Modified Harris Hawks optimization for the 3E feasibility assessment of a hybrid renewable energy system

Abstract

The off-grid Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRES) demonstrate great potential to be sustainable and economically feasible options to meet the growing energy needs and counter the depletion of conventional energy sources. Therefore, it is crucial to optimize the size of HRES components to assess system cost and dependability. This paper presents the optimal sizing of HRES to provide a very cost-effective and efficient solution for supplying power to a rural region. This study develops a PV-Wind-Battery-DG system with an objective of 3E analysis which includes Energy, Economic, and Environmental CO2 emissions. Indispensable parameters like technical parameters (Loss of Power Supply Probability, Renewable factor, PV fraction, and Wind fraction) and social factor (Human Developing Index) are evaluated to show the proposed modified Harris Hawks Optimization (mHHO) algorithm’s merits over the existing algorithms. To achieve the objectives, the proposed mHHO algorithm uses nine distinct operators to obtain simultaneous optimization. Furthermore, the performance of mHHO is evaluated by using the CEC 2019 test suite and the most optimal mHHO is chosen for sizing and 3E analysis of HRES. The findings demonstrate that the mHHO has achieved optimized values for Cost of Energy (COE), Net Present Cost (NPC), and Annualized System Cost (ASC) with the lowest values being 0.14130 $/kWh, 1,649,900$, and 1,16,090$/year respectively. The reduction in COE value using the proposed mHHO approach is 0.49% in comparison with most of the other MH-algorithms. Additionally, the system primarily relies on renewable sources, with diesel usage accounting for only 0.03% of power generation. Overall, this study effectively addresses the challenge of performing a 3E analysis with mHHO algorithm which exhibits excellent convergence and is capable of producing high-quality outcomes in the design of HRES. The mHHO algorithm attains optimal economic efficiency while simultaneously minimizing the impact on the environment and maintaining a high human development index.