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2021 International Conference on Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ICECIT), 14–16 September 2021, Khulna, Bangladesh
A Feasibility Analysis on Clean Energy System for
Rural Health Care Centre
Anirudha Barman
Department of EEE
Brac University
Dhaka, Bangladesh
anirudha.barman@g.bracu.ac.bd
Abstract—The paper presents a systemic study on installing
a clean energy system that relies on renewable sources for
electrification of a remote health care centre. The objective of
this study is to ensure a clean energy generation system for the
betterment of patients as well as rural people. The observation
shows a systemic implementation of the hybrid renewable energy
system (HRES) can support the load by lowering dependency on
conventional fossil fuels. From the proposed HRES, almost 41%
of the electricity can be generated by hydro resource whereas the
contribution of solar and biomass is 39% and 20% respectively
for the analyzed location. Along with this, the outcome analysis
shows the installation of HRES diminishes the emission of GHG
by 99.875%. Moreover, the cost estimation study shows that
the installation of HRES is feasible from the perspective of
Bangladesh.
Keywords— renewable, hydro, solar, biomass
I. INTRODUCTION
In recent years, the issue of global warming has become a
talk of the world because of significant changes in weather pat-
terns. Because of the heightened use of fossil fuels to produce
electricity, the emission of greenhouse gases has increased.
From [1], it is seen that the emission of Carbon Di-Oxide and
Carbon Mono-Oxide has been increasing continuously since
1990. In 2021, the emission of CO2is more than the emission
of 2020 because of the consumption of more coal, oil and gas
than previously. The analysis [2] shows that the majority of
the electrical energy in this present world is produced by fossil
fuels that result in the expansion of greenhouse gas emissions.
One of the recent studies [3] shows the world’s 61% electrical
energy is generated from fossil fuels whereas the rest of the
energy source is renewable energy sources.
In Bangladesh, the majority of the electricity generation
system is dependent on fossil fuels, especially oil and gas.
The study shows that 58% of electricity is generated from
natural gas and 35% of electricity is generated from oil [4].
Currently, Bangladesh is focusing on electrifying rural areas
using renewable energy sources for being a developing one
with a high potential for renewable energy sources.
A hybrid renewable energy system is an energy generation
system that consists of multi-renewable energy sources com-
bined that works as an alternative to the conventional energy
generation system which has become a factor for consideration
because of rapid environmental changes as well as the quick
downturn of available fossil fuels. In this paper, a feasibility
study of a hybrid renewable energy system for a rural health
care centre is analyzed that consists of different renewable
energy sources to electrify a surveyed countryside area which
also contains study on energy contribution by each renewable
source, gas emission analysis and economic expenditure.
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
Various works have been conducted on hybrid power sys-
tems (HPS) as an alternative to conventional energy generation
procedures for rural areas. The study [5] shows an analysis
of HPS consisting of solar photovoltaic arrays and a biogas-
based system to overcome the power crisis of an analyzed
rural area. Moreover, in [6], the authors proposed a HPS to
lower the energy crisis partially in Sandwip Island whereas the
authors in [7] documented a study on optimized HPS for St.
Martin’s Island. Another paper [8] demonstrated an analysis
of a HPS for Adorsho Char, an island area. Two similar
analyses are depicted in [9] and [10] for tourist’s interest
places which are Nijhum Dwip and Sajek Valley respectively,
showing partially optimized hybrid power systems. In recent
years, more modernized works have been done focusing on
the grid-connected renewable energy system for Bangladesh
that shows the prospect of the renewable energy-based smart
grid (SG) implementation. In [11] , the authors focused to
highlight the necessary implementation features to establish
smart grid system along with hybrid renewable energy system.
Moreover, in [12] the authors proposed a damage detection
procedure of renewable energy based system using deep
learning technology.
III. EQUIPMENT MODELING
Output from a hybrid renewable energy system depends
on geographical, seasonal and environmental issues. Thus a
systemic combination of different renewable energy sources
can give assistance to a load. For this, with a view to installing
a stabilized energy generation system synergized renewable
energy sources are utilized.
A. Hydro Energy System
Electrical energy generation from hydro energy is possible
through a water turbine by converting the energy of water flow
into mechanical energy. Mechanical energy can be converted
into electrical energy using a hydroelectric generator. Power
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generation from a hydroelectric turbine - generator is calcu-
lated using the following formula (1) where ηHis efficiency
of hydro generator, ρis density of water, g is the gravitational
acceleration (9.81 ms−2) and Q is volumetric water flow rate
(Ls−1): [13]
PH=ηH∗ρ∗g∗H∗Q(1)
Volumetric water flow rate (Q) depends on water flow
velocity (v) and total cross-sectional area (A) of enclosed pipe
as follows (2) :
Q=v∗A(2)
B. Solar Photovoltaic System
Solar radiation is accumulated as solar incident energy
which is used to generate electrical energy through solar panel.
