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00 (2017) 524–529
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2017 International Conference on Alternative Energy in Developing Countries and Emerging Economies
2017 AEDCEE, 25-26 May 2017, Bangkok, Thailand

TheTechno-economic analysis
15th International Symposium of hybrid
on District system
Heating and Cooling
for rural electrification in Cambodia
Assessing the feasibility of using the heat demand-outdoor
temperature function
Chhunhengfor
Laoaa, long-term district heat demand
Supachart Chungpaibulpatana a
* forecast
1
School of Manufacturing Systems and Mechanical Engineering, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology, Thammasat University,
a,b,c a a b c c
I. Andrić *, A. Pina , P. Ferrão , J. Fournier ., B. Lacarrière , O. Le Corre
Pathumtani, 12120, Thailand.

a
IN+ Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research - Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
Abstract b
Veolia Recherche & Innovation, 291 Avenue Dreyfous Daniel, 78520 Limay, France
c
Département Systèmes Énergétiques et Environnement - IMT Atlantique, 4 rue Alfred Kastler, 44300 Nantes, France
In developing countries, shortage of electricity is the main obstacle for economic and social development. In Cambodia, isolated
grid diesel-based systems are used for rural electrification. However, due to the cost fluctuation and carbon dioxide emission of
diesel fuel, alternative power generation scenarios are needed to consider. This paper aims to investigate the optimum scenario of
Abstract
a hybrid system for supplying electricity to one remote district in Cambodia. Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables
(HOMER) is used as a tool for techno-economic analysis. Three scenarios are considered in this study: diesel-only; diesel/PV;
District
and dieselheating
/PV with networks
batteryare commonly
system. addressed
Results in the
show that literature
diesel/PV as battery
with one of is
thethe
most effective
optimum solutions
solution. forhybrid
This decreasing
systemthe
greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector. These systems require high investments which are returned through the heat
comprises 13% of solar PV penetration with cost of electricity (COE) of $0.377/kWh. The initial capital cost and total net present
sales. Due to the changed climate conditions and building renovation policies, heat demand in the future could decrease,
cost (NPC) are $2,260,000 and $16,661,344, respectively. Furthermore, this system can reduce almost 720 tons/year of carbon
prolonging
dioxide the investment
if compared return period.diesel-only scenario. Sensitivity analysis with variation of parameters such as diesel
with conventional
The main scope of this paper is to assess the feasibility of using the heat demand – outdoor temperature function for heat demand
prices, component costs, real interest rates, as well as demand loads are also performed in the study.
forecast. The district of Alvalade, located in Lisbon (Portugal), was used as a case study. The district is consisted of 665
© buildings
2017 The that vary in both construction period and typology. Three weather scenarios (low, medium, high) and three district
© 2017 The Authors.
Authors. Published
Published byby Elsevier
Elsevier Ltd.
Ltd.
Peer-review
renovation under responsibility
scenarios of the scientific
were developed (shallow,committee of the
intermediate, 2017To
deep). International Conference
estimate the on Alternative
error, obtained Energyvalues
heat demand in were
Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of 2017 AEDCEE.
­Dcompared
evelopingwith
Countries and Emerging Economies.
results from a dynamic heat demand model, previously developed and validated by the authors.
The results showed that when only weather change is considered, the margin of error could be acceptable for some applications
Keywords: rural electrification; hybrid system; HOMER.
(the error in annual demand was lower than 20% for all weather scenarios considered). However, after introducing renovation
scenarios, the error value increased up to 59.5% (depending on the weather and renovation scenarios combination considered).
The value of slope coefficient increased on average within the range of 3.8% up to 8% per decade, that corresponds to the
1. Introduction
decrease in the number of heating hours of 22-139h during the heating season (depending on the combination of weather and
renovation scenarios considered). On the other hand, function intercept increased for 7.8-12.7% per decade (depending on the
Shortage of electricity
coupled scenarios). The is the suggested
values main obstacle
could for economic
be used and the
to modify social development
function parametersinformany developing
the scenarios countries.
considered, and
Cambodia is one of the countries in Southeast
improve the accuracy of heat demand estimations. Asia which suffered by war over decades. All sectors were damaged

© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +6-681-890-7309
Cooling.
E-mail address: supachar@siit.tu.ac.th
Keywords: Heat demand; Forecast; Climate change
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of 2017 AEDCEE.

