Energy 191 (2020) 116568

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Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy

Developing and evaluating a stand-alone hybrid energy system for

Rohingya refugee community in Bangladesh
Tamal Chowdhury a, Hemal Chowdhury b, *, Monirul Islam Miskat a, Piyal Chowdhury c,
Sadiq M. Sait d, M. Thirugnanasambandam e, R. Saidur f, g
a
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, Kaptai Highway, Raozan, Chattogram,
Bangladesh
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, Kaptai Highway, Raozan, Chattogram, Bangladesh
c
Chattogram Collegiate School & College, Ice Factory Road, Chattogram, Bangladesh
d
King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
e
Associate Director-Energy, GSH India Private Ltd, Chennai, India
f
Research Centre for Nanomaterials and Energy Technology (RCNMET), School of Science and Technology, Sunway University, No. 5, Jalan University,
Bandar Sunway, 47500, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
g
CORE-RE, Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals(KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this study, a hybrid system for potential electricity generation for Rohingya refugees in Kutupalong
Received 25 May 2019 camp, Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh is investigated. Six scenarios are considered, and an optimal
Received in revised form configuration is chosen based on low cost of energy and low emission. The optimum system consists of a
22 October 2019
combination of Generator/PV Panel/Wind/Converter/Battery. The configuration has cost of energy of
Accepted 16 November 2019
Available online 20 November 2019
0.35$ per kW, and the renewable fraction is found to be 87%. The proposed system is also environ-
mentally friendly and the optimum system discharges less than 65%, 84%, and 61% emission when
compared with grid, diesel, and kerosene respectively. From sustainability indicators, it was observed
Keywords:
Hybrid energy
that the amount of diesel needed to be imported is 30%. Therefore, dependency on import is less, and this
Rohingya refugee makes the proposed system highly reliable. Besides, this system does not use biomass to generate
Life cycle emission electricity. 87% resources come from renewable energy sources. So this system is highly sustainable.
Techno-economic analysis There is literally no idle time for equipment since their deployment is according to the demands of
Sustainability people. This idle time of equipment causes depreciation which in turn leads to less efficiency and higher
Bangladesh cost.
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Nevertheless, only 83% of people in Bangladesh are connected to

Energy is regarded as the crucial leveling scale in the advance-
ment of a society. The ever-increasing population, and the intro-
duction and emergence of new technologies create an unequal
distribution of resources and generate a huge gap in demand and
supply chain. To accomplish this demand, natural resources like
coal, oil, and gas are used indiscriminately which results in their
quick depletion. Approximately 75% of the current world energy
demand is fulfilled by utilizing fossil fuels [1]. The rapid economic
development and increasing population is the one of the main
reasons for the growing electricity demand in Bangladesh.
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: hemalchowdhuryme13@gmail.com (H. Chowdhury).
the national grid. Power generation is largely dependent on fossil
fuels (74%), which is very high when compared to other countries.
The penetration of renewable energy schemes in power generation
is quite low (0.02%) [2]. Excessive uses of these fossil fuels have
made the power generation scheme unstable. Sustainable power
generation has become a major issue for this country due to its
critical geographic condition. Stand-alone systems provide an
attractive scheme for power generation where grid-connection is
not possible or is expensive. Integrating naturally available re-
sources such as solar, biomass, wind, tidal, etc., with conventional
systems, are a suitable option for generating power for these
remote or off-grid places. Renewable sources are the best option,
but due to the variation of weather or seasons, neither wind nor PV
can successfully satisfy the desired requirements. To overcome this

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.116568
0360-5442/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 T. Chowdhury et al. / Energy 191 (2020) 116568

