Life Cycle Energy Analysis of an Isolated Photovoltaic-Wind-Battery Microgrid in India

Abstract

In developing countries like India, a shortage of electric power is a major issue, especially in the rural region with minimum or no access to the centralized grid. Utilization of distributed energy sources in the form of decentralized microgrids or minigrids will cater to the energy shortage problem to certain extent. They can deliver power in grid connected or isolated mode. Long, medium- and short-term energy storage devices (ESD) can be connected to the system to increase system reliability. Sustainability of microgrids has to be studied and has been measured using different metrics related to life cycle energy, cost and carbon footprint. Life cycle energy analysis (LCEA) for a 6.8 MWp photovoltaic (PV)-wind-battery system functioning in isolated mode in an Indian location for different battery types has been presented in this paper. The energy indicators have been calculated purely for Indian conditions. Comparative analysis has been done for two disposal scenarios of wind turbine and a PV alone system.