Combination of solar panels can harness more solar incident
energy that can be converted into electrical energy of DC
output. Output of solar photovoltaic panel is calculated using
the formula (3) : [14]
EPV =G∗A∗ηPV (3)
Here, Gis solar radiation of specific location measured in
Wm
−2and ηPV is the photo-voltaic panel efficiency and A
is total area of photo-voltaic panel.
C. Biomass Gasifier Energy System
Chemical energy from biomass products is converted into
biomass energy. Biomass products can be used as fuel of
generator in form of biogas which is produced by fermentation
of biomass products. Available energy from biomass gasifier
energy system is calculated from the formula (4) for rated
power (PBMG) considering generator efficiency, ηBMG : [15]
E=PBMG ∗ηBM G (4)
D. System Converter
A converter is considered here to convert DC to AC that is
generated by the photo-voltaic system as well as supplied by
a battery pack. The converter’s output is estimated using the
following equations for photo-voltaic system (5) and battery
pack (6) respectively : [16]
EPV−Con =EPV ∗ηCon (5)
EBat−Con =EBat −ELoad
ηCon ∗ηDchg
(6)
The output of the battery converter depends on the con-
verter’s efficiency and discharging rate whereas the photo-
voltaic converter’s output relies on only converter efficiency.
E. Battery Pack
The reason behind considering a battery pack is to store
extra energies to support the load when any of the renewable
sources are not capable to support the load. Battery capacity
is a factor that depends on how many days the battery pack
needs to supply energy continuously without charging which
is denoted as the autonomous day (DAut). Moreover, the
efficiency of each battery is denoted as ηBat thus calculation of
battery capacity follows the formula (7) considering battery’s
depth of discharge as DOD : [17]
CPack =DAut ∗EAvg
DOD ∗VBat ∗ηBat
(7)
where, EAvg and VBat signifies daily average demanded en-
ergy and each battery voltage respectively. Number of battery
needed can be calculated dividing the battery pack’s capacity
by a single battery’s capacity which follows the formula (8) :
NB=CPack
CBat
(8)
F. Diesel Gasifier Energy System
For continuous energy supply in catastrophic situations, the
diesel generator is equipped with the system. Energy produced
by a diesel based generator of PDG rated power depends on
its running time TAct. The formula expressed in (9) shows
output energy estimation from diesel generator : [18]
EDG =PDG ∗ηDG ∗TAct (9)
In the above formula, efficiency of the diesel generator is
signified as ηDG.
IV. SITE AND RESOURCE ANALYSIS
To settle a suitable hybrid renewable energy system instead
of conventional energy sources site analysis is a must to
ensure the availability of renewable energy sources because
accessibility of renewable sources varies with location.
A. Site Analysis
Fig. 1. ”Chhatir Char” Map View
In this paper, a rural health care centre or a “Community
Clinic” that is situated in a remote area [19] of “Chhatir Char”
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(Fig. 1) a small village of “Nikli” sub-district of “Kishoreganj”
district situated in Bangladesh, is analyzed to look over the
feasibility of settling down a suitable hybrid renewable energy
system.
As the community clinics are established on wetlands or on
islands or on the lands surrounded by rivers or lakes, thus most
of the clinics face scarcity of electricity which is an essential
need for the patients and service providers. Furthermore, the
area is densely populated having an approximate population
of 8,755 and total households of 1,934 [20]. The geographical
location, longitude and latitude of the health care centre
is 24.27 North and 90.97 East, respectively. The area is
surrounded by a river name “Ghorautra” which is a tributary
of the “Meghna” river.
Fig. 2. Daily Load Profile
For this site, according to the approximate daily consump-
tion of the health care centre is 27.5 kWh. The load profile
is depicted in Fig. 2. From the figure, it is observed that
consumption is significantly high from 3 PM to 9 PM and
very negligible consumption is observed at night.
B. Resource Analysis
Fig. 3. Month-wise Average Water Flow Rate from 2 Meter Water Head
For being a riverine area, the major source of energy can
be the water. The Fig. 3 shows available water speed through
a penstock of a diameter of 0.5 meter from 2 meters of water
head. From the figure, it is observed that the flow of water
rises significantly from the month of June to October because
of heavy rainfall in the rainy season. Moreover, the average
volumetric water flow is observed 188.75 L/s through the
penstock.
Fig. 4. Month-wise Available Solar Irradiation & Clearness Index
Moreover, Solar radiation data for the location is depicted
in Fig. 4 which shows daily average solar radiation is 4.47
kWh/m2. A notable change in solar radiation is seen from
June to September as at that time the sky remains cloudy.
Fig. 5. Month-wise Available Biomass Resources
Fig. 5 shows the approximate average biomass product
from agricultural residues, animal manure and municipal solid
wastes. On average 310 kg of biomass products can be sup-
plied to produce biogas to operate a biomass-based generator.
