Proc.

of the 4rth International Conference on Power Generation Systems and Renewable Energy Technologies (PGSRET)
10-12 September 2018, Islamabad, Pakistan

Techno-economic Analysis of
PV/Wind/Biomass/Biogas Hybrid System for Remote
Area Electrification of Southern Punjab (Multan),
Pakistan using HOMER Pro
Muhammad Umer Khan Muhammad Hassan M. Haseeb Nawaz
Department of Electrical Power Department of Electrical Power Department of Electrical Power
Engineering Engineering Engineering
USPCAS-E NUST USPCAS-E NUST USPCAS-E NUST
Islamabad, Pakistan Islamabad, Pakistan Islamabad, Pakistan
16eeeumer@uspcase.nust.edu.pk hassan@uspcase.nust.edu.pk engineerhaseebnawaz@gmail.com

Mazhar Ali Rashid Wazir

Department of Electrical Power Department of Electrical Power
Engineering Engineering
USPCAS-E NUST USPCAS-E NUST
Islamabad, Pakistan Islamabad, Pakistan
Ali_maz786@yahoo.com rashid@casen.nust.edu.pk

Abstract— Decentralized generation using hybrid renewable
energy systems has emerged as economical and technically
feasible solution for electrifying remote areas. This study
emphases on designing a hybrid system consisting of
PV/Wind/Biomass/Biogas energy resources to electrify a remote
community in Multan, district of south Punjab. Three Different
configurations of the hybrid micro-grid system (PV/Biomass,
Wind/Biomass, and PV/Wind/Biomass) are modeled using
HOMER Pro software and optimization results are presented.
Results of techno-economic analysis shows that all three
configurations of proposed hybrid system meet the load demand
of 259.44 kWh/day. Further, all three hybrid system
configurations in which animal manure is used as biomass
resource instead of crops residue are more economical. Slurry
produced in such can be used as a fertilizer for crops as Multan
is an agricultural area.
Keywords—Hybrid Energy System; Techno-economic analysis;
Net Present Cost (NPC); PV/Wind/Biomass hybrid system.
INTRODUCTION
Across the globe, energy is known as the driving asset for
social and economic development of a country. There is a shift
of one way basic demand from conventional resources to
indigenous one. Renewables are adopting more rapidly
worldwide that decreases the reliability of single dependent
energy resources[1]. The sole based renewable power system
requires a storage system as renewable energy is intermittent
thus increase the cost of energy. Hybrid system is the best
replica in view of increasing system reliability with less cost
and no storage requirement [2]. A power system that has more
than one generation resources is most suitable as unmet
demand load of one resource can be compensated by the other
resource or resources and for renewables, it has least
generation cost and carbon emissions [3]. In the recent decade,
Pakistan is facing severe energy crisis as thermal generation
mostly depends upon the spiking prices of hydrocarbons.
Renewables at the distribution end can reduce the transmission
and distribution losses that are up to 20 percent in Pakistan. In
the central region of Pakistan, there are good sunshine hours
throughout the year and due to the sandy area, it has also a
smooth profile of wind blow. This solar and wind profile can
be used to model a hybrid system with cases of grid-connected
and stand-alone system [4].Hybrid system with wind-solar
energy can be implemented from small-scale power system
such as for small home systems, apartments, commercial
enterprises and educational institutes to large-scale power
system such as mega cities in Nordic countries [5]. Hybrid
power system uses back up batteries and quick response diesel
generators as it faces reliability and stability issues due to
intermittency nature of renewables. Power system must be
sustainable at any cost to meet the load demanded. Hybrid
system modeling involves multiple approaches such as
programmable algorithms and built-in software tools for
designing standalone or grid connected system with real-time
data [6]. HOMER, RET Screen and IHOGA are most
extensively used softwares for hybrid system designing across
the world. A hybrid optimization model for electric renewables
(HOMER) is developed by NREL (National Renewable
Energy Laboratory, USA) and used in more than 192 countries
for hybrid system modeling [7]. Sambeet Mishra and C.K.
Panigrahi studied two cases of solar/wind/biogas hybrid system
on HOMER software for remote electrification in India. They
found PV/Biogas system more reliable and cost-effective than
Wind/Biogas combination. Joan D Rozario and Shahinur
Rehman from Bangladesh used biogas tool of Homer software
with solar energy to increase the reliability of the system and
provided a cost-effective solution[8]. Kiran Preet Kuar and
Gursewak Singh analyzed remote electrification in a village
area of India and use indigenous biofuels with solar energy to
cater the demand of the area understudied. They used Homer

