Economic viability of PV/diesel hybrid power systems in different climatic zones in South Africa

Recently hybrid power systems (HPSs) consisting of integrated operation of two or more different types of energy sources and storage devices are being deployed for rural electrification or electrification of remote areas in many countries across the world. This is seen as a cost effective solution in contrast to extending the utility grid in remote areas. The types of upcoming renewable and low-carbon generation technologies are being preferred for such systems depending on their availability and economic viability in these countries. Moreover, HPSs are also being preferred in order to improve the overall energy efficiency of the system and to get a judicious generation mix which would minimize the operating cost of the system. Rural communities in South Africa endure poor access to electricity mostly due to the lack of grid connected power lines. It is therefore the ideal place to conduct a study on the economic feasibility of introducing HPSs for typical residential loads for the rural community in South Africa. This paper reports on the investigating economic feasibility of a PV/diesel HPS in various climatic zones within South Africa.