1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling.
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 2017 International Conference on Alternative Energy in
­Developing Countries and Emerging Economies.
10.1016/j.egypro.2017.10.239
 Chhunheng Lao et al. / Energy Procedia 138 (2017) 524–529 525
2 Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

especially power utility. After war, due to the financial constraint, government of Cambodia has encouraged private
sectors to invest on the power infrastructure. As of 2015, total energy generation from independent power producers
(IPPs) was about 4,422 GWh, which accounted for 98.5% of the total domestic energy generation. On the other
hand, Electricité Du Cambodge )EDC), the only state-owned electricity utility, was contributed only 16.82 GWh or
0.37% of the generation [1]. In remote areas, isolated grid diesel-based systems are still used to generate electricity.
Since abundant of renewable resources are available throughout the country, integrated the resources into the power
generation is an alternative approach for rural electrification.
HOMER (Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources) is an optimization software for hybrid energy
simulation. It is developed by American National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) which aims to help users
access with wide range of renewable energy options, in terms of different technical and economic manner. It can
evaluate the design issue in the planning and decision making for many rural electrification projects. Three main
tasks can conduct in the program: simulation, optimization, and sensitivity analysis [2].
Reviews of literature show that many studies of hybrid energy generation have been conducted around the world,
such as in Canada [3], United Arab Emirates[4], Iran [5], India [6], Nigeria [7], Malaysia[8], and Thailand [9].
However, the research of techno-economic analysis in Cambodia’s rural electrification is still limited. One study of
hybrid system has been found for the case study of Cambodia. Sou, et al. [10] proposed a model of PV/biomass
hybrid system for one rural village in Cambodia. The findings show that 90% of energy demand can be supplied by
biomass gasification system, 3% by solar PV, and the rest 7% by batteries. It was concluded that the system can give
the village a self-sufficient energy supply from imported conventional fuel.
However, due to the declining of solar PV panel, fluctuation cost and carbon dioxide emission of diesel fuel,
alternative power generation scenarios are needed to consider for rural electrification. This paper aims to investigate
the optimum scenario of a hybrid system for supplying electricity to remote community in Cambodia. Hybrid
Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER) is used as a tool for techno-economic analysis. Sensitivity
analysis with the variation of parameters such as diesel prices, component costs, real interest rates, as well as
demand loads are also performed in the study.

2. Methodology

2.1. PV panel

The output power from solar PV panels can be determined by using equation (1) and the specification of module
[4]. In this study, the model of PV panel is Suntech STP280-24/Vd. De-rating factor is a scaling factor applied to the
PV array power output to account for the loss of power output in real operating world [2]. Ground reflectance and
de-rating factor is assumed as 20% and 0.80, respectively.
GT
=PPV YPV f PV ( )[1 + α P (TC − TC , STC )] (1)
GT , STC
where PPV is the rated capacity of the PV array or the power output under standard test conditions in kW; fPV is the
PV de-rating factor; GT is the solar radiation incident on the PV array (kW/m2); GT,STC is the incident radiation at
standard test conditions (STC); αP is the temperature coefficient of power (%/°C) for the selected PV panel; TC is the
PV cell temperature (°C), and TC, STC is the PV cell temperature under standard test conditions at 25 °C.

2.2. Net Present Cost and capital recovery factor

The total net present cost (NPC) of a system is the present value of all the costs that it incurs over its lifetime,
minus the present value of all the revenue that it earns over its lifetime. Capital recovery factor (CRF) is a ratio used
to calculate the present value of an annuity. According to Cambodia’s national bank report [11], the average
nominal interest rate in 2015 was 12.3%, while the inflation rate from World Bank[12] was 1.2%. Therefore, in this
study, real interest rate is chosen as 11% associate with the project life time of 25 years. NPC and CRF can be
calculated by using Eqs. (2) and (3), respectively:
526 Chhunheng
Author name /Lao et al.
Energy / Energy00Procedia
Procedia 138 (2017) 524–529
(2017) 000–000 3

Cann ,tot i (1 + i ) N
C NPC = (2) and CRF (i, N ) = (3)
CRF (i, R proj ) (1 + i ) N − 1
where, Cann,tot is the total annualized cost ($/yr); i is real interest rate (%); R proj is project lifetime(yr), CRF is the
capital recovery factor; N is number of years.

