Energy Conversion and Management 311 (2024) 118505

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Energy Conversion and Management

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Research Paper

Optimal sizing and economic assessment of grid connected active

distribution network for reliable rural electrification in India
Avinash Gaurav a, Arjun Tyagi b, *, S.K. Jha c, Bhavnesh Kumar c
a
Department of Electrical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University of Technology, New Delhi 110078, India
b
Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Technology, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
c
Department of Instrumentation & Control Engineering, Netaji Subhas University of Technology, New Delhi, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Majority of rural areas in India have already been electrified, yet the disparity between demand and supply is
Biomass considerably higher and broadened due to which nation’s rapid financial growth as well as rising standards of
Hybrid renewable energy system living in both the urban as well as rural areas. Hence, the utilisation of renewable resources is rising steadily for
Rural electrification
the mitigation of such energy crisis. It has become necessity to use a hybrid sustainable energy system by
Solar PV
exploiting the strengths of each source in combination with one another to minimise the dependence on the
Active distribution system
congested power grid. For the efficient use of readily available renewable energy and sustainable rural electri­
fication, this study proposes an effective Active Distribution Network (ADN). A comprehensive techno-economic
analysis has been performed on the design of an ADN system that includes the exploitation of solar and biomass
energy as sources of power for sustainable rural electrification. In the proposed work, performance assessment
elements such as output responses, component costs, feasibility and sensitivity of the project, emissions, inflation
rate, and changing the pricing of integrant have been taken into consideration and analysed. Results shows the
improvement in rural electrical system while lowering system energy costs along with consideration of envi­
ronmental impact.

with 580 KT of PM2.5 (particulates with a diameter of less than 2.5 mm)
1. Introduction and literature overview [2]. Apart from this, the availability of coal mines is non-uniform in
nature. These are primarily available in eastern and north-eastern parts
Adequate and regular electricity supply is an indispensable factor for of the nation. This necessitates the building of more waterways carriers
overall development of any country. Recent years may have witnessed a and railway freight carriers, as well as the effective management and
massive increase in the utility of electrical energy due to faster-than- control of such carriers, all of which have significant financial require­
expected technical innovations, rapid urbanisation and industrializa­ ment [3]. Moreover, thermal power plants may experience shortage of
tion, and higher per-capita consumption. To fulfil the rising demand, in coal supply due to various reasons, raising the concerns of lesser gen­
most of the developing nations, including India, a substantial portion of eration. Furthermore, the transmission and distribution losses, which
electricity is generated from thermal power stations using coal as a fuel. range in size from 26 % to 32 %, make rural electrification more chal­
In India, coal-based thermal power plants provide over 57.7 % of the lenging in India.
country’s total electricity, compared to 42.3 % from other RESs In the twenty-first century, 1.1 billion global people have still scar­
including wind, PV, biomass, and mini hydropower facilities [1]. In fact, city of optimum access to electrical energy. The majority of the popu­
even globally the majority of electricity is generated from coal-based lation reside in rural or isolated areas in developing countries majorly
producing units, which have severe negative consequences on the belongs to Southern Asia, Latin as well as southern America, and Sub-
environment as well as for biosphere. It has been seen explicitly in Saharan Africa. [4]. In India around 97 % population have access to
respective survey that 111 plants with a combined positioned install electricity till 2021, but their access is provided by centralised mode
capability of 122 GW used 504 million tonnes of ignitable coal in (specially from central grid) of electricity flow [5]. So, due to rich
2010–11, produced an estimated 665 MT of CO2 , approx. 1090 kilo-tons availability of renewable sources electricity generation in India has been
(KT) of carbon monoxide, 100 KT of volatile biotic components, along now shifted to decentralised mode in which conventional consumer has

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Tyagi).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2024.118505
Received 5 March 2024; Received in revised form 12 April 2024; Accepted 30 April 2024
Available online 9 May 2024
0196-8904/© 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A. Gaurav et al. Energy Conversion and Management 311 (2024) 118505

Nomenclature NMOC Non-methyl organic compound

IOA Inflammable organic agents
ADN Active distribution Network PV Photo-Voltaic
HRER Hybrid Renewable Energy Resources BESS Battery Energy Storage System
RES Renewable Energy Sources ESS Energy Storage System
NREL National Renewable Energy Laboratory LED Light-emitting Diode
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration COE Cost of Energy
HOMER Hybrid Optimisation Model for Multiple Energy Resources LF Load Following
COP Conference of party TNPC Total Net Present Cost
MNRE Ministry of New and Renewable energy NPC Net Present Cost
MG Microgrid NTC Normal Test Condition
GHG Greenhouse gas DVA Dependent Variable Assessment

