Techno-Economic Analysis of Hybrid Renewable Energy System for a Rural Community Health Centre in Uganda

¹ Pan African University-Institute of Water and Energy Sciences –including Climate Change (PAUWES), Tlemcen, Algeria.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State
³ The Energy and Environment Research Group (TEERG), Mechanical Engineering Department, Covenant University, Ogun State, Nigeria.
⁴ Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
⁵ Laboratoire Energies Renouvelables et Efficacité Energétique (LabEREE), Institut International d’Ingénierie de l’Eau et de l’Environnement (2iE), 01 BP 594 Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso

^* Corresponding Author : ikenna.ekpe@covenantuniversity.edu.ng

Abstract

The total power generation of Uganda stands at 1,777 MW which is far below phase two target for the National Development Plan II of 2,325 MW. To achieve the NDP II. To guarantee a sustainable development, the use of renewable energy mostly solar photovoltaic must be fast-tack. Solar technology in Uganda is moderately expensive as a result of high initial investment cost, this necessitates the need to diversify the energy mix of the country thus enhancing security of energy supply which formed the subject of this study. This study dealt with the techno-economic analysis of a hybrid Power system for Busitema Health Centre III. The daily energy demand for the health Centre was 3.979 kWh. The Net Present Cost, Levelized Cost of Electricity and Energy Output of the optimal system were determined using HOMER Pro software. Various combinations were obtained from the HOMER optimization simulations. From the analysis, a solar PV-diesel hybrid system stood out as the optimal configuration. This system is a 15.75 kW Solar PV, 10 kW diesel generator, and a battery bank capacity of 3,375AH.