978-1-5386-7027-9/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE

software to provide 1750 kW power from 1000 kW biogas
plant and 750 kW solar energy[9]. W. Margaret Amutha and
V. Rajini carried out a comparison of economic distance limit
of grid extension and a standalone hybrid system consisting of
solar, hydro, wind and batteries in the remote village of India.
They concluded that results from HOMER software showed
standalone renewable energy system is the most feasible and
implementable solution than that of grid extension to the
remote village[10]. Rumi Rajbongshi and Devashree
TABLE I. LOAD CALCULATION OF 50 HOUSES FOR SELECTED COMMUNITY
Borgohain analyse both the case of on-grid and off-grid village
electrification on HOMER. They recommend that area under
the break-even distance must be electrified through grid
extension while in other parts solar/biogas/DG standalone must
be commissioned [11]. In this study a hybrid system consisted
of Solar/Wind/Biomass/Biogas energy sources has been design
to cater electrical needs of small community of 50 houses. To
the best of author’s knowledge no such study especially for
southern Punjab has been conducted.

Hours of Use
Total Load (Wh)
Sr. No Appliance Wattage No. in use
Winter Summer Winter Summer
1 Tube Lights 40 2 8 8 640 400
2 Energy savers 24 2 14 14 672 1400
3 Air Cooler 75 1 0 8 0 440
4 Water Pump 746 1 1 1 746 350
5 Ceiling Fan 50 3 0 14 0 1492
6 TV 175 1 2 2 350 1200
7 Electric iron 1200 1 1 1 1200 432
Total Load for 1 house 3.608 kWh 6.308 kWh
Total Load for 50 houses 180.4kWh 315.74kWh

Fig. 4. Biomass (Crops residue) Technical Potential in Multan

Fig. 1. Monthly load profile of selected community

Fig. 5. Biomass (Animal dung) technical potential in Multan

RESOURCE POTENTIAL ASSESMENT

Pakistan is blessed with the enormous potential of
renewable energy resources including solar, wind and
biomass energy resources. By 2025, Pakistan plans for 5%
Fig. 2. Daily Solar Irradiance for Multan
electricity generation through renewables by replacing
conventional energy resources.
The private sector is being encouraged for the development
and commercialization of renewable energy resources
through active policies formulated by AEDB (Alternative
Energy Development Board). Biomass mapping project
sponsored by World Bank and ESMAP (Energy Sector
Management Assistance Program) is one of the steps taken
towards using indigenous renewable resources for
generating clean energy[12, 13]. This mapping project
shows that Punjab especially south Punjab has the potential
Fig. 3. Average Wind Speed for Multan
Fig. 6. Schematic diagram of PV-Wind-Biomass hybrid system Fig. 7. Selected wind turbine power curve

