1 research outputs found
Optimal design and sizing of a hybrid energy system for water pumping applications
Abstract One of the ways to increase the participation and penetration of renewable energy resources is to bring down the cost of these abundant resources for easy implementation and affordability. In this paper, a generalized reduced gradient (GRG) nonâlinear optimization algorithm is implemented to solve a triâobjective optimal design and sizing of a lowâcost hybrid mix consisting of a photovoltaic (PV) power plant, biomass power plant (BPP), and battery energy system for water pumping load applications in the University of Johannesburg, South Africa considering four different hybrids of biomassâbattery, PVâbattery, PVâbiomass, and PVâbiomassâbattery. The optimization model considers available energy and battery state of charge while minimizing least cost of energy (LCOE), carbon dioxide emission (tCO2eq), and loss of power supply probability (LPSP) including carbon tax incentive and penalty. The results when compared against particle swarm optimization (PSO) show the superiority of GRG over PSO with an optimal combination of PVâbiomassâbattery mix with optimal size of the PV power plant as 360.50Â kW, the BPP 181.08Â kW, and the battery size of 6,553.60Â kWh giving a minimal optimal LCOE, CO2 emission and LPSP of 0.018 /kWhr (without carbon tax), 28,067.73tCO2eq tCO2eq, and 1.7%, respectively. These values give a competitive advantage compared to the unit cost and values of CO2 emission and LPSP currently in the literature