Scenarios, Financial Viability and Pathways of Localized Hybrid Energy Generation Systems around the United Kingdom

Decarbonisation is becoming a central aim of countries around the globe, ensuring the effects of climate change do not increase exponentially in the coming years. Renewable energy generation is at the core of this decarbonisation process, enabling economies to divorce themselves from a reliance on oil and coal. Hybrid energy systems can utilise multiple generation methods to supply electrical demand best. This paper investigates the use of localised hybrid energy systems around the UK, comparing the financial viability of solar, wind and hydrokinetic generation methods both as a hybrid system and individually in different scenarios. The significance of having localised hybrid energy systems is that they address two large problems within renewable energy generation, that of storage issues and also generating the electricity far away from where it is actually used, requiring extensive infrastructure. The microgrid optimisation software HOMER was used to simulate each of the generation methods alongside the national grid, including lithium ion batteries and converters to create a comprehensive hybrid system. Net Present Cost, which is the current value of all the costs of installing and operating the system over the project lifetime, was considered as the metric. The analysis finds that for each modelled location, wind turbines in combination with lithium ion batteries and a converter is the system with the lowest Net Present Cost, with the exception of Bristol, which also uses hydrokinetic turbines within the system. The findings indicate the extensive wind resources available within the UK, along with identifying that certain locations around the country also have very high potential for tidal power generation.