Abstract:
Photovoltaic and wind power generations are currently seen as sustainable options of in rural electrification,
particularly in standalone applications. However the variable character of solar and wind resources
as well as the variable load demand prevent these generation systems from being totally reliable without
suitable energy storage system. Several research works have been conducted on the use of photovoltaic
and wind systems in rural electrification; however most of these works have not considered other ways
of storing energy except for conventional battery storage systems. In this paper, an energy dispatch
model that satisfies the load demand, taking into account the intermittent nature of the solar and wind
energy sources and variations in demand, is presented for a hybrid system consisting of a photovoltaic
unit, a wind unit, a pumped hydro storage system and a diesel generator. The main purpose of the developed
model is to minimize the hybrid system’s operation cost while optimizing the system’s power flow
considering the different component’s operational constraints. The simulations have been performed
using ‘‘fmincon” implemented in Matlab. The model have been applied to two test examples; the simulation
results are analyzed and compared to the case where the diesel generator is used alone to supply
the given load demand. The results show that using the developed control model for the proposed hybrid
system, fuel saving can be achieved compared to the case where the diesel is used alone to supply the
same load patters.
