Optimal Design of a PV/Fuel Cell Hybrid Power System for the City of Brest in France

International audienceThis paper deals with the optimal design of a stand-alone hybrid photovoltaic and fuel cell power system without battery storage to supply the electric load demand of the city of Brest, Western Brittany in France. The proposed optimal design study is focused on economical performances and is mainly based on the loss of the power supply probability concept. The hybrid power system optimal design is based on a simulation model developed using HOMER. In this context, a practical load demand profile of Brest city is used with real weather data

Optimal Design of a Stand-Alone Hybrid PV/Fuel Cell Power System for the City of Brest in France

This paper deals with the optimal design of a stand-alone hybrid photovoltaic and fuel cell power system without battery storage to supply the electric load demand of the city of Brest, Western Brittany in France. The proposed optimal design study is focused on economical performances and is mainly based on the loss of the power supply probability concept. The hybrid power system optimal design is based on a simulation model developed using HOMER. In this context, a practical load demand profile of Brest city is used with real weather data

Worldwide LCOEs of decentralized off-grid renewable energy systems

Recent events mean that the security of energy supplies is becoming more uncertain. One way to achieve a more reliable energy supply can be decentralised renewable off-grid energy systems, for which more and more case studies are conducted in research. This review gives a global overview of the costs, in terms of levelised cost of electricity (LCOE), for these autonomous energy systems, which range from $0.03/kWh to about$1.00/kWh worldwide in 2021. The average LCOEs for 100% renewable energy systems have decreased by 9% annually between 2016 and 2021 from $0.54/kWh to$0.29/kWh, presumably due to cost reductions in renewable energy and electricity storage. Our overview can be employed to verify findings on off-grid systems, and to assess where these systems might be deployed and how costs are evolving

Design and Techno-economic assessment of a new hybrid system of a solar dish Stirling engine instegrated with a horizontal axis wind turbine for microgrid power generation

The increasing interest in renewable microgrids have motivated the exploration of more sustainable alternatives to traditional energy supply. In this study, a novel hybrid renewable energy-based microgrid power system is proposed, designed and techno-economically assessed. The system consists of a concentrated parabolic solar dish Stirling engine and a horizontal axis wind turbine integrated with a battery bank. The novelty of the study lies in replacing conventional hybrid systems, such as a typical photovoltaic/wind assembly, with a novel solar dish/wind turbine system that has the potential to achieve higher efficiencies and financial competitiveness. The solar dish Stirling engine serves as the primary source of electrical power generation while the horizontal axis wind turbine, in conjunction with a battery bank, supplies backup electricity when the primary source of power is unavailable. The system has been designed through advanced modelling in the MATLAB/ Simulink® environment that efficiently integrates the individual energy technologies. A technical sensitivity analysis has been performed for all the units in order to reduce the respective design limits and identify optimum operational windows. Further, the performance of the model has been tested at two locations in Jordan, and a thorough techno-economic analysis of the integrated system has been conducted. The simulation results show that at the optimal design point the efficiency of the Stirling engine is 37% with a net output power of 1500 kWe. For the horizontal axis wind turbine, a module of 100 kWe with a power coefficient of 0.2–0.24 is suitable for operation in terms of cost, power, torque and farm size. Also, two economic indicators, namely, the levelised cost of electricity and hourly cost, have been calculated. The levelised cost of electricity lies between 0.13 and 0.15 $/kWh while the hourly cost is found to be around 4$/h. Thus, the economic evaluation revealed that the proposed system is very competitive with other integrated renewable energy technologies

Optimal techno-economic sizing of wind/solar/battery hybrid microgrid system using the forever power method

Advancement in power electronics, energy storage, control, and renewable energy sources has led to the use of integrated renewable energy sources in islanded microgrids (MG). Also, the uses of integrated renewable energy sources have become more technically applicable, more economically feasible, and more environmentally friendly than conventional sources. As a result, electrification of rural villages using renewable energy technologies has started to become widely adopted around the world. Since generating power from renewable energy sources is highly intermittent and difficult to predict, the use of proper energy storage technology is important to eliminate mismatches between the load demand and generation. Obtaining proper unit sizing for energy sources and storage is critical in determining the cost and reliability of the system. It is challenging to properly optimize the size of hybrid micro-sources for islanded MGs with minimum capital and operational cost while still achieving the targeted availability of the power supply. In this research, typical meteorological data is used with the Forever Power method to generate all possible combinations of PV modules and wind turbines along with the corresponding availability of the power supply. The goal of the study is to allow the designer of the system to select the size that best fits the targeted availability of the power supply with the most economical cost. As a case study, this method has been applied to an isolated MG for four homes in a rural area outside of Yanbu City, Saudi Arabia. A techno-economic analysis was applied using MATLAB to find the optimal size of the hybrid micro-sources. --Abstract, page iii

Reviewing energy system modelling of decentralized energy autonomy

Research attention on decentralized autonomous energy systems has increased exponentially in the past three decades, as demonstrated by the absolute number of publications and the share of these studies in the corpus of energy system modelling literature. This paper shows the status quo and future modelling needs for research on local autonomous energy systems. A total of 359 studies are roughly investigated, of which a subset of 123 in detail. The studies are assessed with respect to the characteristics of their methodology and applications, in order to derive common trends and insights. Most case studies apply to middle-income countries and only focus on the supply of electricity in the residential sector. Furthermore, many of the studies are comparable regarding objectives and applied methods. Local energy autonomy is associated with high costs, leading to levelized costs of electricity of 0.41 $/kWh on average. By analysing the studies, many improvements for future studies could be identified: the studies lack an analysis of the impact of autonomous energy systems on surrounding energy systems. In addition, the robust design of autonomous energy systems requires higher time resolutions and extreme conditions. Future research should also develop methodologies to consider local stakeholders and their preferences for energy systems

Optimal sizing for a grid-connected hybrid renewable energy system.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu- Natal, Durban.Hybrid renewable energy systems (HRESs) refer to power generating systems that integrate several sources of energy, including renewables, to provide electricity to consumers. HRESs can either work as standalone or grid-connected systems. Since wind and solar have complementary characteristics and are available in most areas, they are considered as suitable energy sources to be combined in an HRES. Moreover, the maturity of technologies needed for generating electricity from wind and solar has turned them into more economical options in many locations. Many countries, including South Africa, have introduced policies and incentives to increase their renewable energy capacities in order to address environmental concerns and reduce pollutant emissions into the atmosphere. In addition, consumers in South Africa have faced the ever-increasing price of electricity and unreliability of the grid since 2007 due to the lack of sufficient electricity production. As a result, employing HRESs has gained popularity among consumers in different sectors. This research is focused on grid-connected hybrid energy systems based on solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and wind turbines as a potential solution to reduce the dependency of residential sector consumers on the grid in Durban. The aim of the research is to identify the optimal sizing of such a HRES to be cost-effective for consumers over a certain period of time. Since the energy supplied by renewable sources are intermittent and dependent on the geographical location of the system, identifying optimal sizing becomes a challenging task in HRESs. In this research, Durban’s meteorological data and eThekwini municipality tariff rates have been considered. Moreover, two artificial intelligence methods have been used to obtain the optimal sizing for different types of available PV panels, wind turbines and inverters in the market. The results have shown that the combination of PV panels and battery storage (BS) can become a profitable option for Durban area. Moreover, the systems using higher rated power PV panels can start to become profitable in a shorter lifetime. Considering BS in a system can only become a cost-effective choice if we consider a long enough lifespan for the system