Hybrid renewable energy systems in educational institutions: Pathways to sustainability and cost-effectiveness

Hybrid renewable energy systems offer a cost-effective solution for meeting the energy demands of educational institutions, particularly when both academic and non-academic loads are considered. Unlike most existing studies that focus only on academic buildings, this research incorporates a comprehensive campus load profile, including hostels and faculty housing, enabling a more realistic assessment of university energy demand. The study develops and evaluates different hybrid energy system configurations mixing grid power, photovoltaic solar, wind, battery energy storage systems, fuel cells, electrolyzers, and hydrogen storage. Seven system configurations are developed and analysed using detailed techno-economic, environmental, and robustness assessments to identify an optimal solution that balances, sustainability, reliability and cost. The results indicate that a hybrid system that integrates grid supply, solar PV, battery storage, fuel cells, an electrolyzer, and hydrogen storage (Scenario VII) provides the most economically viable solution. This configuration has the lowest net present cost of $32.18 million and a levelised cost of energy of $0.0751/kWh, and it reduces the CO₂ emissions by 64.37% as compared to base-line gird-based scenario. Robustness analysis confirms that Scenario VII can effectively manage the load variations and ensure a reliable energy supply. Furthermore, hydrogen-based scenarios VI and VII demonstrate the potential for low-cost hydrogen production, with the levelised hydrogen costs of $5.15/kg and $2.59/kg respectively. Notably, the achieved LCOH of $2.59/kg in Scenario VII serves as a benchmark for economically viable green hydrogen production in campus-scale hybrid systems in developing countries. Overall, the findings demonstrate the potential of hybrid renewable energy systems to provide a reliable, affordable, and low-carbon energy solution for educational institutions.

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