Nomenclature Pin (kW) DC power input to the inverter

Pout (kW) AC output power
Aw Wind turbine swept area (m2) Pdg Electrical output of the generator
Bi (kg CO2-eq/kWh) Life period tantamount CO2 Pwt Actual electric power of a wind turbine (kW)
emissions of various components Pr Rated power (kW)
Ca ($/year) Sum of every year capital, replacement and N Project lifetime.
operational and maintenance cost of each NPC Net Present Cost
component NOCT Nominal Operating Cell Temperature ( C)
COE Cost of energy NI Net import of energy
CRF Capital recovery factor Q bat;0 Initial battery charge
c Battery capacity ratio Q1 Available energy in the battery at the beginning of the
Edemand Total load demand time step
ElðkWhÞ Energy generated and reserved in each unit or Q Total amount of energy in the battery at the
components beginning of the time step
Es Energy generated in a year to meet up the demand Q max Total capacity of the battery bank
Eren Energy generated from renewable sources per year Rt Energy resources at the end of the year
Eunfulfilled ðhÞ Unfulfilled load in hour Rp Production of energy in that year
f Annual inflation rate (%) RF Renewable fraction
f PV (%) Derating factor of PV RD Rate of deforestation
FAS Forest area in starting (S) year TPES Total primary Energy supply
FAN Forest area in ending (N) year TFF Annual total forest fallings
FWP Annual fuel wood production and TRD Total rate of deforestation
H No of hours during a year (8760) TC ( C) PV cell temperature
H Hub height Ta ( C) Ambient temperature
Href Reference height TS ( C) PV cell temperature under standard test
Ibat Battery current conditions (25  C)
IT (kW/m2) Solar irradiation incident on the PV array Dt Length of the time step.
IS (kW/m2) Incident solar irradiation at standard test Vbat Battery voltage
conditions V1 (m/s) Cut in speed
i Annual real interest rate (%) Vr (m/s) Rated speed
i’ - Nominal interest rate (%) V2 (m/s) Cut-out speed
k Battery rate constant V (m/s) Wind speed at the hub height
L0;dg Fuel curve intercept coefficient Vref (m/s) Wind speed at the reference height
L1;dg Fuel curve slope YPV (kW) Rated capacity of PV array
LOL Amount of power shortage in hour (h) Ydg Rated capacity of the generator
LPSP Loss of power supply probability hPV PV panel efficiency
PV Photovoltaic h (%) Inverter efficiency
Pw ðVÞ Wind turbine power output hw Wind turbine efficiency (%)
Pbatt, abs Maximum amount of power that can be absorbed ɣ Ground surface friction coefficient
Pbatt, dis Maximum amount of power that can be discharged a,b Constant
Pload ðhÞ Load demand in hour h aP Temperature coefficient of power
Ptotal ðhÞ Total available power generation in hour h

challenge, a possible solution is to implement a hybridized energy
scheme and incorporate energy storage components (capacitors,
batteries, etc) [3].
Over the past few decades, several studies have been conducted
to find out the optimum energy production schemes with energy
storage [4]. The average solar power generation potential in
Bangladesh has been assessed by Mondal et al. (2010) [4]. This
study has considered 6.5 h per day as the average luminous hour
and concluded that 69,751 TWh of solar energy can be produced
annually. Comparison of two-hybrid systems (PV/Wind/Li-ion-
Battery and PV/Wind/LA-Battery) was done by Testa et al. (2010)
who reported that the cost of electricity generation is lower for the
first case [5]. For rural electrification of Kutubdia, a hybrid system
was proposed by Chowdhury et al. (2018) which could be able meet
the village’s demand [6]. To determine the pico-hydro potential of
Chotokomoldoho, Bangladesh, a survey was conducted by
Chowdhury et al. (2018) [7]. This study also included other
renewable resources and proposed an optimum system for power
generation. Financial and operational optimization of a hybrid
system was studied by Tu et al. (2018) [8] who presented a model
using mixed integer linear programming. Their study reported that
load deferring substantially reduced the requirement of battery
capacity in their proposed scheme. Giallanza et al. (2018) [9]
developed a high-resolution model to size a hybrid system by
introducing a new parameter called seasonal loss of load proba-
bility ratio. This study reported that the proposed model can
improve the reliability by up to 75%. Petrakopoulou et al. (2016)
[10] performed exergy analysis of a remote hybrid system that
consists of wind turbines and a series of photovoltaic arrays. Exergy
analysis was done based on real-time data and exergy efficiency of
that hybrid power plant reported was 17.9% while the generation of
electricity was 25,000 MWh per year.
Several techniques such as iterative approaches, and probabi-
listic methods, have also been proposed to optimize hybrid systems
[11e14]. Kanzumba Kusakana (2014) designed an optimized system
consisting of photovoltaic panels, diesel generator, wind turbine,
hydrokinetic turbine, and a battery for remote locations in South
Africa [15]. Different configurations with the integration of
 T. Chowdhury et al. / Energy 191 (2020) 116568 3

