Renewable energy resources such as solar and wind energies are environmentally very advantageous compared to other conventional sources of power. They are clean and infinite resource although their efficiencies depend upon the climatic conditions (Ashourian, 2013). This study considers Solar and Wind resources coupled to a diesel generator to come up with an optimum solution to provide electricity to the agro-industrial park of Bukanga-Lonzo in Democratic Republic of Congo that can work as a stand-alone system. “A hybrid energy system usually consists of two or more renewable energy sources used together to provide increased system efficiency, but the design of hybrid power involves uneconomic and excessive capacities results in excess electric generation” explained Mr. Chong Li (Chong Li, 2020). According to Ashourian “Wind-photovoltaic Hybrid System (WPHS) utilization is becoming popular due to increasing energy costs and decreasing prices of turbines and Photo-Voltaic (PV) panels. However, prior to construction of a renewable generation station, it is necessary to determine the optimum number of PV panels and wind turbines for minimal cost during continuity of generated energy to meet the desired consumption” (Ashourian, 2013). This study aimed to hybridize a diesel power plant used in my case study by determining the “optimal solar-Wind-diesel Generator hybrid power system using HOMER software” for the Agro-industrial Park of Bukanga-Lonzo and perform an economic analysis on hybrid power systems. A stand-alone system composed of Wind/PV+ diesel generator is selected as the best configuration “in terms of Total Net Present Cost (TNPC), Cost of Electricity and least harmful emission”.
The results can be applied for the 22 agro-industrial parks and to other regions of the country.
Key words__ HOMER Simulation Software, Hybrid power System, Diesel Generator, Solar Photovoltaic, Wind turbine Generator (WTG), Renewable energy resources.