance costs. The optimisation determines the size of photovoltaics and energy storage required to satisfy electricity demand at every hour of a selected year. A Jordan campsite was used as a case study to assess and compare the performance of PV-battery storage and PV-hydrogen storage systems from economic and reliability perspectives. The results show that hydrogen storage was more economical for a 100% renewable energy system. However, introducing some diesel generation gave the battery system a significantly lower annualised cost of energy.