renewable energy systems were also presented and compared

based on the cost of electricity and net present cost. Halabi et al.
(2017) [16] analysed a PV/Battery/Diesel system and obtained the
cost of energy of 0.30$/kWh and the net present cost of $93, 45, 510
for that configuration. In Colombia, Mamaghani et al. (2016) [17]
conducted a techno-economic investigation of PV/Wind/Battery/
Diesel based hybridized system and found that the cost of energy
and the net present cost 0.44$/kWh and $372,736, respectively.
Cerrada (2016) developed a business model for energy delivery
services for refugees and reported that for short term planned
camps, Pico PV system is suitable while for people staying long
term in a refugee camp PV microgrid is a suitable option for
providing energy [18]. Salehin et al. (2011) developed an emer-
gency energy delivery module for a refugee camp of Chad-Sudan
border [19]. Lehne et al. (2016) conducted a study on 7 million
refugees and stated that annual $303 million could be saved by
using improved cooking stoves on an initial investment of $334
million [20]. The major limitation of these studies is that they do
not deal with the sustainability of their proposed system. To
remove this gap, recent study proposed sustainability indicators
which will show how the proposed system is sustainable.
Rohingya, a group of people lived in the Rakhine state of Fig. 1. Location of the camp.
Myanmar. In August 2017, due to political instability they fled and
took shelter in Bangladesh [21]. Now living in Bangladesh as refu-
gees, they are suffering from power supply for their daily activities. Weather variations play a significant role in the consumption of
loads. Keeping this in mind, two major seasons have been consid-
For meeting up their energy crisis, these people are using forest
resources indiscriminately which is resulting in major deforesta- ered in this study. April to November considered as summer, and,
December to March is considered as winter. The daily load con-
tion. Different Government and international organizations and
NGOs are working hard to solve this issue. The situation is wors- sumption has been calculated according to the probable load de-
mand of the villagers (please see supplementary file for load
ening day by day due to the increasing number of refugees coming
in. Approximately 1.2 million Rohingya’s are now living in calculation). Table 1 gives the load calculation for the selected
Bangladesh which is a huge burden to this small country. In this location.
study, focus is given to develop a hybrid energy model for Rohingya
refugees to meet their need for electricity. A hybrid system of 2.2. Homer
different configurations is simulated using Homer software to find
an optimum system. For all the scenarios, grid is not considered as In this study, the Homer software version 2.68n beta was used.
an option since this region has no access to grid. While a grid- This software was developed by the National Renewable Energy
connected hybrid system may contribute to lower COE, it will Laboratory (NREL). Feasibility, techno-economic optimization and
take time to set up and will also result in higher installation cost. sensitivity analyses of stand-alone and grid-connected renewable
Use of kerosene and diesel on the systems may contribute to lower energy systems can be carried out by using this software. A flow-
cost but the aim of this research is to identify and evaluate most chart of the Homer software framework is given in Fig. 2 [1]. (Please
optimum economical and environmental friendly systems. Since see supplementary file for Homer software’s calculation
diesel and kerosene fueled systems also affect the environment procedure).
adversely, all the scenarios developed here consider renewable
energy systems along with them. Besides this, our study brings up 2.3. Load curve
several indicators which can be used to address sustainability of the
proposed hybrid system which other studies lack. This study also The daily load curve has been simulated in Homer software for
gives focus on the deforestation issue caused by the refugees and different months of the year. Load profiles for the days of summer
evaluates how the optimum system can reduce this problem. (AprileNovember) and winter (DecembereMarch) are simulated.
Homer simulates the operation of a system by making energy
balance calculations for 8760 h in a year. Since measured hourly
2. Methodology adapted load profiles are not available, load data was synthesized by spec-
ifying typical daily load profile. During simulation, it was found that
2.1. Site location & load estimation the daily load profile is not fixed throughout the year. It varies from
month to month as well as hour to hour. Total estimated load de-
Kutupalong refugee camp situated in Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar, mand for Homer is given in Table 2. Fig. 1 (supplementary) shows
Bangladesh (21 120 45.3600 N, 92 90 48.2400 E) was visited during the scaled daily load profile, which clarifies the load variation of
late 2018. This camp is run by the Government of Bangladesh. In every hour in a day for different months of the year. To determine
this study, a hypothetical community is considered where each how this load has been provided to the software, readers are
family comprises 4 members. It is assumed that to meet the need of advised to see Table 1 of supplementary files.
these people, shelters, shops, schools, health care, and mosques will The monthly load curve in Fig. 3 shows the maximum, average,
be set up by the Government. Pumps for irrigation and drinking and minimum load for the different months of the year.
purposes are also considered. Simulation was done using Homer A DMap (Data map) is a type of graph showing hourly data for a
software by estimating the total connected load and probable year with the time of day on one axis and day of the year on the
consumed load. Fig. 1 shows the image of the location. other. Each hour of the year is represented by a rectangle which is
4 T. Chowdhury et al. / Energy 191 (2020) 116568

Table 1
Load calculation for the selected location.

Description of loads Watt per unit No. Connected loads (KW) (AprileNovember) kW-hrs/day (DecembereMarch) kW hrs/day
Hrs/day Hrs/day

1 Lights (CFL) 20 140 2.80 6 16.8 6 16.8

2 Fan 70 120 8.4 13 109.2
3 Socket Points 33 106 3.49 6 20.94 5 17.45
4 Television 100 20 2 7 14 6 12
5 Water Pump 2000 4 8 6 48 8 64
6 Refrigerator 130 15 1.95 8 15.6 5 9.75
7 Street Lights 20 6 .120 5 .600 8 .96
8 Accessories 2
Total 28.76 225.14 120.96

Fig. 2. Flowchart of the Homer software framework [1].

Table 2 (supplementary file) shows the DMap of the load throughout the
Total estimated load demand. year.
Average unit consumed per day (KWh) 199
Average load demand 8.30
Peak (KW) 34.5 2.4. Solar resources
Load Factor 0.240

Monthly average solar radiation data has been taken from NASA
(National Aeronautics and Space Administration) [22] and a nearby
weather station. These data are compared and validated and then
colored according to the data value for that hour. The DMap allows
used as input to the Homer software (in Fig. 4).
viewing of daily and seasonal patterns more easily than with a
Fig. 4 illustrates the solar radiation of the selected location. The
simple time series plot. Here, this Map shows the variations of the
average annual clearness index is 0.513 and the average daily ra-
load with respect to every hour in each day of the year. Fig. 2
diation is 4.80 kWh/m2/day.
 T. Chowdhury et al. / Energy 191 (2020) 116568 5

Fig. 3. The monthly load curve throughout different months of the year.

