Assessment of Hybrid Renewable Energy System in Beledweyne city Somalia, Technical and Economical Analysis

Abstract

The rapid depletion of conventional fossil fuels with each passing day and increasing environmental concerns have given a great impetus to the studies on clean and renewable alternative energy sources. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of an on-grid, and off-grid hydro-wind-solar-battery hybrid system for electricity generation in Beledweyne, Somalia. The model is simulated with the HOMER program based on the energy-efficient system, has been successfully applied to find the best optimization result for the required amount of load. The economic and technical performance of a stand-alone combination of 100 kW hydropower, 200 kW solar photovoltaic, 400 kWh battery, and 80 kW wind power was investigated. Grid-connected megaprojects, such as large dams and energy pools, are essential but slow and expensive to increase national and regional power generation and transmission. This study is expected to shed light on investments to be made in Africa's offgrid and mini-grid solutions that are cheaper and faster to install and emphasizes that investments to be made in this direction can be a solution to Somalia's electricity crisis.