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Hybrid Optimization Model for Smart Grid
Distributed Generation Using HOMER
Harpreet Sharma
School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering
Lovely Professional University
Phagwara, India
harpreetsharma1981@gmail.com
Abstract— For sustainable development, the energy policy of
every nation has been changed significantly to allow high
penetration of renewable energy in the power grid and especially
in the distribution network. On the other hand, the utilization of
a single renewable resource is associated with power quality and
stability issues so the hybrid renewable energy system can be
seen as a possible solution to this challenge. In this paper, a
hybrid optimization model is designed and purposed for a
university campus, which depicts a commercial load profile. The
hybrid model comprises of solar-PV and biomass as renewable
energy resources and the HOMER software is used in this study
for simulation of the hybrid model for optimization and
sensitivity analysis. The numbers of configurations are simulated
in the HOMER and most cost-effective configuration is
determined. With the implementation of this model, the
Levelized Cost of energy is reduced from Rs. 6.2/kWh to Rs.
4.7/kWh and it is found that grid imports are reduced by
86.67%.
Keywords- HRES; Smart Grid; Solar- PV; Biomass; HOMER.
I. INTRODUCTION
With the energy crisis and environmental awareness, the
various researches are conducts to find alternative ways to
harness renewable energy. The use of renewable energy cuts
down the carbon emission and at the same time provides a
sustainable future. The concept of distributed generation (DG)
and the microgrid is starting implementing seen as the progress
in the renewable energy system. A single renewable resource
cannot meet the energy demand due to its intermittency within
some period like days, hours, etc. The hybrid renewable energy
system (HRES) seems to be a possible solution for this
problem by combining different renewable resources like solar,
wind, biomass and energy storage devices to ensure system
balance and stability. The HRES is the integration of different
DG’s to meet the energy demand of customer [1]. In this
paper, the optimization model is proposed which is based on a
hybrid renewable energy system comprises of biomass
gasification generator set, solar PV and battery as an energy
storage device. The optimization and simulation of this
proposed model are done by HOMER Pro software (version
3.5.0). The name Homer stands for Hybrid Optimization Model
for Electrical Renewable developed by National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the USA. Homer simulates a
number of possible solutions in order to find the best
‹,(((
Sachin Mishra
School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering
Lovely Professional University
Phagwara, India
Sachin.20444@lpu.co.in
alternative, which is most cost-effective or can be classified
according to the number of constraints is satisfied [2]. HRES
consider in this study consists of PV and biomass couple
together for harness green energy and to reduced fluctuation in
energy production. Some of the main motivation factors and
benefits, which encourage us for development of HRES are as
follows [3-5]:
A. The motivation for HRES Development
The main factors, which motivate the development of HRES,
are as follows:-
1) Economic Aspect: The hike in fuel prices due to
government policies and conflicts with different
nations lead us for the search of alternatives sources
of energy. The combination of solar PV/ biomass
provides us optimum results with respect to cost.
2) Energy Deficit: The gap between demand and supply
is increasing with industrialization especially in
developing countries like India. This deficit can be
reduced largely by using a number of DG’s in the
form of HRES.
3) Incentives and Subsidies: The numbers of schemes
are introduced by the government recently like
rooftop policy for encouraging the harness of solar
energy. There are various subsidies and incentives
under these schemes, which lower the capital cost
which ultimately cuts down the cost of production
from these sources.
4) Environmental Viewpoint: Energy production from
conventional sources like the burning of fossil fuels
creates major climate issues. The level of greenhouse
gases is now increasing to a critical level. The most
appropriate solution seems to be now is the
development of HRES.
5) Supply for Isolated Regions: There are still various
geographical locations in India, where supply from
the grid is not possible. Every region in the world has
some sort of energy source like wind, solar and
biomass. The HRES can be used in those places to
meet the load demand without depending on the grid.

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B. Advantages of HRES III. HYBRID OPTIMIZATION MODEL

There are numerous advantages of HRES, which leads the The proposed model designed by keeping the hybrid system
government of different nations to takes major steps in its connected to the grid. The hybrid system consists of a grid,
favor. Some of the main advantages are discussed below- solar PV arrays, biomass generator, converter, and batteries.
Fig. 1 shows the detailed Optimal Hybrid model.
1) Increased Reliability of Renewable Energy System: The
intermittency and fluctuation are always associated with a
renewable energy system, which has only one energy
resource. The power quality and reliability can be
improved by using HRES, which combines a number of
renewable sources. For example, the reliability of solar
PV improves by operating biomass generator with
conjunction with it.
2) Feasible Rural Electrification: The electrical supply to
rural areas is very hard in the case of developing
countries. The grid-based electricity is available only for
the cities and populated areas. The HRES is the most
appropriate approach to tackle this problem as it can
eliminate economic dispatch problem and deferral
transmission cost.
3) Development of Advanced Power Electronics: With the
advancement in technology mainly in the power
Fig .1 Hybrid Optimal Model
electronics field, this plays an important role in the
progress of renewable energy system. The designing process of this hybrid model requires details
regarding location, load, and resources [6, 7].