Fig. 4. Monthly average solar Irradiation data of location.

2.5. Wind resources PH

h¼1 Eunfulfilled ðhÞ
LPSP ¼ (1)
The locations of wind resources are obtained from Bangladesh’s Edemand
metrological department [23]. These data were used as input pa-
rameters into Homer.
Fig. 5 illustrates the monthly average wind speed of the selected
location, which is 4.48 m/s. The amount of unfulfilled load can be expressed following
equations:

2.6. Optimization problem 0; for Pload ðhÞ < Ptotal ðhÞ
Eunfulfilled ðhÞ ¼
Pload ðhÞ  Ptotal ðhÞ; for Pload ðhÞ > Ptotal ðhÞ
In this study three indicators: (i) reliability, (ii) economic feasi-
(2)
bility, and (iii) environmental impact are chosen to address the
optimization problem of Homer Energy Software [24]. Sustain- Loss of Load Expected (LOLE) is another parameter which is used
ability indicators are also included. These indicators are presented as a reliability constraint in this analysis.
below:
X
H
LOLE ¼ LOL ðhÞ (3)
2.6.1. Reliability index h¼1
For a reference stand alone system, a power shortage is ines-
LOL ðhÞ is expressed as:
capable when the amount of power generation is lower than the
demand. Therefore, an extensively used index named ‘Loss of Po- 
0; for Pload ðhÞ < Ptotal ðhÞ
wer Supply Probability’ (LPSP) can be applied to determine the LOLðhÞ ¼ (4)
1; for Pload ðhÞ > Ptotal ðhÞ
durability of a standalone system on an annual basis. LPSP is
expressed by the Equation (1).
6 T. Chowdhury et al. / Energy 191 (2020) 116568

Fig. 5. Monthly average wind speed of the selected location.

2.6.2. Economic analysis optimum value for RF is 100% since it indicates that the entire load
An economic analysis can also be carried out using Homer has been covered by renewable energy resources. RF can be
software. Homer determines the optimum result based on Cost of expressed as following
Energy (COE) and Net Present Cost (NPC). COE can be found by
using Equation (5), where Ca ($/year) depicts the total annualized Eren
RF ¼ (9)
cost which is the sum of annualized maintenance, capital and Edemand
replacement cost, and Es is the energy generated in a year to meet
the demand [1,25,26] (please also see the supplementary file).

ca 2.7. Sustainability indicators

COE ¼ (5)
Es
Several indicators can be used to address the sustainability of
Net Present Cost can be evaluated by using Equation (6). NPC is
the hybrid system. These indicators are adopted from Ref. [28].
the ratio of total annualized cost (Ca) to capital recovery factor
(CRF) which can be determined by using Equation (7) [27].
2.7.1. Resource to production ratio
Ca Resource to production ratio is considered as one of the in-
NPC ¼ (6)
CRFði; NÞ dicators of sustainability. In a nutshell, the lifetime of the energy
resource is defined by this parameter. The higher the production
ið1 þ iÞN ratio the higher is the availability and security of the system,
CRFði; NÞ ¼ (7) leading to sustainable development.
ð1 þ iÞN  1
Here i is the annual real interest rate which can be found from Resource to production ratio ¼ Rt=Rp (10)
Equation (8) where i’ depicts nominal interest rate (%), f denotes
annual inflation rate (%) and N is the project lifetime.

2.7.2. Net energy import dependency

i’  f
i¼ (8) The ratio of total imported energy to total primary energy
1þf
supply (TPES) in a given year is considered as the net energy import
dependency. It also indicates the extent to which country is
depending on the imported energy resources. For ensuring sus-
2.6.3. Environmental indicators tainable development, stabilization of power supply is needed. If
RF is defined as the percentage of electric load covered by en- the net energy import dependency is high then the system is highly
ergy generated from non conventional sources per year. The unstable.
 T. Chowdhury et al. / Energy 191 (2020) 116568 7

 
Net energy import dependency ¼ NI=TPES (11) IT
PPV ¼ YPV f PV 1 þ aP ðTC  TS Þ (15)
IS
Equation (16) can be used to find the value of cell temperature
(Tc) [1]. The value 0.9 denotes the effective transmittance-
2.7.3. Rate of deforestation attributed to energy use absorptance of PV array as was assumed by Homer.
Annual change in the amount of forest area that could be uti-
lized for using wood as energy resource is defined by the rate of Tc;NOCT  Ta;NOCT  h 
deforestation attributed to energy use. This is defined as the ratio of TC ¼ Ta þ IT 1  PV (16)
IT;NOCT 0:9
fuel wood deforestation rate to total deforestation rate. The rate of
deforestation (RD) attributed to fuel wood can be found from the
following equation
2.9.2. Wind turbine model
FWF
RD ¼ TRD* (12) To convert wind energy into electrical energy, turbines are used.
TWF
Hub height, cut in wind speed, service time, and cost of compo-
And TRD can be found from this following equation nents play a major role in the selection of wind turbine. For this
8 9 reason the output power available from various wind generators is
>
<  1> = quite different, and it is a function of the velocity of the wind at hub
FAS SE
TRD ¼ 100  1  (13) height. The power law equation (Equation (17)) can be used to
>
: FA E >
; evaluate the wind speed necessary for power generation at a
certain place for a given hub height [1,33e35]. The value of ɣ de-
pends on the type of land [1].
 
