Feasibility Assessment of a PV-Diesel Hybrid Power System for an Isolated Off-Grid Catholic Church

Abstract

Energy is essential for today’s society and it is difficult to imagine life without electrical energy. This paper presents an analysis of the load require- ments of the Catholic Parish Church, along with a technical and economical feasibility assessment of the option of incorporating solar Photo Voltaic (PV) generation to supplement the existing diesel power system that currently supplies power to the church. The proposed system would meet around 53% of the average annual parish church electrical load and result in 47% reduction in diesel use and CO2 emis- sions compared to the diesel- only option. From the analyses, the solar PV- diesel system has less total net present cost and less emission as a result of less fuel consumption of the diesel generator when compared to the existing system (diesel only).