Discrete time simulation of electrical power network with intermittent generation

Malaysia is moving towards using its own natural resources for its energy generation. Islands in Malaysia can definitely gain significantly from wind turbine installations especially when they are jointly equipped with solar panels, since the country is very rich in terms of solar energy. These turbines may not be connected to the main grid because the fluctuating and unpredictable output of a wind turbine can cause grid problems. In the day, when there is less wind, the solar panels will cover the extra load. At night, the wind turbines will be generating more power. If the solar panels and wind turbines do not create enough power, the diesel generator will automatically run to compensate for the deficiency. Since the back-up generators are fuelled by diesel and turn on only when needed, this can actually save a lot on fuel cost. Such a situation can be modelled and simulated using a Stepwise Power Flow method created in the MatPower package and executed with MATLAB.