2.3. Site description

Prasat Sambour is one of the districts in Kampong Thom province, Cambodia. It is located approximately 30 km
from provincial city, Stung Sen. The district has latitude of 12.8870 N and longitude of 105.0690 E. There are 5
communes in the district with the population of 10,453 households or 46,011 people. As of 2014, average poverty
rate in district was 24.69%, which was 5.93% higher than the average poverty rate of the country [13].

2.4. Solar energy

The data of global solar radiation of the district are obtained from National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) webpage [14]. As shown in Fig.1(a), solar radiation is relatively high in dry season and low
in rainy season. The highest one is in April and the lowest one is in September. On average, solar radiation is
available 12hr per day, while daily solar irradiance and clearness index are 5.295 kWh/m2/day and 0.543,
respectively. Therefore, it is proved that there is a high potential of solar energy in the district.

(a) (b)

Fig. 1(a). Prasat Sambour global horizontal radiation and clearness index; (b) Seasonal profile of electrical load

2.5. Electrical load consumption

As of 2015, only some parts of the district were electrified by rural electricity enterprises. The majority of
electricity generation source is from diesel fuel. In this study, residential loads, health centers, and schools are
considered as primary loads. As shown in Fig.1(b), synthetic load data was obtained by HOMER. The profile is
varied from month to month. Average daily energy consumption and peak load demand are 14,364 kWh/day and 2.3
MW, respectively.

3. System configuration

In this study, three system scenario are considered: diesel-only; diesel/PV without battery; and PV/diesel with
battery system. The configuration of each system are shown in Fig.2.

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 2. Configuration of proposed system: (a) diesel-only; (b) diesel/PV without battery; (c) diesel/PV with battery
 Chhunheng Lao et al. / Energy Procedia 138 (2017) 524–529 527
4 Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

3.1. Solar PV panel

By the report of IRENA [15], as of 2015, the average price of solar PV module ranked from 0.52$/W to 0.72$/W,
while global average solar PV investment costs was $1,810/kW. In Cambodia, the market price of solar panels is
varied from $1200 to $3200 per kWP. In this study, the capital cost of $1500/WP is chosen and size of PV array has
been considered from 0-4000 kW with step sizes of 500 kW. The replacement cost is assumed to be the same as
capital cost, while operating and maintenance cost (O&M) is $10/yr.

3.2. Battery storage and inverter

In this study, the considered battery model is Rolls Surrette 6CS25P. Quantities of considered batteries are 0-
1500 strings, while one string contains 4 batteries. The bus voltage is 24V. The capital cost is $1,100/kW or
$158/kWh. Replacement cost is assumed as be equal to capital cost, while O&M cost is $10/yr [8]. For inverter, the
price in the market is varied from $500 to $1,000/kW. In this study, the capital cost of converter is 550$/ kW, while
replacement is assumed to be the same as capital cost, and O&M is about $10/kW[8].

3.3. Diesel generator

Three diesel generators are proposed to install, in order to cover the energy consumption in district. The capacity
generator one is considered from 0-2000kW with intervals 500kW. Second Generator is considered as 0 kW, 750
kW,1000 kW, and 1750 kW. For the third generator, the capacity generation is considered as 0, 250 kW, 300 kW,
500 kW, 750 kW, 1000 kW, and 1250 kW. On the other hand, the price of diesel is chosen as $0.90 per 1 litre by
considering the transportation costs. The capital cost is assumed as $500/kW [8] and replacement cost is $450/kW.
The O&M cost and operating hour of each generator are assumed as $0.020/hr/kW and 15000hr, respectively.

4. Result and discussion

As seen from Table 1, diesel-only scenario is the most expensive system to generate electricity. The initial capital
cost and total NPC of the system are $1,275,000, and $18,321,506, respectively. The COE of the system is
$0.415/kWh, while fuel consumption is 1,906,131 liters. Consuming the massive amount of diesel fuel results in
making the system emits tons of carbon dioxide as well as other pollutant gases to the environment.
As revealed from Table 1, hybrid diesel/PV without battery ranks as second place by total NPC sorts. The initial
capital cost and total NPC are $2,190,000 and $18,107,864, respectively. The COE of the system is $0.410/kWh,
while Solar PV penetration is 13%. The fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emission are reduced by 7.5% if
compared with diesel-only scenario. This is due to the energy generation from solar PV array in day time.
As shown in Table 1, hybrid diesel/PV with the battery system is the optimum scenario. The initial capital cost
and total NPC of the system are $2,260,000 and $16,661,344, respectively. The COE of the system is $ 0.377/kWh,
while solar PV penetration is 13%. Comparing with diesel-only scenario, the system can reduce almost 720
tons/year of carbon dioxide as well as 20 tons/year of pollutant gases. Approximately, 14.3% of diesel fuel
consumption as well as carbon footprint can be deducted.
Table 1. Categorization of optimal solutions for each scenario

