Generating electricity using pico hydro-based power plant in Koohrang county, Iran: effect of energy storage type

Hydropower boasts the capability to consistently generate electricity throughout the year, offering the lowest operating costs and the longest lifespan among renewable energy technologies. Given the aforementioned considerations and the absence of prior investigations into Iran's hydropower potential, this study employs HOMER software to explore the feasibility of supplying electricity to a village comprising ۱۰ households near Koohrang Tunnel in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, leveraging solar, wind, and hydro turbine renewable energies. Three distinct scenarios, centered around hydro turbine utilization, were examined. These scenarios aimed to provide electricity in off-grid (۱st scenario) and grid-connected modes (۲nd scenario), as well as to generate electricity and hydrogen in a grid-connected mode (۳rd scenario). In the first scenario, the most economically viable design yielded a cost of ۰.۱۸۷ per kWh of generated electricity, with ۹۹% of the electricity sourced from the hydro turbine and the remaining ۱% from a diesel generator. This scenario resulted in a CO۲ emission of ۲۳.۲ kg/y. In the second scenario, the most cost-effective option supplied ۹۴% of the electricity from the hydro turbine and the remaining portion from the main grid, at a cost of ۰.۰۳۳ per kWh. Notably, surplus electricity sold to the main grid facilitated an annual reduction of ۱۲۹۷ kg of CO۲ emissions. The third scenario, which combined the hydro turbine with the main grid, presented the most financially viable option. Here, the costs of per kWh of generated electricity and per kg of produced hydrogen were ۲.۰۱۲ and ۰.۴۹, respectively.

کلیدواژه ها:

Pico hydro ، Reformer ، Hydrogen ، HOMER