Assessment of Grid-Connected, Hybrid-Energy Systems with Conventional and Emerging Energy Storage in Meeting Energy Target 2050

Abstract

As the world faces the dual challenges of climate change and rising energy demands, renewable energy sources have become a necessity. The global energy mix is projected to have renewables contribute 63% of the total primary energy supply by 2050, a significant increase from 14% in 2015 This transition relies on advancements in energy storage technologies, which are a key solution to solve one of the main issues of renewable sources, which is intermittency. This study aims to develop and optimize hybrid energy storage systems in Malaysia, combining hybrid renewable energy resources with energy storage technologies. The methodology includes a comprehensive analysis of five scenarios, followed by sensitivity analysis on the optimal configuration. The optimal system consists of a grid-connected solar PV and hydropower system with SunPower E20-327 panels and a zinc bromide flow battery as the energy storage system. This system achieved a renewable fraction of 82.8%, a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of 0.057 USD/kWh, and a return on investment (ROI) of 4.4%. The optimal system also demonstrated a 12.1-year payback period. The SunPower PV-only case achieved a CO₂ reduction of 5918 kg/year. When the zinc bromide battery was included, the optimized PV-battery case achieved reductions of 6797 kg/year CO₂, 29.5 kg/year SO₂, and 14.4 kg/year NO_x. These findings support the feasibility of hybrid systems in contributing to Malaysia’s Energy Target 2050 and provide a framework for future energy storage solutions.

Keywords

Net-zero / Optimization / Sensitivity analysis / Charging

Author Contributions

Methodology, S.K.D.; Software, S.K.D.; Formal Analysis, S.K.D.; Data Curation, S.K.D.; Writing—Original Draft Preparation, S.K.D.; Writing—Review & Editing, Y.I.G.; Visualization, S.K.D.; Supervision, Y.I.G.

Ethics Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

All data are included in this manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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