become to prosumer who can consume, produce and sell back extra system in association with declining the rate of dependency on con­
produced energy to the central grid. However, there are large differ­ ventional grid system nearly to 90 % and 55 % depletion of CO2 emis­
ences in the quality of services and energy usage in-between states and sion throughout in a year [10].
between rural environment and urbanised atmospheric areas. Regard­ A hybrid configuration of PV-battery-wind-diesel system offers
less of significant advancements in the energy sector over the past few economical structure for standalone optimized microgrid with the fair
years, majority of the rural mendicant homes still lack regular electricity reduction in TNCC (total net current cost) as well as COE (cost of energy)
supply, and millions of people still rely on biomass fire for everyday of generated energy [11]. In the solar-powered microgrid’s techno-
cooking, majorly in eastern part of India. economic assessment associated MG with centralised grid system at 10
The most effective approach for the future is to promote the different locations in south Africa inferred that COE can be reduced by
renewable energy-based power generation, which complies with the 45 %. Moreover, by incorporation of the PV array to the African central
Government of India’s mandate to diminish carbon dioxide emission grid, may provide a consistent supply of power to the load centres with
and its unpropitious impact on the environment. In order to achieve the reduction in environment degradation by minimising of Greenhouse gas
intended emission reduction objective and to maintain a regular energy emissions but with increased COE [12]. A hybrid structure of RE based
supply distinctly in rural extent, the energy production from Renewable microgrid comprising of PV/WT/BESS/DG was techno-economically
Energy Resources (RERs) can play a very innate role. Each of the state evaluated on HOMER PRO software employing hourly time series data
and union territories of India has its own RESs potential that can (solar irradiations, daily temperature variation, wind speed, and load
contribute in meeting growing energy demand. The locally accessible data) to calculate energy balancing on every component. Evaluation
resources might be used to generate electrical energy using a variety of revealed that the expenses of extending the national grid to outlying
technologies. However, a significant barrier to their sustained adoption places might be reduced, however reduction in COE was not to a great
is their intermittent nature. The intermittency can be supplemented by level [13]. A modelling of multiple RESs based microgrid on HOMER
arranging these units into hybrid mode in accordance with mutual co­ PRO software provided quite feasible and cost-effective energy flow
ordination. For a consistent supply of electrical power to any location, a solutions to the remote island in Bangladesh [14]. A hybrid renewable
system of hybrid renewable energy resources (HRERs) is a more trust­ system of microgrid comprising of photovoltaic/wind/biomass with
worthy option, as this system render the imperishable as well as integration of efficient energy storage system (ESS) is seems for the best
economical use of each resource. In addition, it has been demonstrated preferences to deliver reliable as well as continuous off grid energy flow
that the grid-tied hybrid renewable system is an amazing option in terms [15].
of system efficiency and dependability. Additionally, it offers the chance Optimal sizing and location are one of the important concerns to the
to resell the extra electricity produced during off-peak hours [6]. any HRES-MG system. Economic, technical, social, and environmental
In the midst of several technical tools for HRERs, the HOMER factors all play a role in the best HRES system sizing [16]. However, the
simulator systems, created by the National Renewable Energy Labora­ main problems with renewable energy generation are caused by inter­
tory (NREL, USA), is a prevalent mechanism for the efficient study of mittent weather conditions, such as irregular irradiance conditions,
hybrid configuration of generation systems [7]. There are several variation in wind speed, non-uniform availability of biomass. Due to the
research efforts readily accessible in the literature which demonstrated diesel generator’s effectiveness in meeting energy load demand with
the advantages of Hybrid Renewable energy resources (HRERs) and lower cost with respect to the BESSs, it might be adopted as an alter­
were conducted using the MATLAB platform, along with a viable plat­ native power source. A comparative analysis showed that an excessive
form of Hybrid Optimisation Model for Multiple Energy Resources utility of battery energy storage system can increase the initial capital
(HOMER) [9–17]. These studies conducted by different authors, pre­ expenditure of the referred microgrid [17].
sented various alternatives of non-conventional sources of energy In this study, the economic viability along with technological anal­
combinations, likewise solar, wind, biomass, mini as well micro hydro ysis of hybrid structure especially solar-biomass-based active distribu­
integrated with grid, and independent of grid integration which tion network system for Korawan village having latitude 25.134◦ N and
dependent on the availability of such resources in a certain region. In longitude 85.219◦ E of Nalanda district in Bihar state of India has been
rural electrification, the cost of electricity can be reduced to 1.37 times examined based on the variables like cost, reliability and environmental
than conventional power distribution system in association with concerns for the reliable rural electrification. It has discovered through a
declining the rate of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission about 80 % by physical evaluation of this location that the grid supply is frequently
efficient handling of biomass through anaerobic digestion process in a intermittent in nature. According to the survey, this location offers a lot
hybrid non-conventional energy sources based microgrid [8]. In PV/ of solar energy potential and biomass availability (particularly rice
Biomass based microgrid with pertinent utilisation of rice straw, the cost husk). As a result, an economically viable active distribution network
of energy (COE) can be diminished [9]. Optimization of PV-Biomass- based on renewable energy has been designed for this location to
grid based microgrid reduces the cost of energy generation along with emaciate the fully dependency on the grid.
faster payback and accelerates the energy yield from renewable hybrid The highlights of this study have given below:

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A. Gaurav et al. Energy Conversion and Management 311 (2024) 118505

