Abstract:
Rwanda faces increasing electricity demand due to population growth and economic development. However, due to low generation capacity and challenges with power system expansion due to the country's hilly terrain, some remote areas lack access to the national grid. The government aims to increase electricity access to 100% by 2024, with 52% connected to the national grid and 48% using off-grid technologies. One potential solution is to adopt renewable energy, particularly a solar-wind hybrid power system. The goal of this research project is to design and carry out a feasibility study of a hybrid solar-wind system for electrifying Gatwa village in Nyamagabe District, which has been found to have sufficient solar radiation and the strongest wind. The study collects wind and solar data from meteorological stations in various regions of Rwanda. The information collected is as follows: At Nyamagabe District, the maximum wind speed of 7.6 m3/s along with the horizontal sun radiation of 7.54kWh/m2/day. This hybrid system was designed based on the estimated load of 378,900 Wh/day. To meet the village's electrical energy needs, 88 PV modules, 2 wind turbines, 25 batteries, 20 solar charge controllers, 14 wind charge controllers, and an inverter will be needed. For installation, the suggested hybrid system needs copper wires with cross-sectional areas of 10 mm2, 25 mm2, 32 mm2, and 70 mm2. The system’s cost estimation is 298,589.15$ and take 13.6 years as payback period. Comprehensive simulation results that determine the system's viability are provided, along with a description of the full hybrid system. Matlab/Simulink is used for designing a software simulation mode
