Techno-Economic Assessment of Hybrid Parabolic Trough Collector and Biomass Energy Systems Varun Jyothiprakash*., P Balachandra Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru – 560012, India E-mail addresses: varunj@iisc.ac.in (Varun Jyothiprakash.), patilb@iisc.ac.in (P Balachandra) *Corresponding author Mobile: +91 9741680867 Abstract The present research analyses the potential and techno-economic challenges associated with developing hybrid parabolic trough collector solar thermal-biomass energy systems in India The study assesses the energy requirements of India and contextualizes the discussion on western region As India is an agricultural country, the biomass resource is abundant The country is also endowed with abundant solar irradiance Given this, the first part of the study deals with assessing the potential of hybrid energy system based on the annual average solar irradiance and the surplus biomass residue The second and the final part of the paper presents the economic assessment of hybrid energy systems by considering all the state and central government subsidies The results showed hybrid system is one of the economically feasible, effective and sustainable solutions for the future energy generation Keywords: Parabolic Trough Collector Solar Thermal System, Biomass Energy, Hybrid Energy Systems Introduction Access to continuous and reliable energy carriers is one of the primary requirements for the development of any nation India is the second largest country in the world with a population of 1.32 billion, where still 240 million people are without access to affordable, reliable and quality electricity [1] India is the third largest consumer of electricity in the world with an annual consumption of 1,141 TWh in 2018-19 [2] Conventional sources (coal, gas and oil) of energy are the major contributors in the India’s current energy mix with renewables contributing a share of only 21.4 % [2] In the recent past, Government of India launched an ambitious programme to achieve a target of 175 GW of power from renewable energy sources by 2022, which is a significant increase from the current level of 78 GW Among renewable energy sources (RES), the major emphasis is given to solar, wind and biomass plants installations due to their enormous potential [3] India is an agricultural country where the biomass resources are uniformly distributed across its regions The current potential of biomass sources is approximately 1,200 million metric tonnes per annum which can generate approximately 48,000 GWh of electricity per year yielding to the installed capacity of 13.6 GW [4] Nevertheless, major constraints of standalone biomass plants are the availability of feedstock, lack of infrastructure, and less capacity utilization factor (CUF) India is endowed with an abundant availability of solar energy which makes the country capable of producing 5,000 PWh of clean energy per year [5] With around 250 days of sunshine throughout the year, India receives a solar insolation of 4-7kWh/m²/day However, the major constraint of solar energy is its intermittence and low CUF The hybrid energy systems, therefore, appears to be one of the promising solutions to overcome the limitations of standalone plants One of the major advantages of hybrid system is that it saves 30% of the land compared to standalone plants [6] Research Summary According to the spatial geography of India, the western region is most favourable for hybrid energy system installations The major parts of the western region are located on the belt of the oceans; therefore, a good quantity of crops is being cultivated every year The annual average global horizontal irradiance of this region is also high with 5.73 kWh/m2/day [7] Therefore, taking these into consideration, the western region is considered for the analysis in estimating the overall potential of hybrid energy systems for electricity generation The parabolic trough collector solar energy system in the western region yields a total of 313 GWh of electricity generation per annum accounting for a plant capacity of 0.35 GW The energy generation is calculated based on the solar irradiance The land area required for the plant erection is 50 hectares and CUF is assumed to be 30% The potential of the biomass energy systems is calculated on the basis of non-edible biomass resources from cereals, pulses, sugarcane, forest and waste land residues in the western region of India Among the crops, only the surplus biomass residue is considered The overall potential is calculated based on the amount of crop production, residue to production ratios and calorific values of the fuel The total biomass surplus residues were found to be 44.8 million tonne per year which is equivalent of an overall installation of 2.04 GW leading to an estimated annual generation of 4765 GWh of electricity The CUF of biomass plant is assumed to be 40% With the above empirical analysis, we infer that estimated overall capacity of the hybrid system is 2.4 GW producing an annual generation of 9.4 TWh with a blend of 25% solar and 75% biomass energy The hybrid system yields