Techno-Economic and Environmental Analysis of a Grid-Connected Hybrid Energy System for Sustainable Campus Electrification in Pakistan
Abstract
Educational institutions in developing countries face increasing electricity demand, frequent power outages, and rising operational costs due to their heavy reliance on utility grids and diesel generators. This study evaluates a grid-connected hybrid energy system (HES) for the Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering, and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Pakistan, to enhance energy reliability, reduce costs, and mitigate carbon emissions. Two scenarios are considered: (i) the existing utility grid and diesel generator system and (ii) a proposed hybrid configuration integrating solar photovoltaic (PV), a battery energy storage system (BESS), and the utility grid. The system is modeled and optimized using HOMER Pro based on a detailed campus load profile developed from institutional data. The proposed HES achieves a Net Present Cost (NPC) of PKR 223 million and a Cost of Energy (COE) of PKR 13.06/kWh while reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 70% compared with the existing system. Moreover, the investment analysis demonstrates strong financial viability, yielding an NPV of PKR 1855.56 million, an ROI of 179.63%, an IRR of 180.34%, and simple and discounted payback periods of 0.55 and 0.59 years, respectively. Sensitivity analysis further demonstrates that a 100 kWh BESS provides the preferred configuration based on the trade-off between economic performance and reliability under varying solar irradiance, inflation rates, and discount rates. The findings highlight the potential of HESs to support sustainable campus electrification and offer practical insights for energy planning in educational institutions across developing countries.