• Effective utilisation of available renewable resources in rural region

of Bihar for sustainable rural electrification.
• Design of optimal model of on-grid as well as off-grid hybrid
configuration of active distribution network (ADN) on integration of
PV/biomass resources.
• A comparative assessment for effective performance and manage­
ment of produced energy of both on-grid as well as off-grid active
distribution network has been done.
• A proper investigation and assessment of proposed active distribu­
tion network on several techno-economic attributes has been
performed.
• Analysis of feasibility and pertinency of active distribution network
for selected rural region on environmental concerns has been also
done.
• Impact of various dependent variable assessment on cost of energy Fig. 1. Distribution of various crops production in Bihar [21].
and total net present cost for the practicality of proposed active
distribution network has been done. However, Husk, which makes up around 20 % of paddy weight and is
primarily thought of as a waste product with no commercial use, is
This article is divided into the following sections: The energy sce­ frequently burned, dumped in rivers, or placed on landfills. According to
nario and resource evaluation of Korawan village in Nalanda district of estimates, Bihar produces roughly 1.8 billion kg of rice husk each year
Bihar, India is discussed in Section 2. Modelling and assessment criteria [22]. Farmers know that the simplest, cheapest, and fastest method to
for microgrid system is presented in Section 3. Sections 4 describes the get rid of residual waste is to burn it in the fields, but this practise results
optimisation findings and pertinent discussion followed by conclusion in significant energy waste and environmental damage. Large-scale rice
Section 5. remnant burning is a significant producer of trace gases and sub-
Micronics particles, which are known to worsen respiratory and pul­
2. An evaluation of resources and the energy scenario monary conditions. Crop residue produces large amounts of CO, CO2 ,
NOX , CH4 , SO2 , N2 O, non-methyl organic compound (NMOC),
Bihar, a state in eastern India, with a population of 103,804,637 inflammable organic agents (IOA) along with particulate matter (PM2.5
people and occupies 2.86 % (94,163 km2) of the country’s total and PM10 ). All of such pollutants have a significant impact on global
geographical area (census, 2011) [18]. It is completely land-locked state warming [23].
which lie between latitude 24 20′ and 27 31′ N and longitudes 83 19′
◦ ◦ ◦
Crop residuals, which are a second-generation biofuel, could be
and 88 17′ E in a semitropical part of temperate zone. After the bifur­
◦
effectively used to produce biogas using anaerobic digestion process.
cation from Jharkhand, Bihar has scarcity of industry as well as various Methane, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide are among the gases
mineral resources due to which majority of the population (88.71 %) that contribute to making up biogas. Methane can be utilised to generate
who lives here in village is dependent on agriculture and domestic an­ heat and electricity in place of fossil fuels, bringing down greenhouse
imals as their predominant source of income. In Bihar, agriculture is the gas radiations and reducing environmental degradation. In order to
main driver of wealth where about 76 % of population were inclined in boost topsoil health and raise the amount of organic carbon in the
various agricultural pursuits because of the abundancy of alluvial soil topsoil, manure that is still in the digester after the creation of biogas can
which predominantly lie in the gangetic plains [19]. Although, per be added to the ground. Furthermore, it has been found that an increase
capita consumption of electricity as well as scaled rural electrification in organic carbon from 1 % to 5 % can remove 100,000 tonnes of CO2
has been increasing by leaps and bounds throughout entire states but the from the atmosphere. However, crop residue’s lignocellulosic compo­
reliability of electricity is still one of the vital concerns specially during sition prevents it from biodegradation through anaerobic digestion,
peak load demand period in a particular year. Coal-based thermal power which reduces the amount of biogas produced. A balanced Carbon-
plants are still vital for the production of electricity in Bihar, despite Nitrogen (C: N) ratio is achieved by using a variety of substrates,
their limited numbers and the many problems they cause, including high which increases the content of supplements, nutrients, and phosphorus.
electricity prices and environmental concerns caused by the need to As the C:N ratio rises, the nitrogen is quickly consumed before the car­
transport coal from far away locations. To overcome the limitation of bon is digested. For various substrates and temperature circumstances,
electricity production from coal based thermal power generation, the the majority of factors indicated the absolute carbon–nitrogen ratio is
state has several sustainable energies potentials as well. between 20 and 30:1[24]. Also, it has been noted that crop remnant has
a higher carbon–nitrogen ratio than ideal. This can be changed by co-
digesting crop residue with livestock manure like buffalo dung, cow
2.1. Biomass availability dung and pig manure. In addition to agriculture, one of the crucial
sectors that significantly affects employment and income opportunities
India produces about 650 MT of agricultural residue each year, of for Bihar’s rural residents is animal husbandry. Bihar is also abundant in
which 64.06 % comes from cereal crops including rice, wheat, and animal husbandry, with an estimated population of 32.93 million
maize, while the remaining biomass comes from cotton and sugarcane, (Census animal husbandry, 2012), including buffaloes, cow, goats, pigs,
contributing 24.60 % and 10.68 %, respectively. With a 3.72 Exa-Joule sheep, donkeys, horses, and mules, as well as 14.069 million (Census
(EJ) energy potential, these crop residue have the capacity to generate livestock, 2012) chickens, ducks, geese, and other birds [25]. As
ranging between 23 and 53 GW of electricity, depending on thermal consequently, there is sufficient substrate in the region for running a
efficiency and different collection methods [20]. biomass power generation plant.
The two most important cereal crops grown in Bihar are rice and
wheat, which together account for 42 % and 28 % of all crops produced 2.2. Status of solar availability
there as shown in Fig. 1. The leftover stalks, leaves, roots, and straws
from these crops’ harvest are referred to as residues or biomass. India, which has beyond 300 clear bright days per year, has the ca­
Rural residents already utilizing wheat and rice straw largely as pacity to generate 5,000 trillion kW of clean solar energy. Indian Gov­
animal feed, so there are no concerns with respect to its handling. ernment has set the progressive goal of installing 500 GW of energy

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A. Gaurav et al. Energy Conversion and Management 311 (2024) 118505