H g
2.8. Emission analysis V ¼ Vrer (17)
Href

In this study, life cycle emission (LCE) has been performed to

Pr
determine the quantity of equivalent CO2 emission from the energy a¼  (18)
used to transport, manufacture, and recycle the components used Vr  V31
3

to model the system. The following mathematical expression has

been used to calculate life cycle emission [1,29].
V31
b¼  (19)
X
x
V3r  V31
LCE ¼ BiEl (14)
i¼1
Pwt ¼ Pw Aw hw (20)
Here x depicts the number of components used to model the
system, ElðkWhÞ represents the energy generated and reserved in 2 3
each unit or component, Bi (kg CO2-eq/kWh) denotes the life period 0 for V < V1
6 aV 3 for V1 < V < Vr 7
equivalent CO2 emissions of various components to model the 6
Pw ðVÞ ¼ 4 7 (21)
system. Life cycle emission of different components can be found in Pr for Vr < V < V2 5
Table 3. 0 for V > V2
In this analysis, BWC EXCEL 1-R (1 kW capacity) is considered
for simulating wind turbine. Different inputs considered for
2.9. Mathematical modeling of hybrid system
modeling the wind turbine are given in Table 3.
2.9.1. Designing of photovoltaic system
Weather condition plays a significant role in PV power output 2.10. Design of inverter
[1,30]. The module considered for PV panel is manufactured by Sun
power (Model: E20-327) [1,31]. It is established that the annual The major function of Inverter is to convert Direct Current (DC)
output obtained from the PV panel can get increased if a slight into alternating current for AC loads. Equation (22) can be used to
increase (0.1%/  C) of temperature coefficient is made. In this re- measure load side power [1,29]. The efficiency of the inverter is 95%
gard, Equation (15) can be used to calculate the hourly basis output and the lifetime considered is 15 years. Different inputs considered
of photovoltaic system [32]. for modeling the inverter are given in Table 3

Table 3
Technical and economic data for hardware components used as an input for this Simulation [1e3].

Component Technical Description Capital cost ($) Replacement cost ($) O &M cost ($) Lifetime LCE (kg CO2-eq/kWh)

PV module 327W 1300/kW 0 20/year 25 year 0.045

Diesel Generator 57 kW, 50Hz 370 k/W 296 k/W 0.05/h 15,000 h 0.88
Wind turbine 1 kW, 12e48 VDC 4450 4450 110 20 year 0.011
Battery 6V, 820Ah (4.92 kW h) 1100 1000 10 12 year 0.028
Inverter 1 kW 800 750 8 15 year 0
Discount rate 10%
Fuel rate 0.91
8 T. Chowdhury et al. / Energy 191 (2020) 116568

the system fails to meet the demand. Different inputs considered

Pout for modeling storage can be found in Table 3. Table 3 denotes the
Pin ¼ (22)
h inputs considered for simulation.

3. Results and discussion

2.11. Diesel generator
Different capacities of generators fueled by diesel are consid-
ered. The lower heating value and density of diesel fuel are 43.2 MJ/
kg and 820 kg/m3 respectively [1]. The fuel consumption rate of a
diesel generator to generate electricity can be determined using the
following Equation (23) [3,32]. Different inputs of diesel generator
can be found in Table 3.
L ¼ L0;dg Ydg þ L1;dg Pdg
2.12. Battery modeling
Batteries are required to store the surplus power generated by
the system. Also, when the system fails to meet up the demand
load, power is delivered from the battery. The following equations
are required to determine the battery energy (Qbat), state of battery
charge (BSOC) [1,29].
ðt
Q bat ¼ Q bat;0 þ Vbat Ibat dt
0 The first case considered in this analysis is Generator/Converter/
Q bat
Bsoc ¼  100 ð%Þ
Q bat;max
To determine the maximum amount of power that can be
absorbed by the two tank system and the maximum power that can
be discharged by the storage over a fixed period of time, the
following two equations are used [36].
 
