TechnoEconomic Optimization and Sensitivity Assessment of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Reliable Rural Healthcare Electrification

Rural healthcare centers predominantly depend on grid electricity supported by diesel generators, resulting in high operating costs, unreliable power supply, and increased environmental pollution due to the continuous operation of critical medical equipment. To address these challenges, this study presents the design, techno-economic optimization, and sensitivity assessment of hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) for the Area Health Centre located in S. Kota, Vizianagaram, India. The annual hourly load profile of the healthcare facility is estimated based on electrical demand analysis, while solar radiation data are obtained from the NASA database and biomass resource availability is collected through field survey records. Various standalone and grid-connected hybrid configurations, including standalone PV, PV-grid, standalone biomass, biomass-grid, PV-biomass, and PV-biomass-grid systems, are modeled and optimized using HOMER Pro software. The systems are evaluated based on technical, economic, and operational performance indicators such as Net Present Cost (NPC), Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), renewable fraction, and payback period. The results indicate that the PV-grid hybrid system is the most economically feasible configuration, comprising 85 kW of photovoltaic capacity and a 67.2 kW converter, with an LCOE of $0.0148/kWh, NPC of $29,266, renewable fraction of 72.3%, and payback period of 1.40 years. Furthermore, a comprehensive sensitivity analysis is conducted by varying electrical load, solar radiation, nominal discount rate, derating factor, ambient temperature, PV efficiency, inflation rate, grid sellback price, and net-metering conditions to evaluate system robustness under uncertain operating and economic scenarios. The findings demonstrate that grid-assisted renewable energy systems can significantly enhance the reliability, economic viability, and sustainability of rural healthcare electrification.