generation from renewable resources by 2030, which encompasses the 3. Modelling and assessment criteria for active distribution
production of 280 GW of photovoltaic energy and 140 GW energy network
generation from wind dynamics, in order to usher in a green revolution
in the nation which was announced at sustainable development goals in An active distribution network involves several distributed renew­
COP-26 of Paris agreement [26]. For 300 to 340 sunny days per year, able energy resources integrated with grid or islanded mode along with
India receives average solar energy in the interval of 5 to 7 kWh/m2/day bidirectional power flow characteristics for the resiliency of overall
[27]. Each square kilometre of land can support 20 MW of solar elec­ power flow network. In Fig. 3, an illustration of proposed active distri­
tricity with this amount of energy. bution network is shown. Network includes a solar PV system, biogas
Bihar is the eastern state of India, due to which the intensity of solar generator set, energy storage systems, electric grid, converters with
irradiance is comparatively more than other parts of the nation. As a interconnected utilities of consumer loads. In order to meet the load
consequence, Bihar has also an average of 310 to 340 sunny days requirement, a battery bank is employed as a backup. A bidirectional
throughout the year. Thus, the selected location in Bihar has adequate converter transforms generated DC power from solar arrays to AC power
temperatures lie majorly between the range of 5 ◦ C to 44 ◦ C during and accumulate surplus energy in the battery bank while maintaining
winter and summer seasons respectively [28]. The government of Bihar the stream of electrical energy amidst of the AC and DC buses.
has started various initiative as well as programmes of several renewable
energy generation to fulfil the ascending demand for power in envi­ 3.1. Solar PV generation
ronmentally justifiable manner which shows the huge possibility of
power generation from solar PV array [29]. Due to the advantages of The local climate and their temperature gradient have a major in­
hybrid configuration for energy production, MNRE (Ministry of New and fluence on the power produced by solar panels. The mathematical
Renewable energy) has promoted hybrid power generating stations that equation for power output from PV panel using solar luminosity and
use photovoltaic energy as a primary as well as secondary renewable available temperature can be coined as [30]
energy source in a decentralised on-grid and off-grid system.
Rt
PPV (t) = GPV *DPV ( )[1 + αp (Tc − TcNTC )] (1)
RtNTC
2.3. Grid availability
Here, GPV is the rated capacity of PV panel in kW, DPV is derating
For this study, the village of Korawan village having latitude 25.134◦ factor of solar panel in percentage, Rt is the solar irradiation fall on the
N and longitude 85.219◦ E in the eastern part of India, Bihar which is 40 horizontal surface of solar panel in kW/m2 ,RtNTC is the incoming irra­
km west of the district headquarters in Bihar Sharif, Nalanda, has cho­ diation at normal test condition in kW/m2 , αp is characterise as coeffi­
sen. It is well connected to nearby Islampur (Ekangarsarai) power grid cient of temperature with respect to power in % /◦ C, Tc shows the solar
station to fulfil its inhabitant load demand. However, because of power cell temperature in ◦ C, and TcNTC shows the temperature PV cell at
outages during peak hours, the systems seem flimsy and dubious. There normal test condition (NTC) which is at 25 ◦ C.
are regular power outages in the community between May and August In this study, proposed hybrid ADN considered all-inclusive flat-
have been reported as exhibited in Fig. 2, when load demand is at its plate, poly-crystalline solar PV array having an efficiency of 14.6 %
highest, aside from a quarterly grid outage for scheduled maintenance. [31]. Detail specification for selected PV panel has been given in Table 1.
In the Fig. 2, the reddish shaded region shows the regular deprivation as The derating factor, which considers elements like wire losses, lifespan,
well as deterioration of regular supply of electricity from nearby grid. temperature variations, and dust losses that cause the produced power
Thus, a grid connected renewable based active distribution network from a PV panel to be less than its rated potential, is expected to be 80 %
might be seems more feasible and reliable option for consistent supply of [32]. The selected PV arrays for this study has been considered with a
electricity to the village. life span of 25 years, and the tracking system with monthly adjustments
on the horizontal axis has been considered.

Fig. 2. Annual grid Outages of selected location.

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A. Gaurav et al. Energy Conversion and Management 311 (2024) 118505

Fig. 3. Proposed schematic hybrid structure of active distribution network.

3.3. Converter configuration

Table 1
Specifications of PV Panel.
Fig. 2 shows that a bidirectional converter has been linked between
Name of PV panel Peimar SG200M5 the DC and AC buses for the assurance that there is a continuous energy
Abbreviation SG200M5 flow between these networked buses. The converter power rating can be
Panel type flat-plate, poly-crystalline represented by equation (4) [36]
Rated Capacity 200 kW
Temperature Coefficient − 0.4 Pconverter = Pload /ηconverter (4)
Efficiency 15.7 %
Derating Factor 80 % Where,Pload refers to peak load demand while ηconverter represents
converter’s efficiency. In this present study, a 20-year converter service
life having 90 % conversion efficiency has assumed which are shown in
3.2. Biogas generation Table 3.

Biogas generator is operated by produced biogas which is generated

by mechanism of anaerobic digestion of various organic constituent in 3.4. Battery bank configuration
biogas digester. The yearly output power can be enumerated as in
equation (2) [33] Energy storage devices are generally viewed as an appropriate choice
for microgrids located in distant areas. They make it possible to use
Pout = PMax * PUF*[(total running hours/Day) *365] (2) renewable energy sources primarily solar and wind for longer periods of
Here,PMax is the maximum capacity rating of biogas generator set time, which improves system efficiency and reliability. Batteries
while, PUF stands for plant utilization factor. significantly improve the availability of any other hybrid MG system for
The maximum rating of biomass can be expressed as equation (3) the consistent energy flow by considering as a storage means throughout
[34] the periods of abundant production of energy and using the accumulated
energy during periods of apex load demand whenever RESs are unable to
PMax = BTA *1000*HV BR *ηBG (3) fulfil the energy requirement of load demand. However, battery’s
Where,BTA is total available biomass constituents in tonnes/ maximum power rating at any given time can be computed by equation
year,HV BM is heating value of available bio-resources in Megajoule per (5)[37].
kilogram and ηBG represents their all-inclusive transformation efficiency Nbatt *Vbatt *Ibatt
max
of biogas gen-sets. In this study, the biomass genset’s minimum load Pmax
batt = (5)
1000
ratio was set at 0.5, and an output rating between 0 and 100 kW was
considered for optimisation which are exhibited in Table 2. The biogas Where,Nbatt signifies the total number battery engaged for oper­
generator set’s estimated lifespan has 20,000 h [35]. ation,Vbatt represents the rating of voltage of a single battery in volt, and

Table 3
Table 2 Specifications of Converter.
Specifications of Biogas Gensets.
Name of Converter Sinexcel 250 kW
Name of Genset Generic Biogas genset
Abbreviation Sinexcel 250
Abbreviation Bio Rated Capacity 167 kW
Rated Capacity 100 kW Lifetime 20 years
Minimum Load Ratio 0.5 Inverter Efficiency 96.03 %
Lifespan 20,000 Hours Rectifier Efficiency 96.03 %
Gasification Ratio (kg/kg) 0.7 Relative Capacity 100 %

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A. Gaurav et al. Energy Conversion and Management 311 (2024) 118505

