Study and design of hybrid diesel-wind standalone system for remote area in Oman

Hybrid renewable energy systems are becoming attractive for remote areas power generation applications due to advances in renewable energy technologies and increase in oil price. This paper presents a feasibility study of wind penetration into an existing diesel power plant of an isolated area known as Al Duqm in Oman. Both wind data and the actual load data have been used in the simulation model. It was found that with the existing diesel price of 0.368 $/l, the hybrid system will provide the lowest cost of energy with wind speed of more than 5.3 m/s, which is very close to the average wind speed in the Al Duqm area. As the wind speed increases, the cost of energy decreases even with the increase in the fuel cost. Therefore, incorporating wind turbines with the existing power station will result in about the same net present cost and cost of energy as for the diesel-only system.