Techno-Economic Analysis and Optimisation of Hybrid Solar-Wind-Battery Energy Systems for Cold Storage Applications in Ada Foah, Ghana

Access to reliable and affordable electricity is a huge problem in many of the fishing villages along the coast of Ghana, where many livelihood activities like fish processing, cold storage, ice making and domestic needs are highly dependent on a continuous flow of electricity. Power failures, electricity fluctuations, increasing electricity prices and reliance on traditional grid power remain to cause productivity and livelihood losses in these communities. The feasibility of the PV-Wind-Battery hybrid energy system for Ada Foah fishing community in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana, was explored in this study using the HOMER Pro software. The NASA Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy database was used to generate meteorological data which suggested a good potential for renewable energy resources at the community of Ada Foah, with an average annual solar irradiance of about 5.52 kWh/m²/day and an average wind speed of about 4.79 m/s. The electricity load profile that had been developed for the community determined an annual electricity consumption of 884,833 kWh/year, an average daily demand of about 2,424 kWh/day, an average load of 101.0 kW and a peak load of 321.66 kW. HOMER Pro was used to model and evaluate three different energy system configurations: a Grid-Only Baseline System, a Grid-Connected PV-Wind-Battery Hybrid System, and a Fully Off-Grid PV-Wind-Battery Hybrid System. The grid connected hybrid system comprised an 1.5 MWh lithium-ion battery storage system, 222 kW wind generation capacity, a 481 kW PV array and a 337 kW converter. With the optimised configuration, a Net Present Cost (NPC) of about $2,350,000 and a Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) of $0.255/kWh. The fully off-grid configuration accomplished an NPC of about $2,650,000 and an LCOE of $0.280/kWh with 12 hours of battery autonomy, and complete energy independence. The results showed that both hybrid systems achieve good economic performance, renewable energy penetration, energy security and environmental sustainability compared to the conventional grid-only system. The systems were able to reach a renewable fraction of around 100% and total greenhouse gas emissions were near zero. The results show that PV-Wind-Battery Hybrid systems are technically viable, economically affordable, and environmentally friendly options for supplying electricity to the fishing communities of Ada Foah and other coastal communities in Ghana.