###### Abstract  
Achieving universal electricity access is a challenging goal for the governments of developing countries such as Ethiopia. Extending the national grid to the remotely located, scattered, and island populations demands a huge investment. This paper aims to show the techno-economic feasibility of minigrid renewable energy system to electricity Kibran Gabriel island in Ethiopia, through the execution of simulation, optimization and sensitivity analysis using Hybrid Optimization Models for Energy Resources (HOMER Pro) software. The minigrid systems were compared with both diesel generation (DG) and grid extension systems. The hybrid photovoltaic (PV)/DG/battery system is more economically feasible compared with other minigrid systems, and the best cost-effective option is the one including load flow (LF) strategy with 25 kW of PV, 10 kW of DG, 40 kWh of battery, and 5 kW of bi-directional convertor. The optimal FV/DG/Battery system, having levelized cost of energy (COE) of USD 0.175/kWh, net present cost (NFC) of USD 119,139 and renewable fraction (RF) of 86.4%, reduces the pollutant emissions by 33,102 kg/yr compared with the stand-alone DG system. The optimal minigrid sensitivity to the variations in global horizontal irradiance (GHI), diesel price and load consumption were considered in the sensitivity analysis, and the result shows that the system will operate reasonably well. hybrid renewable energy; minigrid; rural electrification; optimal sizing; techno-economic analysis; grid-extension cost; sensitivity analysis Article  
H.-C.-C.-C.-C.C.-C.C. Grid extension is relatively reliable in power quality but it is a very expensive alternative for delivering electricity access to remotely located, scattered and island populations. The DG system is the other option for electricity access for rural off-grid communities. However, diesel fuel transportation, pollutant emissions during power generation, high operating costs, and harmful effects on human health and the environment have made this option unfavorable [4]. SHS is the third option which has been used in rural off-grid communities. It is a portable and low-cost system with limited electrification capabilities to support large loads [6]. SHS basically delivers electricity for lighting and charging. However, the economic value SHS injects into the community is very limited due to the capacity of power delivery [7]. Compared to the first three technologies, MGS have been deemed a better choice because of their potential to enable electrification beyond subsistence level living. In addition, the hybrid minigrid systems are considered a cost-effective alternative for the rural off-grid communities [8]. In the sector of renewable energies, the increase in electrical energy generated by wind and solar was relatively the fastest. For example, the global solar PV installed capacity rosed from less than 1 GW in 2000 to 227 GW in 2015 [9; 10]. Similarly, the globally installed capacity of wind power increased from 59 GW in 2005 to 433 GW in 2015 [9]. However, optimal sizing and techno-economic analysis of hybrid minigrid systems for rural communities have been the main issue for many scholars. The related literature is discussed below. [PERSON] et al. [11] made a review of the computational methods for the planning of hybrid renewable microgrids. The paper addressed the uncertainties in solar and wind energy resources and gives good insights for future researchers in this regard. [PERSON] et al. [12] conducted a study to optimize an off-grid PV/wind/biogenerator system integrated with diesel and a storage system using hybrid particle swarm optimization and a grey wolf optimizer. [PERSON] et al. [13] proposed an energy storage system model combined with PV system to explore the impact of incentives on power plant operations. Similarly, a hybrid energy management system for islanded networked microgrids considering battery energy storage and wasted energy was discussed in [14]. [PERSON] et al.