kQ 1ekDt þ Qkc 1  ekDt
Pbatt; abs ¼  (26)
1  ekDt þ c kDt  1 þ ekDt
 
kcQmax þ kQ 1ekDt þ Qkc 1  ekDt
Pbatt; dis ¼  (27)
1  ekDt þ c kDt  1 þ ekDt
More details of sizing battery banks can be found in Ref. [36]. In
this analysis, Surrette 6CS25P whose round trip efficiency is 80% is
considered [1]. The nominal voltage and theoretical and maximum
capacity of the battery is 6 V, 6.91 kWh and 820 Ah respectively [1].
Capital, replacement, and operation and maintenance costs of the
battery are $1100, $1000 and $10 respectively [1e3]. Lifetime of
battery is considered to be 12 years and its life cycle emission is
0.028 kg CO2-eq/kWh. Electricity from battery can be used when
3.1. Results
In the simulation, different capacities of generators, converters,
batteries, wind turbines, and PV modules were considered. Interest
rates were also varied for sensitivity analysis. Different configura-
tions of hybrid systems were simulated in Homer software. The
software finds the optimum system hinged on the minimum cost of
energy (COE) and NPC. Environmental analysis is also included. For
(23) all of the scenarios, grid is not considered since this locality has no
access to grid. Grid-connected hybrid system may result in lower
COE but it will take time to set up and it will also result in higher
initial installation cost. Use of kerosene and diesel only system may
contribute to lower cost but the aim of this research is to evaluate
most optimum economical and environmental friendly systems.
The discharge of harmful gases using only kerosene and diesel as
fuels is given in Table 6. Since diesel and kerosene fueled systems
affect the environment adversely, all the scenarios developed here
consider renewable energy systems.
In the following subsections, different cases and their outcomes
are presented.
(24) 3.1.1. Case I: generator/converter/battery
Battery hybrid system. The system consists of a generator of 28 kW,
17 pieces of battery and converter of 28 kW. Fig. 6 illustrates that
(25) renewable fraction of this system is null as there are no renewable
energy resources. The COE, NPC and operation cost found to be
0.732 $/kWh, $482,407and 45,874 $/year (Table 4, Fig. 6) respec-
tively. Total electricity production of the generator is 85,741 kW h/
year. To generate this amount of electricity, 40,738 L/year diesel is
needed. From Table 4, it can be noticed that the cost of fuel is higher
than all other systems as this system only depends on the generator
to produce electricity. From the environmental point of view, this
system generates a huge amount of CO2 (Table 5). This is due to the
carbon content of diesel being high and it comprises almost 88%.
Since this techno-economic system requires large cost and gener-
ates large amount of CO2, this arrangement is not optimum.
3.1.2. Case II: PV/Converter/battery
The second case considered in this analysis is PV/Converter/
Battery hybrid system. The arrangement is composed of a PV of
220 kW, 110 pieces of battery and a converter of 45 kW. Fig. 6 il-
lustrates that the renewable fraction of this system is high (unity)
since there is no diesel generator is used in this case. The COE of the
system is also obtained in the simulation and it is 11.5% higher than
the previous one (Fig. 6). NPC of the system is found to be 11.10%
higher than the previous one (Table 4).Total electricity production

Table 4
Total annualize cost of different hybridized systems.

Case Capital cost ($) Replacement cost ($) O&M cost ($) Total operating cost ($/year) Total NPC Total fuel cost ($)
$

1 66,010 36,878 47,546 45,874 482,407 336,502

2 443,000 58,918 53,191 11,109 543,834 e
3 267,300 52,529 25,325 7245 333,067 e
4 152,840 40,169 23,875 16,926 306,478 99,729
5 150,520 25,558 20,354 9233 234,328 44,042
6 149,460 26,549 30,708 17,130 304,954 102,601
 T. Chowdhury et al. / Energy 191 (2020) 116568 9

Table 5
Operational emissions from different system configurations.

Operational emissions (kg/year) Case 1 Case 2 case 3 Case 4 Case 5 Case 6

CO2 107,277 e e 32,709 14,041 31,794

CO 265 e e 80.7 35 78.5
PM 29.3 e e 8.94 4 8.69
UHC 20 e e 6.09 3 5.92
SO2 215 e e 65.7 28 63.8
NOx 2363 e e 720 309 700

Table 6 cost of $99729, replacement and O&M cost of 40,169 $/year and $
Operational CO2 emissions comparison between different systems. 23,875 respectively. Higher COE, and higher fuel cost, makes this
Scenarios CO2 emissions (kg/yr) system economically unattractive while a significant amount of
Optimum System 14,041
emission has also been observed in this case (Table 5). From the
National Grid 41,085 simulation, it is also evident that the wind turbines contribute 88%
Diesel Only 89,338 in total system energy production while rest is supplied by the
Kerosene 36,135 generator.

