Wind-photovoltaic hybrid systems design

The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility of a hybrid wind-photovoltaic power system to meet the load requirements of a remote village electrification. For this purpose a strategy to optimize the size of the energy generation and storage subsystems is developed. This methodology uses a techno-economic approach to determine the system that guarantee the energy supply with a lowest investment. The Loss of Power Supply Probability is used to quantify the reliability of the system. Opposite to other techniques based either in average generation and consumption data or in their less favourable values, this analysis seeks a medium solution in order to reach a system nor too small neither oversized. Furthermore, this methodology sizes not only the generation subsystem but also the storage one in order to not oversizing the renewable subsystems and increasing the total cost. A theorical analysis is made in first place and next it is applied to the sizing of a hybrid wind-photovoltaic power system to meet the electrical consumption of a typical remote village. The obtained results show that the more reliable solution is that in which 80% of the load is covered by photovoltaics and the other 20% by wind turbines. Moreover, systems based only in photovoltaic energy are the most suitable in economic terms if a high LPSP is permitted. However, the final election of the system always depends on the requirements of the particular application.