Assessment of a Hybrid (Wind-Solar) System at High-Altitude Agriculture Regions for achieving Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

Power generation from hybrid renewable energy systems is gaining popularity worldwide, especially in developing countries suffering from electricity crises. Small-scale hybrid wind and solar systems, especially in high-altitude agriculture regions, which may experience electricity shortages during extreme weather conditions, can be critical to achieving sustainability goals and objectives. The latter will be reached by providing clean energy and addressing economic concerns. Accordingly, the main aim of the current paper is to evaluate the techno-economic feasibility of a grid-connected hybrid (vertical axis wind turbine – 2-axis photovoltaic) system at high-altitude agriculture regions (Ardal and Faridan) in Iran for the production of clean energy. To this aim, the wind speed and solar radiation data were analyzed statistically using 13 distribution functions. The results indicate that Generalized Extreme Value produced the best fit for the wind speed and solar radiation data. Furthermore, the purpose of the current work is to evaluate the technical and economic aspects of grid-connected hybrid vertical axis wind turbines as well as PV tracking systems using RETScreen software. The results demonstrate that implementing the proposed system could generate significant amounts of electricity in order to meet the demand for domestic and agricultural applications while ensuring clean energy in line with sustainable development goals. Besides, this study can help integrate renewable energy into the grid and help policymakers facilitate the installation of rooftop small-scale hybrid systems in the future.