Ibatt
max
refers to the battery’s maximum charging current measured in Table 5
amperes. Detail specification of deployed energy storage system has Cost specification of major integrant of the proposed network.
been given in Table 4. Integrant Capital Replacement O&M Lifespan References
expense expense expense
3.5. Economic aspects of active distribution networks Photovoltaic 840 800($/kW) 10 25 yr. [8]
array ($/kW) $/year
The economic aspects of conjugated hybrid structure of microgrids Battery 300 300($/kwh) 0.01 10 yr. [33]
system mainly comprises of capital expenditure, supersedure cost and ($/kwh) ($/kwh)
Biomass 600 450($/kW) 0.025 20,000 [35]
operation as well as maintenance cost of various discontinuous gasifier ($/kW) $/hr hr
component. The fixed capital expenditure of the system has the expenses system
related to the labour and land, as well as the expense on installing the Converter 150 150($/kW) − 20 yr. [33]
several components. Considering a 25-year project lifespan and a $25 ($/kW)
incurred per tonne for biomass. When running a simulation in HOMER,
the time interval size is set to 1 h, and load-following strategy has 4. Assessment of load profile as well as available resources of
employed as the dispatch technique. The COE is system’s generic the study area
annualised cost per kWh of optimum energy it produces. The cost of
energy acquired through the grid is $0.10 per kWh[38]. In this work a In comparison to urban areas, the country’s rural areas have very low
simple rates of the electricity from grid has been considered for the grid consumption of electricity. The proposed hybrid system has been
tied hybrid configuration of active distribution network. The expenses developed for Korawan village having latitude 25.134◦ N and longitude
for different associated constituent, which are taken from the few lit­ 85.219◦ E for consistent and optimal rural electrification. According to
eratures, are shown in Table 5. The currency’s rate of exchange used as census 2011 Korawan is a medium sized village in the Islampur block of
81.5 Indian rupees to one US dollar. Nalanda district having total population of 1,314 people, out of which
male population is 710 people while 604 is the female population. The
3.6. Criteria for economic assessment of ADN literacy rate in the hamlet of Korawan is 48.40 %, with 58.31 % of men
and 36.75 % of women being educated. In the hamlet of Korawan, there
The economic viability of the proposed hybrid structure of RE-based are approximately 231 households and having two government school
active distribution network has been estimated using Total net present and one civic centre. The village has an approximate land area of 138 ha.
cost (NPC) of the entire designed network and cumulative cost of energy
in per unit. Total NPC and cost of energy are enumerated using equation
(6) [39]. 4.1. Load evaluation

Total NPC =
CAAC
(6) The consumable load demand data for the ‘Korawan’ has been
CRF(i, m) meticulously accumulated through the preliminary survey, question­
Where CAAC refers to the aggregate annualized cost in $/year while, naire and the energy necessity has been estimated according to the
CRF(i, m) stands for capital retrieval factor. The CRF(i, m) is calculated required data. The household load of LEDs, fans, televisions, and re­
using equation (7). frigerators make up the majority of the load in the community. Miscel­
laneous loads include loads like electric iron, mobile charging unit, and
i(1 + i)m mixer loads. Based on duration of the usage of various electrical appli­
CRF(i, m) = (7)
(1 + i)m − 1 ances load demand may alter. The alteration in load demand which is
Here, “i” is annual interest rate (%) that will be dependent on yearly majorly based on the two seasons that are predominant in the area of
inflation rate while “m” is total projected tenure in years. study, summer (April-October) and winter (November-March) has been
Levelized COE of produced energy can be determined by dividing the evaluated explicitly. As seen in Table 2, the village has just one primary
yearly price of suggested network by the energy produced and can be school and one girl’s high school and one community centre, all are
expressed as equation (8). occupied during the daytime only.
According to Table 6 which represents the load statistics, the elec­
Levelized COE =
CAAC
(8) tricity demand of the ‘Korawan’ reaches to 516.91 kWh per day with an
Etotal apex demand of 86 kWh throughout the summer season and drops to
Where Etotal represents the aggregate electrical demand served in 466.33 kWh per day with an apex demand of 50 kWh in winter season.
kWh/year [40]. Compared to demand during evening and night-time, the amount of
The cost calculation in this work simply considers the energy needed power used by in day hours (9:00 AM to 5:00 PM) is less, as exhibited in
to fulfil the load demand. Fig. 4(i). Furthermore, the village’s yearly load profile (blue shaded
region) in Fig. 4(ii) shows that the energy demand is highest in the
summer, with an apex load demand of 86 kW (represented by red shaded
area). During the winter months, the typical energy requirement ranges
from 22 to 50 kW. In this work 10 % random variability of both day to
day and time step for the village load demand has been considered.

Table 4
Specifications of Battery. 4.2. Resources evaluation
Name of Battery Generic 1kWh Li-ion
Solar irradiation statistics for the research area are obtained from the
Abbreviation 1 kWh LI
climate metrology unit of solar energy delivered by NASA. With more
Nominal Voltage 6V
Nominal Capacity 1 kWh than 300 clear sunny days per year, 5.01 kWh/m2/day of annual PV
Roundtrip Efficiency 90 % radiation, and a clearness index of 0.509 on average, the area has a
Life Span 10 years significant solar energy potential, as shown in Fig. 5.
Annual Throughput 4000 kWh Agriculture as well as livestock are the two main drivers of the
Number of strings 50
economy of this village. The majority of biomass cultivated in the

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A. Gaurav et al. Energy Conversion and Management 311 (2024) 118505

Table 6
The load statistics of selected rural community.
S. Equipment Load point of the Power Load Summer (April-Oct) Winter (Nov-March)
No. hamlet (W) (kW)
Load period Energy consumption per Load period Energy consumption per
(hr) day (kwh) (hr) day (kwh)

Domestic load
1 LED bulbs 462 12 5.54 4 22.17 8 44.35
2 Ceiling Fan 231 70 16.17 12 194.04 0 0
3 TV 100 100 10 4 40 4 40
4 Refrigerator 120 100 12 12 144 4 48
5 Heater 30 1000 30 0 0 7 210
6 Cell phone charger 462 20 9.24 2 18.48 2 18.48
8 Submersible water pump 20 1000 20 2 40 2 40
9 Other appliances 100 100 10 2 20 4 40
Local Community Centre/School/Temple
1 LED bulbs 20 12 0.24 6 1.44 8 1.92
2 Ceiling Fan 10 70 0.70 6 6.30 0 0
Shops
1 LED bulbs 10 12 0.12 4 0.48 4 0.48
2 Ceiling Fan 6 70 0.42 6 2.52 0 0
3 Irrigation Pumps (for 6 750 4.50 6 27 5 22.50
community purpose)
Total load 516.91 kWh 466.33 kWh

Note: approximate 1% household having air condition.

