Development of a Numerical Approach for Optimum Sizing of the Components in Solar Photovoltaic Hybrid Power Systems

The objective of this contribution is to present a new numerical approach for a complete design, optimum sizing, cost estimation (capital & $/kWh) and also evaluating the performance of solar photovoltaic/battery/diesel hybrid power systems. The world-wide demand for solar photovoltaic energy systems has grown steadily over the past 15 years. The need for reliable and low cost electric power in remote areas of the world is the primary force driving the world-wide photovoltaic (PV) industry. For a large number of applications, PV technology is almost the best and economical option. Typical applications of solar PV in use today include stand-alone power systems for remote located facilities and residences , grid -connected PV systems for residential and commercial buildings that are already connected to national electricity network and finally solar PV hybrid power systems for isolated communities and facilities. The latter combines PV array with a conventional electricity generating unit such as diesel generator. Solar photovoltaic energy systems have many advantages. In fact they are modular and silent, they have no moving parts, they require low maintenance, and produce no emissions. In our research group we have developed a new numerical program, which has many features including size optimization, cost calculation and performance prediction of any type of solar PV system. This program also enables us to see the effect of non-technical factors such as inflation rate, discount rate, mortgage rate, etc. on the capital and electricity cost of the solar PV system under investigation. A method has been developed to predict a day-by-day performance of all components integrated in a solar PV-hybrid power system. Hourly average solar radiation data from the site for generating unit and the anticipated load data are used to evaluate the performance of the components in the system. Such performance evaluation is useful for optimizing the size of the components in the system. This method will also help us to perform economical analysis of the entire system over the system’s lifetime period.