3.3. Case V: generator/PV/wind/converter/battery

of the PV panel is expected to be 33, 3718 kWh/year. To generate
this amount of electricity, no fuel cost is required. From the envi-
ronmental perspective, this system generates zero pollution
(Table 5). Although, from the environmental outlook, this system
seems to be optimum, the higher COE, and, capital and mainte-
nance costs can be a barrier in the implementation of the system.
3.2. Case III: PV/Wind/converter/battery
The second environmental friendly case investigated in this
analysis is PV/Wind/Converter/Battery. This case is almost similar
to the second case. The energy production of this case is
225,339 kWh/year where PV contributes to 47% and 53% is supplied
by the wind turbine. After fulfilling the demand, about 62% of the
excess electricity can be stored in the battery. COE of the system is
found to be 30.87% and 38.67% less than the case 1 and case 2 but
29.84% higher than case 5 (Fig. 6).This case contributes to higher
renewable fraction and zero environmental pollution (Table 5).
3.2.1. Case IV: generator/wind/converter/battery
The fourth case comprises a 16 kW wind turbine, 45 pieces of
battery, a 30 kW converter and a 23 kW diesel generator with fuel
This study has been extended to analyze the Generator/PV/
Wind/Converter/Battery system. This system includes a 40 kW of
PV panel, a 8 kW of wind turbine, a 16 kW generator, 30 pieces of
battery and a 30 kW converter. The energy production of this
arrangement is 149,306 kWh/year where PV contributes to 40%,
wind turbine contributes 53% and rest is by the diesel generator.
This system is found to be economically feasible with a significantly
low value of COE and NPC (Fig. 6, Table 4). COE of this system is
found to be 51.5%, 56.9%, 29.84%, 23.65% and 23.32% less than case 1,
case 2, case 3, case 4 and case 6 respectively (Fig. 6).This system also
generates 86.91%, 57% and 55.83% less CO2 than case 1, case 4 and
case 6 respectively (Table 5).This system is the most optimum
system both economically and environmentally compared to other
cases.
3.3.1. Case VI: generator/PV/converter/battery
Another case presented in this analysis is Generator/PV/Con-
verter/Battery. This system includes a 60 kW PV panel, a 18 kW
generator, 40 pieces of battery, and a 26 kW converter. PV con-
tributes 79% in fulfilling the total load and the rest is covered by the
generator. Total consumption of diesel fuel is reported to be

Fig. 6. Comparison between (a) Cost of Energy (COE),(b) Renewable fraction for different hybridized system configurations.
10 T. Chowdhury et al. / Energy 191 (2020) 116568

12,421 L. COE and NPC are reported to be lower (Table 4, Fig. 6) but
this proposed case is environmentally infeasible because this sys-
tem produces more emission than scenario in Case 5 (Table 5).
3.4. Sensitivity analysis
In this subsection, sensitivity analysis has been carried out for
the optimum case (case V). Different input parameters were varied
to observe the effects on NPC and COE as shown in Figs. 7e8. From
Fig. 7, it is evident that 20% decrease in capital cost would bring the
COE down to around 0.28$/kWh (20% reduction) from the baseline
scenario (0.35$/kWh) while 20% increase in capital cost would
result in a 17% increase in COE from the baseline. When discount
rate was reduced by 20% from the baseline, it was observed that
COE came down to 0.31$/kWh and a 20% increase in discount rate
would reduce the COE by a 5%. Less effect on COE was observed
when cost of PV, diesel generator, battery and fuel were varied.
Similar trend was observed in Fig. 8. From Fig. 8 it, was found that
when discount rate dropped down by 20% from baseline, NPC
would climb up to $237,111 and a 40% reduction in discount rate
would result in 2.7% increase in NPC. It was also observed that
when capital cost was increased by 20% from baseline ($234,328),
NPC would gradually rise to $23, 9891 and 40% increase from
baseline would raise the NPC to $242,178.
3.5. Discussion
In Bangladesh, government buys electricity at the rate of 0.34
$/kWh from the diesel operated power plants, and at the rate of
$0.11e0.22 $/kWh from the power plants operated by heavy fuel oil

Fig. 7. Aftermath of variation of input cost parameters on COE.

Fig. 8. Aftermath of variation of input cost parameters on NPC.