Fig. 4. (i) Daily average load statistics of Korawan village. (ii) load statistics of village around the year.

Korawan village are wheat, paddy, lentils, potatoes, and other vegeta­ m3 of biogas, which can be used to generate 1.5 kWh of energy [41].
bles. The Korawan village has enough livestock, consisting of 700 cattle Additionally, it has been estimated that 1 tonne of rice husk may yield
and buffaloes, 200 goats, 200 pigs, and 400 chickens, per the de­ 240 m3 of biogas produced by anaerobic digester, and 1 m3 of yielded
mographic data accumulated by the study. A cattle generates 5.5 kg of biogas could provide approx. 2 kWh of electricity. As a result, 50 tonnes
dung each day, and 1 kg of cattle dung may be converted into 0.6 to 0.8 of straw can provide 1 MW of power every hour. The biogas generation

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A. Gaurav et al. Energy Conversion and Management 311 (2024) 118505

Fig. 5. Solar radiation profile of the selected site.

rate increases when agricultural crop residues, which are typically 5.1. ADN-1
available in quantities of about 6 tonnes per month, are co-digested with
animal manure [42]. Village have availability of 15 tonnes per month or A hybrid structure containing Solar PV and biomass with grid con­
more biomass throughout the year as shown in Fig. 6. Additional nected network has been configured using a 100 kW biogas generator,
amount of biomass is generated in the months of April, September, 200 kW Solar PV, and a 200-kW bidirectional converter having load
October and November is seen due to harvesting of the wheat and rice following (LF) dispatch technique. Results depicts that the TNPC for the
crops. ADN-1 system is $831,904, the COE per kWh is $0.0795, and the
operating cost is $35,759/-, having a renewable penetration of 81.7 %.
5. Network simulation and outcome The discount rate and grid sell back price for this configuration has been
considered as 3.75 % and 0.050 $/kWh respectively. The proposed ADN-
An active distribution network that uses biomass and solar power as 1 system can reliably meet the ‘Korawan’s’ load demand, and extra
generating sources for the continuous supply of electricity to the area power produced by integrated RESs (Biomass and solar PV) can be
under study is termed as ADN-1. While ADN-2 refers to a system with disposed off to the grid via inclusion of net metering scheme. The
battery storage in association with photovoltaic and biomass-based response of the various system components in the month of June, the
producing units that are not integrated to the centralised grid. Com­ month with the highest demand, is shown in Fig. 7.
plete system is modelled and simulated in HOMER-2020 (13.14.2) Pro The responses of the various components show that the proposed
edition environment for performance assessment. The following techno- active network would be also able to generate extra power of about
economic studies are executed to examine the efficacy of suggested in­ 173,194 kWh/year in addition to meeting the village’s load re­
tegrated with grid (ADN-1) and standalone active distribution network quirements. Fig. 8 displays the power production by various generating
(ADN-2) for the resilient power systems. units (Solar PV/Biomass Generator set and power drawn from grid)
during the year.

Fig. 6. Availability of biomass throughout the year.

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A. Gaurav et al. Energy Conversion and Management 311 (2024) 118505

Fig. 7. (i) Represents Purchased and sold power output from grid and load served while, (ii) represents power output of biogas and PV system of ADN-1 with grid
purchase and sale.

Fig. 8. Annual Power Output for the ADN-1 Generating Units.

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A. Gaurav et al. Energy Conversion and Management 311 (2024) 118505