Initial Operating Total

PV Gen1 Gen2 Gen3 Converter COE Renewable Diesel
Battery capital cost NPC
(kW) (kW) (kW) (kW) (kW) ($/kWh) fraction (x1,000L)
(x$1,000) (x$1,000/yr) (x$1,000)

500 500 1000 750 200 300 2,260 1,710 16,661 0.377 0.13 1,633
500 1500 750 300 300 2,190 1,890 18,108 0.41 0.13 1,764
1500 750 300 1,275 2,024 18,322 0.415 0 1,906
528 Chhunheng Lao et al. / Energy Procedia 138 (2017) 524–529
Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 5

4.1. Variation of Diesel prices and interest rates

From Figure.3(a), PV/diesel with battery system becomes the optimal configuration under all investigated interest
rates (6%-15%) and diesel prices ($0.6/L – $1.5/L). It is worth to mention that, as the diesel price increases, the
renewable fraction as well as cost of electricity also increases. This is due to the increasing of PV array as well as
number of batteries, thereby increasing the total NPC. On the other hand, from Table.2, the higher interest rate
results in the higher total annualized cost (TAC), yet lower NPC. Real interest rate has slightly impact on the COE
of the system. When the interest rate rapidly decreases from 11% to 6%, the COE of the system only decreases
around 5%, from $0.377/kWh to $0.359/kWh.

4.2. Variation of energy consumption

As we can see from the graph in Fig.3(b), daily energy consumption loads vary considerably from 14,364
kWh/day to 28,728 kWh/day, while the base case is 14,364 kWh/day. It is noticed that, when the demand increases,
the fuel consumption also increases. Consequently, the O&M cost will be increased, this is due to the increasing
running time of generators at night. On the other hand, the cost of electricity is decreased since the bulk of energy is
supplied, from $ 0.377/kWh to $0.376/kWh for the demand changing from 14,364 kWh/day to 28,728 kWh/day. For
the lower load consumption case, it is seen that the price of electricity per kWh is higher than that for the case of
higher loads. This reflects the current case of rural areas with low energy consumption and dispersed population.
Other constraints such as geographical condition associated with living standard are also affected to the tariff.

4.3. Variation of component costs

As we can see from Fig.4, PV and battery capital multipliers are varied from 0.6 to 1.0. As noticed, when both
component costs decrease, the price of electricity also decreases. In case of 40% cost deduction on both PV and
battery, LCOE of the system will decrease to $0.370/kWh, but renewable fraction increases to 25%. Therefore, the
fuel consumption will decrease along with the deduction of carbon dioxide emission of 381 tons/yr.

Table 2. Impact of real interest rates on NPC, TAC, and COE

Interest rate (%) 6 9 11 15

NPC ($) 24,049,466 19,099,472 16,661,344 13,249,893

TAC ($/yr) 1,881,311 1,944,446 1,978,372 2,049,751

COE ($/kWh) 0.359 0.371 0.377 0.391

(a) (b)

Fig. 3. Sensitivity analysis on the effects of (a) diesel prices and interest rates; (b) primary consumption loads
 Chhunheng Lao et al. / Energy Procedia 138 (2017) 524–529 529
6 Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

Fig. 4 Sensitivity analysis on the effects of PV array and battery’s capital multipliers

5. Conclusion

This paper presents the investigating of a hybrid renewable energy system for one rural district in Cambodia. The
results show that hybrid diesel/PV with battery system is the optimal solution. The initial capital cost and total NPC
of the system are $2,260,000 and $16,661,344, respectively. The COE of the system is $0.377/kWh, while
renewable fraction is 13%. It is hoped that the findings will help policy makers for the future energy planning of the
district as well as providing an alternative option to the government in rural electrification. Nevertheless, due to the
fast growing of electricity sector in Cambodia on both energy generation capacity as well as grid extension, techno-
economic analysis of renewable penetration to national grid is needed to consider in the future work.

6. Acknowledgement

The first author would like to thank to Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology (SIIT) for providing full
scholarship in master’s degree study and facilitating place for conducting research. Furthermore, the authors also
would like to acknowledge HOMER Energy LCC for allowing the use of legacy version of the HOMER software.

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