Optimization and cost evaluation of hybrid solar-wind-diesel-battery model for agri-food production in South Africa

This study assessed the viability and cost optimization of hybridized renewable energy sources in driving agricultural productivity through customized irrigation farming. The solar irradiance and wind speed of the study area were obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) databases. The proposed farm in this research is located at Alberton Town on 12^∘15′20.25′'S28^∘ 01′11.02′'E Gauteng, South Africa. The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) generation of the proposed farm was estimated on the total net cost, operation and maintenance cost, salvage cost and fuel cost. The load profile design of the farm comprises daily average, average, peak and capacity factor with the corresponding values of 89.52 (kWh/d), 3.73 (kW), 22.38 (kW), and 0.17 %, respectively. The optimized models for cost analysis are solar+battery+diesel, solar+wind+diesel+battery, and wind+battery+diesel. The operating cost for models 1, 2 and 3 stand at $18,431.76, $19,073.81 and $28,951.88, respectively, with the corresponding levelized COE of $0.5012 /kWh, $0.5703 /kWh and $0.6324 /kWh. The model 1 achieves the least LCOE, making it the most economical. Additionally, the carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the prevalent emission amongst the considered greenhouse gases (GHG) for the three models. For environmental sustainability, model 2 reduces the GHG emissions by 35.04 % and 90.2 % compared to models 1 and 3, respectively.