In biomass generation, anaerobic digestion produces biogas which is network’s generating units (biogas and PV along with bank of batteries)
a temperature-sensitive process. According to literature, the ideal tem­ have been shown to be capable of consummate the Korawan’s load
perature for biogas generation is mesophilic (between 34 and 43 degrees demand throughout the annum as shown in Fig. 10. In order to deliver a
Celsius). Anaerobic digestion of organic matter can produce biogas constant and continuous power delivered to the load whenever neces­
when temperatures are between 35 and 44 degrees Celsius from April sary, the battery storage unit is activated for store energy produced from
through October, which are the busiest months. In this peak load month, using RESs’ additional energy and discharge to the network whenever
the biogas generator’s fuel consumption is higher, as shown in Fig. 9 (i). there is a requirement.
As a result, the biogas generator contributes the most power, as shown in With changes in solar irradiance and biomass availability, both PV
Fig. 9 (ii), when grid is not available and power from solar contribution and biomass energy sources have the potential to be sporadic. For the
is minimal. ADN-1 uses a feedstock of 0.0761tonns per day with 1.84 Purpose of reduction in intermittency of energy flow from these
tonnes per day on average and uses 667 tonnes of fuel annually. The renewable energy sources, batteries can store excess energy produced
Biogas genset have total 2,888 h of operation with 368 number of starts during sunny hours or when biomass resources are copious and release it
per year. Due to the low load demand during the winter months, which during cloudy days or when biomass supply is low. Fig. 11 illustrates the
can only be satisfactorily provided by the grid, the fuel utilization by average monthly production of biogas and solar PV power, which are up
inclusive biogas gensets is relatively low in winter season[43]. to 68.6 % and 31.4 % of the total power generated, respectively.
Depending on the weather and the availability of resources, both gen­
5.2. ADN-2 erators generate power. The results of the analysis show that the biogas
generator produces the most power throughout the summer time
Another consideration of hybrid configuration of standalone system (April–October) since the ideal mesophilic temperature for biogas pro­
comprises of Biomass and PV sources for energy production along with duction (30–42 ◦ C) is available during this time.
battery energy storage system. The 100 kW generator fuelled through The Fig. 12 (i) and 12 (ii) show the combustible fuel used by biomass
biomass, 167 kW horizontal-plate PV panel, 167 kW bidirectional con­ generator during the particular year and power produced in respective
verter, along with 50 lithium-ion battery set with 1 kWh rated dimen­ of each month. According to the findings, the location that was selected
sion along with load following dispatch strategy are used to attain the provides access to a sufficient quantity of fuel throughout the whole
exclusive results for the ADN-2 configuration. With a 100 % contribu­ year, allowing the biogas generator to remain operational.
tion from RESs, the Total NPC, per kWh of consumable cost of energy, as The biomass-generating unit of the ADN-2 system uses a total of 793
well as operating cost for ADN-2 are found to be $1.44 M, $0.198, and tonnes of feedstock, with an average of 2.17 tonnes of feedstock per day
$55,197 respectively. The discount rate for this off-grid hybrid config­ and 0.0905 tonnes per hour. The biogas generator sets have 2,670 h of
uration has been considered to 4.28 %. This active distribution operation per year in association with 85 number of starts per year.

Fig. 9. Biogas generation (i) fuel consumption(kg/hr) during the year and (ii) Genset output versus days of year.

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A. Gaurav et al. Energy Conversion and Management 311 (2024) 118505

Fig. 10. (i) Adjacent relationship between load served and generated power from referred sources (ii) Output power from PV/biomass based active distribution
network (ADN-2).

During the summer’s peak demand months (May to August), the biogas modifications to those parameters impact a particular system or process.
generator’s power production is near to its maximum working capa­
bility, ranging between 80 and 100 kW (shown by shaded areas in
Fig. 11(B)). Due to the inaccessibility of solar energy, the biomass- 5.4. Dependent variable assessment
generating unit primarily runs more during the late hours, making the
active distribution system more resilient throughout a day. Dependent Variable Assessment (DVA) is an effective method for
determining the possession of multiple factors on the efficiency and
profitability of power generation systems. It becomes even more sig­
5.3. Comparative assessment of proposed ADN with their configurations nificant for comprehending the interactions and dependencies between
the various components when it comes to hybrid structures of power
Table 7 compares the two active distribution network designs that generation, which often encompasses the integration of many technol­
have been suggested in order to provide an in-depth examination of how ogies or energy sources. Therefore, this analysis aids in assessing the

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A. Gaurav et al. Energy Conversion and Management 311 (2024) 118505

Fig. 11. Power output of generating units in ADN-2.

Fig. 12. (i) Fuel consumption across the year. (ii) Average Generator output across the day and hour.

most appropriate path of operation for a system under various kinds of study is presented in Table 8.
uncertain conditions, including the price of a biogas generator, the price
of biomass fuel, the availability of solar average radiation, and the rate 5.4.1. Biomass fuel price variable
of inflation specific to a given place. The impact of these sensitivity The price of biomass has a significant impact on the cost of Energy
factors on the proposed hybrid configuration has been considered in this (COE) and Total Net Present Cost (NPC). According to studies in the

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A. Gaurav et al. Energy Conversion and Management 311 (2024) 118505

Table 7 demonstrates that the cost of energy deviate from 0.0643 to 0.0662
Comparative structure of proposed active distribution networks. $/kWh in association with an increment in the capital price of the biogas
S. Specifications ADN-1 ADN-2 producer, and the outcome of total net present cost of the network
No. fluctuates from $569,957 to $586,532.
1. Configuration Solar PV + Bio Solar PV + Bio Genset
Genset + Grid + Battery 5.4.3. Variable of scaled mean irradiation of solar PV
2. Total net present cost $ 831,904 $ 1.44 M The impact on the COE and Total NPC has also studied when the
3. Operating cost $ 35,759 $ 55,197 scaled annual average solar irradiation is varied amidst of 5.10 and 6.1
4. Cost of energy $ 0.0795 $ 0.198
5. Initial capital cost $ 258,000 $ 600,330
kW/m2/day (Fig. 15). The incident solar radiation has a reciprocal
6. Total Electricity 660,022 kWh/year 518,331 kWh/year relationship with COE; as solar radiation intensity increases, COE and
production TNPC decrease. The COE falls from 0.0669 to 0.0535 dollars per kWh as
7. PV Production 328,139 kWh/year 254,079 kWh/year solar radiation increases as well as TNPC dropping from $586,938 to
8. Biogas genset 219,017 kWh/year 264,252 kWh/year
$500,136.
production
9. Grid purchase power 112,866 kWh/year −
10. Grid sales power 173,194 kWh/year − 5.4.4. Variable to the pace of inflation
11. AC primary load 478,624 kWh/year 478,624 kWh/year Although, capital cost of any project is also impacted by the inflation
12. Renewable fraction 81.7 % 100 % rate at the time of commissioning in that particular year. In this analysis,
expected variation in the inflation rate between 4.10 % and 5.83 % was
considered, and as shown in Fig. 16, the Cost of produced energy at
Table 8 consumer level drops from 0.0660 to 0.0622 $/kWh with increment in
Few Dependent Variable. inflation rate along with rise in TNPC from $577,242 to $636,725.
S. Parameters Dependent Variables Values The following briefly summarises the overall effects of the proposed
No. active distribution network in “Korawan” village in the district of
1. Biomass Fuel cost ($/ton) 20, 22, 25, 28 Nalanda in Bihar:
2. Biogas generator Capital expense multiplier 0.9, 1.0, 1.4,
set 2.1 • A proper utilisation of available renewable energy resources of
3. Inflation rate Anticipated inflation rate 4.1, 4.25, 5.06,
selected village in Bihar through efficient and economical energy
5.83
4. Solar Scaled annual mean irradiation 5.10, 5.22,
conversion and their management have been performed.
(kwh/m2 /day) 5.58, 6.1 • During the analysis of proposed active distribution network, grid tied
as well as isolated ADN might be seen a feasible and reliable option to
fulfil the load demand of village also eradicate the conventional
literature, biomass digestibility in the anaerobic digestion process is deteriorative availability of electricity to the utility.
boosted by reduction in biomass particle size. The price variation for • The peak load demand period can be completely fulfilled by PV/
biomass encompasses the expense of biomass size reduction. As an biomass resources, with PV delivering energy during the day and a
instance, the cost of biomass was adjusted from 20 to 28 $/tonne, and it biogas generator meeting load demand in off-day time when there is
might be seen in Fig. 13 that as the rate of biomass has been changed, the no exposure to sunlight.
COE fluctuates amid of 0.0661 and 0.0686 $/kWh, along with total net • According to proposed unit, the COE of consumable energy is 0.0661
present/current cost varies from $572,233 to $642,402. $/kWh, which is lesser than cost of energy which is bought from the
grid at 0.11 $/kWh for ADN-1 which consists of PV/biomass/grid-
5.4.2. Biogas capital cost multiplier variable integrated Hybrid Network, has been considered to be the most
Fig. 14 shows the impact on COE and Total NPC of changing the optimal system.
biogas capital expense multiplier from 0.9 to 2.1. The outcome

