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Document Type

Original Study

Keywords

Renewable–hydrogen hybrid system, Optimal sizing, Energy efficiency, Water Pumping, Black Window Optimization, Techno-economic and reliability assessment

Abstract

The intermittent nature of renewable energy resources, together with limited infrastructure in off-grid communities, presents major obstacles to sustainable water supply. To overcome these challenges, this study develops a Black Widow Optimization (BWO)-based framework for the optimal sizing of a hybrid renewable–hydrogen microgrid integrating photovoltaic (PV) systems, wind turbines, battery energy storage, and hydrogen storage for reliable and cost-effective water pumping applications. The optimization goals are to reduce the Levelized Cost of Water (LCOW), Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH), and Net Present Cost (NPC), while system reliability and energy efficiency are quantified using the probability of unmet water demand (PUWD) and Specific Energy Consumption (SEC). When compared to Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) techniques, the BWO performs competitively and, in most cases, achieves improved solution quality and convergence behaviour compared with GA and PSO. The proposed BWO identified the optimal hybrid renewable energy system configuration consisting of 297 units of 110 kW photovoltaic (PV) modules, 13 units of 130 kW wind turbines, one 50 kW water pump, a 45 kg hydrogen storage tank, eight 450 kWh lithium-ion battery units, and a 200 m³ water storage tank. This configuration has the lowest LCOW, LCOH, NPC, and PUWD values: $1.10/m³, $6.0/kg H₂, $0.210M, and 0%, respectively, with no unmet water cost (UWC). In addition, the sensitivity analysis reveals that the discount rate and Percentage of Unmet Water Demand (PUWD) have a significant influence on the Levelized Cost of Water (LCOW) and Net Present Cost (NPC), whereas the capacities of the solar PV array, wind turbines, hydrogen storage system, and water pump substantially affect hydrogen production and the overall economic performance of the system. These findings demonstrate the techno-economic feasibility of employing a hybrid renewable–hydrogen energy system for off-grid water pumping, highlighting its potential to improve rural water and energy infrastructure while enhancing resilience to weather-induced variability.

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