TABLE II. TOTAL MANURE PRODUCTION FROM AVAILABLE ANIMALS TABLE IV. TECHNICAL PARAMETERS AND COST OF CONVERTER
No of Animals Per head manure Total production Sr.No Specification Value Unit
generation of manure 1 Capital cost 300 $/kW
(ton/year) (ton/year) 2 Replacement Cost 300 $/kW
3 Relative capacity 100 %
N mj Mn
Cows (100) 4.38 438 TABLE V. TECHNICAL PARAMETERS AND COST OF BATTERY
Buffalos (50) 3.285 164.25
Sr.No Specification Value
TABLE III. TECHNICAL PARAMETERS AND COST OF BIOGAS 1 Capital cost 200 $
GENERATOR 2 String size 2
3 Initial State of Charge 100 %
Capital cost ($/kW) 300 4 Minimum state of charge 20%
Fuel Cost ($/ton) 53 Maximum discharge
Lower Heating Value (MJ/Kg) 5.5 5 500
current
Density (kg/m3 ) 0.720
Contents of Carbon (%) 5.0
Contents of Sulfur (%) 0 been fetched through Metrological High Precision
(MHP) unit installed at MNS University, Multan. Four years
solar
of biomass resources. Punjab also has good potential of
solar radiation due to its location. Solar, Wind and Biomass irradiance data has been processed by taking hourly
energy resources are discussed below for selected site. averages and then imported in HOMER Pro. Solar radiation
data shown in Fig. 2 indicates that scaled annual average of
A. Load Assessment: solar irradiance is 4.94 kWh/m2/day over Multan.
This study is focused on designing a hybrid system
capable of catering load demand of proposed community in C. Wind energy resources potential
district Multan. Wind resources data is taken by NREL (National
Renewable Energy Laboratory) resources available in
Monthly load profile for the proposed community is HOMER Pro database. Data shown in Fig. 3 indicates that
calculated by taking residential load needs into account. scaled annual average wind speed is 4.20 m/s for Multan.
Fans, lights and electric motor pumps are basic appliances Wind speed potential is feasible for generating electrical
used for calculating the load. The load has been distributed energy.
in winter and summer seasons. In summer, the load is high
due to excess use of ceiling fans and air coolers since the D. Biomass energy resources potential
temperature is high in Multan. Winter load is low on the Pakistan is considered as an agriculture country which is
other hand. rich in its biomass resources. The recently conducted
The primary load for the proposed community of 50 biomass mapping project shows that Punjab has an enormous
houses is 259.44kWh/day whereas peak load is 37.30 potential for biomass resource which includes crops residue
kW/day. The monthly load profile of the proposed and animal dung etc. Crop residues and animal dung both
community is shown in Fig. 1. can easily be used for biogas production through combustion
and digestion process respectively. Biogas production from
Monthly load calculation is also shown in TABLE I. both animal manure and crops residue are discussed further.
Winter load is 180.4kWh/day for five months while summer
load is 315.74kWh/day for seven months. 1) Biogas production by using Crops Residue:
Four major crops of south Punjab including wheat straw,
B. Solar energy resource potential: cotton stalk, sugar cane trash and bagasse are taken into
Multan, a major city of Pakistan located in south Punjab, account in this study [14]. Technical biomass feedstock
has longitude and latitude values of 30.1575° N and potential of available crop residues is shown in Fig. 4.
71.5249° E respectively. Real-time solar irradiance data has
 2) Biogas production through animal manure:
For the proposed community, an average of three cows
per home is considered as suggested in some studies [15].
Production of manure by livestock is processed through
anaerobic digesters for generating electricity. Total manure
production [16] per year from available livestock of
community is given by (1).
∑ (1)
Where:
• Mn is total manure production per year
• Nj is specified number of group of animals
• n represent total no of animals
• mj represent per head manure production
Per head manure production from specific animals is
taken from French agency [17]. Animal manure estimated to
be generated through all animals is 1.65 ton/day calculated
in Table II and shown in Fig. 5. Note that biomass fuel cost
(53.25$/ton) is applicable for crop residues while animal
dung is available free of cost since it is being fetched from
the same community.
HOMER PRO MODELLING
HOMER Pro is originally developed by NREL and now
is owned and operated by HOMER. It is used for
optimization and designing of the proposed hybrid system in
this study. It is a dominant tool for finding best possibly
available hybrid system configuration for electrifying desired
areas. Net Present Cost (NPC) is the main objective function
upon which HOMER Pro decides before choosing the best
hybrid system configuration. Simulations, sensitive analysis
and optimization are the three main tasks performed by
HOMER Pro [18, 19].
Five components are included in designing of
PV/Wind/Biomass hybrid system as shown in Fig. 6. These
components are PV panels, wind turbine, biomass generator,
batteries and converter. HOMER Pro search space capacity
optimization is used. Detailed specifications including costs
and technical parameters are discussed below.
A. PV Modules
Generic flat plate PV modules of 1kW capacity are used
in this study. Capital cost (taken from local Pakistani
manufacturers), per KW is 500$/kW whereas replacements
cost is taken as 400$/kW. Lifetime of PV panels is 25 years
and the de-rating factor is 80%.
B. Wind turbine
Different wind turbines are available in HOMER Pro
database, but for this study, EOCYCLE E010 has been used
due to its low cut-in speed i.e. 2.75m/s. Capital and
replacement cost for wind turbine are 6000$ and 5000$
respectively. Wind turbine power capacity is 10kW and has
a lifetime of 25 years. The power curve of a selected wind
turbine is shown above in Fig. 7.
C. Biogas generator
Generic biogas fired generator whose capacity can be
auto-set is used in this study. The generator has a minimum
load ratio of 25% with a lifetime of 20,000 hours. Biogas
generator’s properties including technical properties and
costs are shown in above TABLE III.
D. Power Converter
The converter is used to convert electrical energy from
AC-DC and DC-AC. Since the output from PV panels is in
DC form, converters are used to convert DC into AC to feed
AC electrical load. Converter’s efficiency is 90% and
lifetime is 15 years. Technical specifications with capital
cost etc. are shown in above TABLE IV.
E. Batteries
System reliability is the most important and crucial
parameter in power system operation. Since solar and wind
energy are both intermittent in nature, so need of storage
elements for the smooth running of the power system is
essential. 6V Li-ion batteries with a nominal capacity of
1kW and lifetime of 25 years are used. Costs and technical
parameters of the battery are given in above TABLE V.
SIMUALATIONS
HOMER Pro simulates all available and possible hybrid
system combinations to achieve the best cost-effective and
feasible system configuration. HOMER Pro optimize
different combinations of hybrid systems on basis of NPC
with least cost system on the top. This paper includes
different hybrid system configurations for electrifying the
proposed community in Multan. Each hybrid system
configuration is further classified in two categories; one
using animal manure (Case 1: C1) while other use crops
residue as a biomass resource (Case 2: C2).
A. PV-Biomass Hybrid System
This hybrid system configuration includes solar and
biomass as input power sources to fulfill load needs of the
proposed community. Optimization results for PV-Biomass
hybrid system for both cases (C1 & C2) are shown in Table
VI.
B. Wind-Biomass Hybrid System
In this case, wind and biomass are used as primary input
resources for electrifying selected community. Optimization
results of Wind-Biomass hybrid system for both cases (C1
& C2) have been shown in Table VI.
C. PV-Wind-Biomass Hybrid System
This hybrid system uses all three resources i.e. PV,
wind and biomass to cater the electrical load needs of the
selected community. Optimized results using this hybrid
system for both cases (C1 & C2) are shown in Fig. 8, Fig. 9
and Table VI.
Fig. 8. Case 1: PV-Wind-Biomass (Animal Manure) Hybrid System Optimization Result for Multan

