Hybrid hydrogen fuel cell and photo-voltaic system for remote telecommunications applications

Recent applications of Photovoltaics and other renewable energy sources have tended to be linked to provide energy for remote applications such as desalination, telecommunications and signage. The use of Hydrogen fuel cells has also been the subject of much research for potential traction and transportation applications. This paper describes the design and implementation of a practical power system that integrates photovoltaics, battery storage and hydrogen fuel cells for remote telecommunications systems. The paper will provide an overview of the overall system architecture, details of the hardware prototype installation and some preliminary results. A wireless telemetry system and control system was also implemented to allow optimization and evaluation of different control and energy management strategies.