Evaluating the impact of industrial loads on the performance of solar PV/diesel hybrid renewable energy systems for rural electrification in Ghana

Access to reliable electricity remains a significant challenge in many rural communities worldwide. Off-grid solar PV hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) have emerged as a viable option for rural electrification. However, rural communities' lack of productive load often limits their effectiveness. This study aimed to assess the impact of agro-processing productive loads on the performance of off-grid solar PV HRES for rural electrification. Hybrid Optimization Multiple Energy Resource (HOMER) software was used to perform a techno-economic analysis of a solar PV/diesel HRES. The study findings showed improvement in the rural community's load factor and solar load correlation with the integration of the productive load. Subsequently, increasing the renewable energy fraction in solar PV/diesel HRES reduces the levelized cost of energy (LCOE), making electricity generation more cost-effective for rural electrification in Ghana. Comparatively, the improved LCOE was found to be substantially higher than the End User Tariff of all residential consumers on the national grid, even under high PV penetration and full capital cost subsidy cases. The study provides valuable insights into the role of agro-based productive loads in enhancing the performance of rural off-grid solar HRES.