Fig. 9. Case 2: PV-Wind-Biomass (Crop Residue) Hybrid System Optimization Result for Multan

TABLE VI. OPTIMIZATIONS RESULTS FOR DIFFERENT HYBRID

COMBINATIONS FOR MULTAN
CONCLUSION
Multan Developing energy systems, which can cater to energy
Wind crisis while keeping environmental sustainability into
PV (KW) Turbines Bio (kW) COE ($) account are of extreme importance. There exists a research
Hybrid in No’s gap for designing of hybrid systems in developing countries
System like Pakistan, where country is facing worst energy crisis.
Type The changing atmospheric conditions force stakeholders to
C1 C2 C1 C2 C1 C2 C1 C2 stop using conventional energy resources and to move
towards renewables. Hybrid energy systems are preferable
PV,Bio 10 35 --- --- 45 10 0.069 0.189 in this situation as compared to the single source energy
Wind,Bio --- --- 1 4 45 40 0.064 0.140
system.
PV,Wind,
10 40 1 3 45 30 0.065 0.110
PV/Bio, Wind/Bio and PV/Wind/Biomass hybrid
Bio systems all are found feasible in case 1 (when animal
manure is used) with COE approximately 0.06$ for all
systems with more than 50% excess energy that can be sold
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION back to the utility in case of the grid-connected system.
Three different hybrid systems configurations for both PV/Wind/Biomass Hybrid system configuration for case 1
case 1 and case 2 have been simulated and best optimization produces 89,226kWh (67.5%) electrical energy from
results on the basis of NPC and COE are shown in Table VI. Biomass resource, 27,365kWh (20.7%) from wind energy
Results show that use of animal manure prove to be resource and 15,503 kWh (11.7%) from solar energy
economical solution among all possible options as manure is resource all over the year. Hybrid system for case 2 (when
available free of cost. crop residue is used) produces 63.1% (173,540kWh)
electricity from wind, 32.9% (57,153kWh) from solar and
COE for PV-Bio, Wind-Bio and PV-Wind-Bio for case
3.99% (6925kWh) from biomass energy resources
2 of crops residue ranges between 0.11$ to 0.18$. While in
throughout the year. Biogas production from animal manure
case 1 when animal dung is used, COE is 0.06$ since fuel
available also reduced COE due to its zero fuel cost as
cost of biomass is zero in this case. Table VI shows that the
compared to crops residue. Furthermore, slurry will also be
use of animal dung as a biomass resource greatly increases
produced in such case when animal manure is used as a fuel
the share of biomass in hybrid system configuration and
for biogas digester. This can be used as fertilizer in fields as
reduces COE. Since, Multan has good potential for solar and
Multan is an agricultural land. This can also generate some
biomass with an average potential of wind but all three
revenue when sold to local farmers.
hybrid system configurations are capable of catering load
needs. The main focus of this study is to discuss the techno- Decentralized micro-grids for electrifying remote areas
economic feasibility of different hybrid system is a growing trend and Government of Pakistan along with
configurations including PV-Wind-Biomass as input power. AEDB (Alternative Energy Development Board) can play a
vital role in the development of such projects. Tax
reductions with a subsidy on renewables-related equipments
can motivate the private sector for investment in designing [16] I. Plūme, V. Dubrovskis, and B. Plūme, "Specified Evaluation of
such microgrids. Since Pakistan is blessed with enormous Manure Resources for Production of Biogas in Planning Region
Latgale," Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, 2011.
resources of renewables which can be used for lowering its
[17] H. UK. (2018). Farmers Are Generating Renewable Energy And
dependence on fossil fuels. This study will help in designing Making Money -- Thanks To Cow Poop. Available:
such hybrid systems for making remote areas fully https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cow-manure-renewable-
independent of grids. percentage input share of biomass in energy-anaerobic-digesters_us_55c8f450e4b0f1cbf1e5d38c
hybrid system configuration. [18] A. Ghasemi, A. Asrari, M. Zarif, and S. Abdelwahed, "Techno-
economic analysis of stand-alone hybrid photovoltaic–diesel–battery
REFERENCES systems for rural electrification in eastern part of Iran—A step toward
sustainable rural development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy
[1] U. Fesli, R. Bayir, and M. Özer, "Design and implementation of a Reviews, vol. 28, pp. 456-462, 2013.
domestic solar-wind hybrid energy system," in Electrical and
Electronics Engineering, 2009. ELECO 2009. International [19] F. A. Farret and M. G. Simoes, Integration of alternative sources of
Conference on, 2009, pp. I-29-I-33: IEEE. energy. John Wiley & Sons, 2006.
[2] M. Abdel-Salam, A. Ahmed, H. Ziedan, K. Sayed, M. Amery, and M.
Swify, "A solar-wind hybrid power system for irrigation in toshka
area," in Applied Electrical Engineering and Computing Technologies
(AEECT), 2011 IEEE Jordan Conference on, 2011, pp. 1-6: IEEE.
[3] J. Hui, A. Bakhshai, and P. K. Jain, "A hybrid wind-solar energy
system: A new rectifier stage topology," in Applied Power
Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC), 2010 Twenty-Fifth
Annual IEEE, 2010, pp. 155-161: IEEE.
[4] M. Kamran, M. Bilal, M. Mudassar, and M. Shahid, "Techno-
Economic Analysis of Distributed Generation for Microgrid
Application Using HOMER Pro," International Journal of Emerging
Technology & Advanced Engineering, vol. 5, no. 7, pp. 272-279,
2015.
[5] J. Godson, M. Karthick, T. Muthukrishnan, and M. Sivagamasundari,
"Solar PV-Wind hybrid power generation System," International
Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical, Electronics and
Instrumentation Engineering, vol. 2, no. 11, pp. 5350-5354, 2013.
[6] S. Bahramara, M. P. Moghaddam, and M. Haghifam, "Optimal
planning of hybrid renewable energy systems using HOMER: A
review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 62, pp.
609-620, 2016.
[7] M. D. Al-Falahi, S. Jayasinghe, and H. Enshaei, "A review on recent
size optimization methodologies for standalone solar and wind hybrid
renewable energy system," Energy Conversion and Management, vol.
143, pp. 252-274, 2017.
[8] S. Mishra, C. Panigrahi, and D. Kothari, "Design and simulation of a
solar–wind–biogas hybrid system architecture using HOMER in
India," International Journal of Ambient Energy, vol. 37, no. 2, pp.
184-191, 2016.
[9] J. D'Rozario, S. Shams, S. Rahman, A. Sharif, and E. Basher, "Cost
effective solar-biogas hybrid power generation system," in Industrial
Technology (ICIT), 2015 IEEE International Conference on, 2015,
pp. 2756-2760: IEEE.
[10] K. Kaur and G. S. Brar, "Solar-Biogas-Biomass Hybrid Electrical
Power Generation for a Village (a case study)," International Journal
of Engineering Development and Research, vol. 4, 2016.
[11] W. M. Amutha and V. Rajini, "Cost benefit and technical analysis of
rural electrification alternatives in southern India using HOMER,"
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 62, pp. 236-246,
2016.
[12] M. Asif, "Sustainable energy options for Pakistan," Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 903-909, 2009.
[13] F. H. Fahmy, H. M. Farghally, and N. M. Ahmed, "Photovoltaic-
Biomass Gasifier Hybrid Energy System for a Poultry House,"
International Journal Of Modern Engineering Research (IJMER),
vol. 4, pp. 51-62, 2014.
[14] S. Z. Ilyas, "Biogas support program is a reason for its success in
Pakistan," American-Eurasian Journal of Scientific Research, vol. 1,
no. 1, pp. 42-45, 2006.
[15] P. Regulagadda, I. Dincer, and G. Naterer, "Exergy analysis of a
thermal power plant with measured boiler and turbine losses,"
Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 30, no. 8-9, pp. 970-976, 2010.