 T. Chowdhury et al. / Energy 191 (2020) 116568
[37]. This shows that the proposed system cannot compete with
grid cost. But if connection from the grid to the selected location is
considered then this difference between COE and grid cost may
reduce. Besides this, there is the expenditure of solar home system
(SHS) which is 0.72$/kWh [38]. The proposed system is more
economical than SHS and if the geographical conditions for
example types of land are considered, the hybrid system will offer
better service than SHS. From Table 6, it can be seen that the pro-
posed system provides better environmental performance than the
grid and kerosene operated lamp. The system has less than, 65%,
84% and 61% CO2 emission when compared with the grid, diesel,
and kerosene respectively. Besides this, people living in the refugee
camp also are deprived of pure drinking water and entertainment
facility [21].This environmentally techno-economic system can be
used to run a desalination plant which will help to reduce water
scarcity of the affected people. The electricity produced by this
system can help in improving the life condition of women and
children. Besides, it will create three times more jobs for people
than with the fossil fuel based systems [39]. From sustainability
indicators, it was observed that the amount of diesel needed to be
imported is 30%. Therefore, dependency on import is less, and this
makes the proposed system highly reliable. The movement of
Rohingya people has also caused deforestation since these people
use forest woods for cooking and other household activities. The
rate of deforestation was found to be 40%. Access to electricity will
help to reduce this problem. Besides, this system does not use
biomass to generate electricity. 87% resources come from renew-
able energy sources. So this system is highly sustainable. There is
literally no idle time for equipment since their deployment is ac-
cording to the demands of people. This idle time of equipment
causes depreciation which in turn leads to less efficiency and higher
cost. And the proposed system addresses these issues.
3.6. Uncertainties & future work
The main uncertainty of implementing hybrid energy system for
refugee camp is the duration of the camps. Several camps last for a
shorter period and others are set up for a longer period of time.
Establishment of a hybrid system may take time and the cost
associated with the operation and maintenance of the equipment
may vary. Weather and geographical location also play a vital role in
the selection of the equipment. Also, the Government and other
organizations have to take care of the most immediate needs of the
refugees which may also delay in setting up the systems. Other
important issues such as political instability, conflict with the local
communities, the legal status of the people, lack of infrastructure,
and absence of governance within the camp can also play major
roles in setting up the hybrid energy system.
For future work, the following issues should be addressed:
1) Policies should be established for hybrid systems. In Bangla-
desh’s Government Renewable Energy policy [40] towards
sustainable development, there is no policy that deals with the
hybrid system. Involvement of private sectors must be
addressed in the policy. Without a proper policy, the imple-
mentation of hybrid systems will face hindrances. Government
should insure the participation of international organizations
for ensuring electricity for refugees. Several challenges such as
institutional (low regulated tariffs, lack of policy, complex
organizational policy), technical (unstable population distribu-
tion, fluctuations in generation and distribution, lack of tech-
nical skill) and financial (lack of affordability and revenues) may
hinder the development of hybrid power generation [41]. Gov-
ernment should provide support for the organizations in
different forms of subsidies (capital, operating, and output
11
based subsidies) and incentives (custom fee, income tax and
VAT exemption).Several forms of economical support such as
ensuring proper amount of loan during crisis period will moti-
vate organizations to come forward in setting up hybrid power
plants.
2) Topology is an essential indicator in the employment of a system
[42,43]. Proper market infrastructure addressing the high capi-
tal cost of renewable energy components for hybrid systems
needs to be developed for complex topology.
4. Conclusion
In this study, a hybrid system for potential electricity generation
for Rohingya refugees in Kutupalong camp, Ukhia, Cox’sBazar
Bangladesh is investigated. Six scenarios are considered and a
feasible configuration is suggested based on lower COE and lower
emission. The selected case consists of Generator/PV/Wind/Con-
verter/Battery. This system includes a 60 kW PV panel, a 18 kW
generator, 40 pieces of battery, and a 26 kW converter. The
configuration has COE of 0.35$ and the renewable fraction is found
to be 87%. Total NPC of the configuration is 234,328 $ and total fuel
cost is found to be 44,042$/year. The proposed system is also
environmentally friendly and has less than 65%, 84% and 61% CO2
emission when compared with grid, diesel, and kerosene respec-
tively. The proposed system is much more economical than solar
home system. The findings of this study are stated below;
 Case V is the most optimum system consisting of Generator/PV/
Wind/Converter/Battery system. COE and NPC of the system is
0.35$/kWh and $ 234,328. Although case IV and case VI has close
COE and NPC to case V, they emit 23.65% and 23.32% more CO2
than Case V. The optimum system ($0.35/kWh) is much more
economical than solar home system (0.72$/kWh) and diesel
only system (0.732$/kWh).
 In the proposed optimized system, PV contributes 40%, wind
turbine contributes 53%, and diesel generator contributes 7% of
systems total electricity generation. RF is also higher for case V
than any other cases (87%). Although Cases II and III has higher
RF, these cases have higher COE and higher emission than case
V. It was also observed that 20% decrease in capital cost would
bring the COE down to around 0.28$/kWh (20% reduction) from
the baseline scenario (0.35$/kWh) while 20% increase in capital
cost would result in a 17% increase in COE from the baseline. It
was also observed that when capital cost was increased by 20%
from baseline ($234,328), NPC would gradually rise to $23, 9891
and 40% increase from baseline would up the NPC to $242,178.
Sustainability indicators introduced in this study prove that the
proposed system is highly optimum. It was estimated that the
amount of diesel needed to be imported is 30%. Therefore, de-
pendency on import is less, and this makes the proposed system
highly reliable. The movement of Rohingya people has also caused
deforestation since these people use forest woods for cooking and
other household chores. The rate of deforestation was found to be
40%. Access to electricity will help to reduce this problem. Besides,
this system does not use biomass to generate electricity. 87% re-
sources come from renewable energy sources. So this system is
highly sustainable. There is literally no idle time for equipment
since their deployment is according to the demand of the people.
This idle time of equipment causes depreciation which in turn leads
to less efficiency and higher cost.
Acknowledgement
The authors are thankful to Department of Mechanical
12 T. Chowdhury et al. / Energy 191 (2020) 116568
Engineering, Chittagong University of Engineering Technology,
Chittagong, Bangladesh and King Fahd University of Petroleum &
Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia for support. The current study did
not receive any grant from any commercial and non-commercial
source.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.116568.
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