Fig. 13. Effect of variable Biomass price on COE and TNPC.

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A. Gaurav et al. Energy Conversion and Management 311 (2024) 118505

Fig. 14. Effect of Biogas capital expense multiplier on TNPC and COE.

Fig. 15. Impact on TNPC and COE of varying scaled mean solar irradiation.

• Through a net metering system, extra electricity generated by the subsequently tested for a remote village in the District of Nalanda in
ADN-1 can be sold revert to the centralised grid. This integrated Bihar. First, a thorough analysis of the area under consideration’s so­
hybrid renewable energy network might be helpful for the reduction cioeconomic profile, resource evaluation, and load demand is conduct­
in greenhouse gases by anaerobic digestion technique of biogas ed. Following that, a thorough analysis of both the economic and
production and also helpful for the topsoil health by sprinkling of technical viability of the hybrid grid-integrated and off-grid approaches
substrate into the Agri-field. is carried out as part of a broad research initiative that aims to determine
• According to the results provided by the dependent variable assess­ the demand for optimal electrification in rural sector. The suggested
ment, the net present cost and cost of produced energy rise in a approach is eco-friendly and has the sufficient capacity to meet the load
proportional manner to the variable cost of biomass and the fluctu­ requirements for the inhabitants of Korawan village. With the proposed
ating capital cost of the biogas generator. And also, with an increase active distribution network ADN-1, electricity may be delivered to the
in inflation, the COE declines but the TNPC rises of produced energy. village for 0.0661 $/kWh, which is 2.746 times less expensive than a
grid-only system. Since the release of greenhouse gases are significant
6. Conclusions environmental issues on a worldwide scale, ADN-2 is more practical
because it can meet the village’s linked load demand while emitting
This study provides an extensive framework for designing a rural fewer emissions than ADN-1. Nevertheless, the network’s TNPC and
energy system that uses locally available energy resources to satisfy an COE are also important and are higher for ADN-2 and the hamlet that is
identified site’s demand for electricity. The suggested framework is already linked to the grid; as a result, ADN-1 is more sustainable as it

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A. Gaurav et al. Energy Conversion and Management 311 (2024) 118505

Fig. 16. Impact of inflation rate on TNPC and the cost of energy.

offers minimised TNPC and COE. Thus, the ADN-1 system contributes to [5] G. O. I. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, “NFHS-5 Report,” 2021.
[6] Yasin A, Alsayed M. Optimization with excess electricity management of a PV,
the establishment of green and clean villages in Bihar by using biomass
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based micro-grid for rural electrification in northern region of India. Clean Technol
Environ Policy 2020;22(3):579–90. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-019-01801-
Avinash Gaurav: Writing – original draft, Visualization, Validation, 1.
Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation. Arjun [11] He L, Zhang S, Chen Y, Ren L, Li J. Techno-economic potential of a renewable
energy-based microgrid system for a sustainable large-scale residential community
Tyagi: Supervision, Methodology, Formal analysis, Conceptualization. in Beijing, China. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2018;93:631–41. https://doi.org/
S.K. Jha: Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Resources. Bhavnesh 10.1016/j.rser.2018.05.053.
Kumar: Writing – review & editing, Visualization, Validation, Super­ [12] Adefarati T, Obikoya GD. Techno-economic evaluation of a grid-connected
microgrid system. Int J Green Energy 2019;00(00):1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/
vision, Resources, Methodology. 15435075.2019.1671421.
[13] M. Kamran, M. Bilal, M. Mudassar, and M. Shahid, “Techno-Economic Analysis of
Distributed Generation for Microgrid Application Using HOMER Pro,” Int. J. Emerg.
Declaration of competing interest Technol. Adv. Eng. Website www.ijetae.com ISO Certif. J., vol. 9001, no. 7, pp.
272–279, 2021.
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial [14] H. Masrur, H. O. R. Howlader, M. E. Lotfy, K. R. Khan, J. M. Guerrero, and T.
Senjyu, “Analysis of techno-economic-environmental suitability of an isolated
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[15] Al-Ghussain L, Darwish Ahmad A, Abubaker AM, Mohamed MA. An integrated
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