A novel approach for optimal hybrid energy decarbonization using multi-criteria decision analysis: Abu Rudeis, Egypt as a case study

• Published in: Energy conversion and management 2023-08, Vol.290, p.117199, Article 117199
• Main Authors: Ismail, Mostafa, Alham, M.H., Ibrahim, Doaa Khalil
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Decarbonization; Hybrid renewable energy; Industrial applications; Multi-criteria decision analysis; Optimal hybrid configuration; Transient stability
• ISSN: 0196-8904; 1879-2227
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enconman.2023.117199

[Display omitted] •PAPRIKA method is used as a new approach to perform multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and get the optimal hybrid configuration (OHC).•The MCDA considers 21 sub-criteria across technical, economic, environmental, and socio-political criteria.•Five hybrid configurations (HCs) are modeled on HOMER Pro to power the Egyptian Abu Rudeis oil and gas complex.•Transient stability analysis has been performed on ETAP for each HC.•The proposed framework determines the OHC with a 32 % reduction in CO2 emissions. Converting from a complete fossil fuel energy system to a decarbonized one is crucial to mitigating climate change and protecting human health. Hybrid energy sources are better than producing energy from a single technology. The combination of renewable energy and fuel generators allows users to cover seasonal fluctuations of resources and protects them from the unpredictability of fuel prices and supply. Nonetheless, the large-scale industrial demand presents a real challenge due to its consistency throughout the day and the intermittent nature of renewable sources. This research proposes a novel approach for optimal hybrid energy decarbonization for any demand type in general and industrial demand in particular. The proposed framework is developed by integrating the Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) for the simulations of Hybrid Configurations (HCs), the Electrical Transient Analysis Program (ETAP) for the stability studies, and the Potentially All Pairwise RanKings of all possible Alternatives (PAPRIKA) method to rank the resulting configurations. An industrial oil and gas complex with high wind and solar resource availability is adopted as a study case. It is located in Abu Rudeis, Egypt, and currently utilizes only 11 Gas Turbine Generators (GTGs) to generate electricity. Five different HCs are investigated, including PV and wind systems. The proposed approach considers technical, environmental, economic, and socio-political criteria, with a total of 21 sub-criteria, and reveals that incorporating a wind farm of nine 2-MW wind turbines with the GTGs is the Optimal Hybrid Configuration (OHC).