Energy resilience and decarbonization via hybrid renewable energy systems: A techno-economic study

Abstract

Global energy systems remain dominated by fossil fuels, accounting for over 80% of primary supply and driving severe climate impacts through greenhouse gas emissions. The transition to renewable sources such as solar and wind is hindered by their intermittency — daily generation can fluctuate by more than 70%, with strong seasonal variability — leading to continued reliance on fossil-based backup generation. Achieving near-complete energy autonomy while maintaining economic viability therefore remains a major challenge. This study evaluates the techno-economic feasibility of hybrid solar–wind–battery–hydrogen systems across nine configurations using a Rule-Based Heuristic Dispatch Algorithm (RB-HDA). System performance was assessed through four key metrics: demand met, fossil-fuel reliance, and economic feasibility via Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) and Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH). Hybrid solar–wind–battery systems met 99.89% of demand with an LCOE of 0.39–2.32 AUD/kWh, but remained limited by seasonal deficits. Integrating hydrogen storage improved resilience to 99.999% demand met with only one fossil-fuel backup hour annually, achieving an LCOH of 0.04 AUD/kg while maintaining an LCOE of 2.32 AUD/kWh. The results demonstrate hydrogen’s role as a pivotal enabler of long-term energy autonomy and a scalable, high-reliability alternative to fossil-based generation.