Cost Optimization of Hybrid Microgrid across China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Eastern Route for Rural Electrification in Pakistan

Electricity access plays a key role in defining the socio-economic status of a community. Millions of people around the globe are suffering from energy poverty, particularly the inhabitants of rural areas of developing countries. Pakistan is one of those countries which are suffering from electricity shortage and extreme load-shedding. In this paper, a hybrid microgrid system is designed across the eastern route of China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) using renewable energy sources (RES). The design and simulation of the proposed microgrid are through Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables) HOMER software, developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) [1]. The rural areas near Sukkur, Nawabshah, and Hingorja are chosen for the design of the microgrid system. The source energy profiles for solar, wind, and temperature are taken from the online database of National Solar Radiation Database [2], National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL) [3], and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy [4] respectively. Due to the intermittent nature of renewables, diesel generator and energy storage are used as a backup. The cost optimization of the system is performed using HOMER with least cost of energy (LCOE) and net present cost (NPC) as the decision variables. Additionally, sensitivity analysis, techno-economic analysis, and cost analysis are performed to test the designed system.