Modeling and optimization of wind/PV system for stand-alone site

In this paper a methodology for calculation of the optimum size of a stand-alone hybrid wind/photovoltaic (wind/PV) system is developed. The collection of six months of data of wind speed and ambient temperature recorded for every hour of the day and an estimate of solar irradiance were used. These data and manufacturer´s specifications on a wind turbine and a PV module were used to calculate the average power generated by the wind turbine and the PV module for each hour of the day. A deterministic algorithm is used to minimize the life cycle cost of the system while guaranteeing the satisfaction of the load. The mathematical modeling of the principal elements of the hybrid wind/PV system is exposed showing the main sizing variables. The deterministic algorithm is presented and implemented to minimize the objective function.