II. METHODOLOGY A. Location Data of Study Area

The site selected for this study is I.K Gujral Punjab
The study will divide into two parts pre and post HOMER Technical university situated (͵ͳ଴ ʹͳǤʹᇱ ‘”–ŠŽƒ–‹–—†‡,
͹ͷ଴ ʹ͹Ǥͷƒ•– longitude 20.3`N latitude-longitude) in
analysis. In pre HOMER analyses, we go through the initial
Jalandhar district of Punjab (India).
assessment of the selected location. This includes the site load
data, its layout, and the available resources. After that detail, B. Load Assessment of Study Area
assessment is done to collect the complete data needed for The load demand of Punjab Technical University includes
HOMER simulation. After data collection, the data are given lightning load, computer load, air condition load, space heating
to the HOMER software and the optimum solution will be load, fan load, and another machinery load. The load
calculated. In post HOMER analyses, we will consider the specification of the study area details are given in Table.1
comparison between various solutions that should be answered below:
for the proper implementation of the project.
Table.1 Load Specification
Steps of Methodology Average load 185.13kW
• Site Selection: the existing conventional network is
selected for conducting research. Peak demand 2005kW
• Data Collection: Assessment of technical and
economic parameters of the university (load & Average energy demand 4443.1 kWh
energy tariff) per day
• Techno-Economic Analyses by HOMER: Use of
Homer for simulation of hybrid optimization model Load Factor 9%
and optimization and sensitivity analysis of different
configurations are done. day to day variation 10%
• Post HOMER Analyses: The optimal configuration
is selected from various configurations based on Cost Peak Month July
of Energy (COE) minimization and optimal size of
the components is determined.
The load demand is low during early morning and night.
The load demand is high during the working hours of the
university. The average daily load profile for the month
of January is shown in Fig.2. The load data is obtained


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from step down substation, which is situated within the The annual average biomass available tons/day illustrate in
university campus building. Table.2 below:
Table.2 Annual Biomass Availability (tons/day)

Month Available
Biomass
(tones/day)
January 549.000

February 557.000
March 543.000
Fig .2 Average Daily Load Profile
April 567.000
From the seasonal load profile illustrated in Fig.3, it is clearly
visualized that July is the peak month and demand remains May 532.000
very low during the month of November.
June 565.000
July 456.000
August 478.000
September 439.000
October 479.000
November 572.000
December 569.000
Fig. 3 Seasonal Load Profile
The technical data, which are fed to HOMER software for
C. Resource Data Assessment simulation, is shown below Table.2. The search space
In this study area, solar PV‘s already shown great results. considers different ratings of biomass and solar PV generators
The annual average solar radiation and clearness index data is during the simulation.
taken from the National Renewable Energy Lab Database, The technical data, which are fed to HOMER software for
which is shown in Fig. 4 below:
simulation, is shown below Table.3. The search space is
considered different ratings of biomass and solar PV
generators during the simulation.
Table.3 Different Villages Supplying Biomass
Village Agriculture Land(In
Acres)
1 Ibban 370
2 Rasulpur Brahmna 284
3 Khojewal 175
4 Wadala Kalan 501
5 Budu Pander 743
6 Bhooi 333
Fig. 4 Solar Radiation Data and Clearness Index
The technical data, which feds to HOMER software for
The average solar radiation annually is 5.19 kWh/ଶ /day and simulation is shown below Table.2. The search space
clearness index is around 0.6. The solar radiations are highest considers different ratings of biomass and solar PV generators
in the month of June. during the simulation.
The site selected is also rich in biomass as the area
surrounded is mostly agriculture-cultivated land. The crop
residue in the form of rice husks, wheat straw, rice straw, etc. IV. HOMER SIMULATION RESULTS
The harvesting of crops is done twice a year so the biomass is The designed hybrid optimization model is simulated using
available in abundance but need to store for the continuous HOMER Pro software. In search space of HOMER, the ratings
working of biomass gasification generator throughout the year. of the different components are entered from which the best
combination with respect to cost is determined. The results


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from these simulations are divides into two categories
optimization analysis and sensitivity analysis.
A. HOMER Optimization Results
The numbers of configurations are simulated in HOMER
optimization for minimization of Net Present Cost (NPC).
The different configuration can be classified into three
main categories as PV/biomass-Grid without battery
storage, PV/biomass –Grid with battery storage and only
grid. The best configurations are sorted out starting from the
most cost-effective configuration. The HOMER optimization
results are shown in Fig.5 below:

Fig.5 Optimization Results

The PV/biomass-Grid without battery storage seems to be
most economical as the NPC (Net Present Cost) and Cost
of Energy (COE) is least in this configuration.
B. HOMER Sensitivity Analysis
In a sensitivity analysis, the effect of the sensitivity
variable on the proposed model is the measure [8]. The
sensitivity variable like the cost of solar PV, the capital
cost of the biomass generator set, biomass cost/ton and
converter cost, significantly affect the NPC and COE of
the system. The HOMER sensitivity results are shown in
Fig.6 below:

Fig. 6 Sensitivity Results

Table.4 Cost Summary of Different Components

Name of the Rating and Details Price in INR
V. TECHNO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF HYBRID SYSTEM component (1USD= 74 INR)
The hybrid system is analyzed economically and the cost Solar Photo 1kW 1,00000
summary of various inputs components are as follows in Voltaic panel
Table.4: Battery 6V, 912 Ah, 68000
Trojan IND13-6V 81% efficiency.
Converter 1kW 19000
Leonics GTP503S


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Biomass Genset 1kW 56000 biogas can be injected into a generator for power generation.
Most of the area surrounding the selected site is agriculture
land. The farmers after harvesting mostly burn the crop
The solar PV needs major part of capital investment of the residue left, which creates a major problem of pollution in the
system but due to government initiative, there are many state. This crop residue in the form of biomass can be utilized
subsidies are available which reduce the overall capital cost of for electricity generation. The various details of the biomass
solar PV considerably. generator output are tabulated in Table. 6 as follows:
A. Solar-PV Energy Production Table.6 Biomass Generator Output Details
The use of solar –PV provides us a clean resource of Quantity Value Units
energy and the operation and maintenance cost of solar-PV
is almost nil. The government also provides up to 30% Capacity Factor 57.9 %
subsidy on its capital cost on purchase of panel [9]. The
various particulars of solar-PV output are summarized in Electrical 1,775,550.00 kWh/yr
Table.5 as follows: Production

Table.5 Solar-PV Output Details Mean Electrical 350 kW

Quantity Value Units Output

Rated Capacity 400 kW Fuel Consumption 654.5 tons/yr

Mean Output 77.42 kW
Mean Output 1858.12 KWh/day
Capacity Factor 19.36 % The biomass gasification plant works throughout the year and
contributes the major part in electricity production. The power
Total Production 678221 KWh/yr output from a biomass generator is shown in Fig. 8 below:
PV Penetration 41.8 %
Hours of 4368 Hrs/yr
Operation
The study area receives abundant solar radiation throughout
the year. The weather conditions are dry and clean most of the
year, which makes its favorable place for, harnesses solar
power. The average annual energy production is shown in Fig.
7 below:

Fig. 8 Biomass Generator Output

C. Hybrid System Energy Production

Fig. 7 Average Annual PV Energy Production
B. Biomass Energy Production
The biomass gasification plant is used in this study, which
converts any agriculture waste or residue into biogas, and this
The HRES is more beneficial and stable than a single
renewable energy system. The combination of solar-PV and
biomass founds to be cost-effective as the NPC and COE is
reduces significantly. The dependence on the Grid is also
reduced largely. The various details regarding the hybrid
system output are summarized below in Table 7:


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Table.7 Hybrid Energy Output Details be reduced in the coming future with the advancement in
Energy Generation manufacturing technology of solar cell.
Quantity Value Percentage
Generic Flat Plate 678,221 kWh 23.95%
PV Production ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors wish to thank I.K Gujral Punjab Technical
500kW Genset 1,775,550 kWh 62.71%
Production University, India for the cooperation and support for providing
relevant data for the conduct of this study.
Grid Purchases 377,477 kWh 13.33%

Energy Consumption REFERENCES

AC Primary Load 1,621,754 kWh 57.85%
Grid Purchases 1181593 kWh 42.15%
The average electric production monthly from the hybrid
system consists of solar-PV, biomass and grid illustrate in Fig
9:
Fig. 9 Average Hybrid Monthly Electric Production
VI. CONCLUSION
In this paper, the hybrid system, which is the combination
of solar-PV and biomass, is discussed. The proposed model is
designed and simulated using HOMER Pro software for both
optimization and sensitivity analysis. The different
configurations are simulated and solar-PV/biomass without
storage is determined as the most cost-effective configuration.
After precise calculations, it is observed that installing HRES
at the “I.K Gujral Punjab Technical University” will be
feasible and cost-effective. In the hybrid energy system, the
cost of energy is reduced by 24% and decreases the
intermittency of the single resource significantly.
The carbon emission can also be largely declined by using this
system. With storage investment, the reliability of the system
can be improved. The system capital investment requirement
is higher in this case than others, but this financial investment
will not hinder its progress as the government provides various
subsidies and incentives. The cost of solar-PV also expects to
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