V. S YSTEM OPTIMIZATION
A hybrid renewable energy system with photovoltaics,
biomass gasifier energy, hydro energy and a diesel-based
energy generation system with capacities of 3.5 kW, 3 kW,
0.5 kW and 1.5 kW respectively is constructed based on the
estimated load and available resources.
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Fig. 6. Schematic Diagram of the Proposed Hybrid System
TABLE I
SPECIFICATIONS OF THE EQUIPMENT OF DESIGNED HYBRID RENEWABLE
ENERGY SYSTEM
Capacity 3.5 kW
Photovoltaic Capital Cost 430 $/kW
Replacement Cost 400 $/kW
Maintenance Cost 3.50 $/kW/Year
Capacity 3kW
Biogas Generator Capital Cost 480 $/kW
Replacement Cost 450 $/kW
Maintenance Cost 0.50 $/kW/Year
Capacity 0.5 kW
Hydro Turbine Capital Cost 875 $/kW
Replacement Cost 750 $/kW
Maintenance Cost 3.75 $/kW/Year
Capacity 8.25 kWh
Battery Capital Cost 77.00 $/kWh
Replacement Cost 65.50 $/kWh
Maintenance Cost 3.50 $/kWh/Year
Capacity 10 kW
Converter Capital Cost 50.00 $/kW
Replacement Cost 48.0 $/kW
Maintenance Cost 3.50 $/kW/Year
Capacity 1.50 kW
Diesel Generator Capital Cost 500 $/kW
Replacement Cost 480 $/kW
Maintenance Cost 0.50 $/kW
The detailed specifications with price for the designed
hybrid renewable energy system is shown in Table I.
To optimize the system, a software named Hybrid Opti-
mization of Multiple Energy Resources or HOMER is used
that can simulate the designed system and suggest the best
combination of renewable energy sources. Fig. 6 shows the
simulated schematic diagram of the proposed hybrid renewable
energy system for the analyzed location.
Analyzing the deigned system, the software calculates aver-
age cost per energy (kWh) which is denoted as Cost of Energy
(COE) and the system’s life-cycle cost which is denoted as
Net Present Cost (NPC). The calculation of COE follows the
formula (10) : [21]
COE =TAC
ET otalServ ed
(10)
And the Net Present Cost (NPC) is calculated using the
following formula (11) :
NPC =TAC
CRF(i, N )(11)
where, TAC is the Total Annual Cost and CRF is the Capital
Recovery Factor that follows the formula (12) :
CRF(i, N )= i(1 + i)N
(1 + i)N−1(12)
Here, iis the Interest Rate and Nis the Life Time of
the designed system which are considered 5% and 25 years
respectively.
VI. RESULT ANALYSIS
The optimized system shows that the hybrid renewable
energy system can satisfy the load, as expected. The Fig.
7 below shows the electrical energy produced by different
systems.
Fig. 7. Comparison of Generated Electrical Energy from Different Sources
It is observed that total yearly generated electrical energy
is 12.98 MWh whereas the total yearly consumption is 10.04
MWh for this analysed location. The rest of the energy is
stored in the battery pack. Majority of the electrical energy is
converted from the hydro energy which is 5.36 MWh because
of availability of enough resource. Solar photovoltaic energy
supplies 5.07 MWh electrical energy whereas biomass based
system can contribute on 2.55 MWh in a year.
Moreover, for the designed system cost of energy (COE)
and the net present cost (NPC) is 0.202 USD and 28,578
USD respectively which is more cost-effective than the diesel-
based system. The diesel-based system shows the cost of
energy (COE) is 0.234 USD and the net present cost (NPC) is
33,110 USD which is much higher than the designed system.
The yearly maintenance cost of the designed hybrid system
is 1,676 USD whereas the diesel-based system needs more
concentration which results in consumption of 1,952 USD.
In addition, observation on gas emission identifies signifi-
cant change in emission data. For the designed HRES, total
yearly emission is 1.3337 kg which is negligible. Comparing
with diesel based system, the study outcome shows almost
100% (99.875%) depletion happens because of install hybrid
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renewable energy system when yearly greenhouse gas emis-
sion is 1,069 kg by the diesel generator.
VII. CONCLUSION
The designed hybrid system on this paper consists of clean
energy sources such as solar, hydro and biomass resources
which can be used as an alternative to conventional energy
sources. Considering the output analysis, the above study
substantiates the feasibility of electrification of remote rural
sites by installing a hybrid renewable energy system. The
observation shows the analysis of the site location is essential
to identify the availability of renewable resources. Through
the analysis in this research work, it is identified that almost
53% of the demanded load can be satisfied by setting up a
hydro-electric system that generates 41% of the total generated
electricity. The rest of the demanded load can be satisfied by
setting up Biomass Gasifier System and Solar Photovoltaic
System. Furthermore, greenhouse gas emission has decreased
notably because of the establishment of a hybrid renewable
system in this location. To mitigate the reliance on fossil fuels,
the installation of a hybrid renewable energy system needs to
be more systematic.
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