Economic and Technical Analysis of Integration of PV into the Existing Diesel Power Station in Shang’ombo, Zambia
2017 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
The main objective of this study was to carry out an economical and technical analysis of integrating PV into an existing 320 kW diesel power plant in Shang’ombo township in the western province of Zambia. Additionally, the study evaluates the best feasible solution by analyzing different hybrid combinations and configurations whilst taking into account the least Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) and the Net Present Cost (NPC) with regard to the Life Cycle Cost of the project. Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Electric Renewables- (HOMER) software was used for modelling and simulation of five different off-grid solutions. CASE A was for the current system (100 % diesel generated power plant), CASE B: current system and PV, CASE C: Current system, PV and battery, CASE D: Current system, PV, battery and an additional small generator and CASE E: 100% PV and battery.
The results show that the current system (100 % diesel generator system) is not economically sustainable as it has a very high LCOE of $0.50/kWh due to high cost of diesel and high costs of operation and maintenance of diesel generator sets. On the other hand, a system with 100 % PV with batteries gave the lowest LCOE of $ 0.31/kWh, as it had the lowest operation and maintenance costs and, additionally, zero carbon emissions. Overall, the NPC of the system with 100 % PV with batteries was 1.7 times lower than the current diesel system. However, if the utility company, Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO), would prefer to use the existing diesel generators for the PV/Diesel hybrid system, then CASE C would be the best solution. This hybrid configuration achieves 87 % solar fraction with LCOE of $ 0.39/kWh.
Lastly, the results generally showed that the initial capital cost of solar energy projects was relatively higher as compared to the equivalent diesel based plants. However, with the continued down ward trend in the price of PV per kWp, solar is the best solution to bridge the current energy deficit that Zambia is currently facing. Additionally, solar solutions answers the worlds cry for clean energy which is environmentally friendly and reduces on the impacts of global warming.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2017.
Keywords [en]
pv diesel hybrid system, photovoltaics diesel hybrid system, solar diesel hybrid system, Shang’ombo, Zambia, Africa, net present cost, levelized cost of electricity, renewable fraction, diesel price, low pv penetration, integration of pv, power station, homer simulations
National Category
Energy Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:du-25804OAI: oai:DiVA.org:du-25804DiVA, id: diva2:1134723
2017-08-212017-08-21