A hybrid wind-photovoltaic power supply for a telecommunication system

This paper describes a stand-alone hybrid wind-photovoltaic power plant for a remote telecommunication system located on the Black Sea Coast. First, the wind and solar potential of the site and also the load profile were assessed. It is shown that the two energy sources are complementary, so it is possible to have a better energy utilization factor. As a consequence, the storage unit resulting is smaller than in the case of individual wind or PV systems. The power system consists of a 1500 W wind turbine and a 900 W photovoltaic array. Since solar and wind energy converters are finite sources of power, the energy capture efficiency is improved by using a power conditioner (which includes a peak-power tracker and a battery charger). A 220 V/50 Hz inverter was used. The power system was tested and monitored for one year under real conditions in the authors´ test facility, also located on the Black Sea Coast