a synergy in terms of relatively higher CUF as compared to the standalone systems due to continuous plant operating hours The study also encompasses a business model which pays sufficient attention to the expected investments for installation and operational cost of hybrid energy plants The economic assessment of the standalone biomass energy system, parabolic trough collector solar thermal system and hybrid system are performed The initial investment of the hybrid system is 1.55 times (Rs.17 crore) higher than standalone parabolic trough collector solar thermal system (Rs 11 Crore) and 8.5 times higher than biomass energy system (Rs Crore) The Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) are calculated for each plant design The values are calculated by considering 30% of capital subsidy and 40% accelerated depreciation from the state and central government The biomass energy system provides the cheapest source with LCOE of Rs 7.95/kWh and while LCOE for parabolic trough plant is Rs 10.91/kWh The hybrid energy system LCOE is Rs 8.33/kWh which is 4.5% higher than biomass energy system and 23.6% lesser than the parabolic trough collector solar thermal system The results show that the total investment of hybrid power system is around 24% higher than the standalone parabolic trough system Although, the capital investment is high, the hybrid system is advantageous as they ensure 100% uses of renewable sources to generate electricity Conclusion This paper has provided a preliminary technical and economic analysis of hybrid energy system as a substitute to stand alone biomass and parabolic trough collector solar thermal systems In achieving the GoI’s ambitious target of 175 GW renewable power generation, this hybrid energy system will play a vital role by clocking around 2.4 GW renewable energy generation in western region of India only According to the analysis, hybrid energy system will operate with higher efficiency as compared to the standalone solar and biomass energy system, with high CUF (44%) which will in turn, generate economic advantageone of the dimensions of sustainability In terms of accessibility, the plant operates for 24 hours overcoming the challenge of intermittency existing in standalone plants Biomass and solar energy sources, being carbon-neutral technology and eco-friendly, will collectively make the hybrid system a green approach to address energy requirement of the nation This ossifies the ecology dimension of sustainability The results have shown that capital cost for hybrid energy plant are higher than for standalone plants However, owing to the shared use of some of the equipment, this value is significantly lower as this plant operated for 24 hrs and solves the major issue of intermittency The overall energy generation is 5.8 times higher than standalone plants (adding both energy generation) The use of common equipment and the combined performance of the two technologies leads to a lower LCOE in hybrid energy plants than the standalone plants The hybrid plant is an economically feasible energy generation solution Overall, considering economic, ecological and societal dimensions, the hybrid system is a sustainable solution for the future energy generation References [1] Rajesh Kumar Singh; Saket Sundria Living in the Dark: 240 Million Indians Have No Electricity Bloomberg 2017 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-01-24/living-in-the-dark-240million-indians-have-no-electricity (accessed June 19, 2019) [2] Ministry of Power Power Sector at a Glance ALL INDIA Gov India 2019 https://powermin.nic.in/en/content/power-sector-glance-all-india (accessed February 15, 2019) [3] Ministry of new and renewable energy Physical Progress (Achievements) Gov India 2019 https://mnre.gov.in/physical-progress-achievements (accessed February 28, 2019) [4] Kumar A, Kumar N, Baredar P, Shukla A A review on biomass energy resources, potential, conversion and policy in India Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2015;45:530–9 doi:10.1016/J.RSER.2015.02.007 [5] Indian Power Sector Solar India Info Indian Power Sect 2018 http://indianpowersector.com/home/renewable-energy/solar_new/solar-power/ (accessed June 19, 2019) [6] Nixon JD, Dey PK, Davies PA The feasibility of hybrid solar-biomass power plants in India Energy 2012;46:541–54 doi:10.1016/J.ENERGY.2012.07.058 [7] Ministry of New and Renewable Energy India Solar Resource Maps Gov India 2019 https://mnre.gov.in/india-solar-resource-maps (accessed June 19, 2019) ... installation and operational cost of hybrid energy plants The economic assessment of the standalone biomass energy system, parabolic trough collector solar thermal system and hybrid system are performed... technical and economic analysis of hybrid energy system as a substitute to stand alone biomass and parabolic trough collector solar thermal systems In achieving the GoI’s ambitious target of 175... of solar energy is its intermittence and low CUF The hybrid energy systems, therefore, appears to be one of the promising solutions to overcome the limitations of standalone plants One of the major