Wind–PV-Based Hybrid DC Microgrid (DCMG) Development: An Experimental Investigation and Comparative Economic Analysis

Pervez Hameed Shaikh, Zohaib Hussain Leghari, Nayyar Hussain Mirjat, Faheemullah Shaikh, Asif Raza Solangi, Tariqullah Jan and Muhammad Aslam Uqaili
Additional contact information
Pervez Hameed Shaikh: Mehran University Center for Energy and Development (MUCED), Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro 76062, Pakistan
Zohaib Hussain Leghari: Mehran University Center for Energy and Development (MUCED), Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro 76062, Pakistan
Nayyar Hussain Mirjat: Mehran University Center for Energy and Development (MUCED), Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro 76062, Pakistan
Faheemullah Shaikh: Mehran University Center for Energy and Development (MUCED), Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro 76062, Pakistan
Asif Raza Solangi: Department of Electrical Engineering, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro 76062, Pakistan; Pakistan
Tariqullah Jan: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan
Muhammad Aslam Uqaili: Mehran University Center for Energy and Development (MUCED), Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro 76062, Pakistan

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 5, 1-37

Abstract: The cyclical nature and high investment costs of the wind and photovoltaic renewable energy sources are the two critical issues seeking attention for the use of such systems in backup or isolated applications. This paper aims to present the experimental and economic analysis of a wind–photovoltaic-based hybrid direct current microgrid (DCMG) system for backup power and off-grid isolated power generation system for emergency purposes. The two distributed generating units comprising photovoltaic panels and wind generator were designed and developed for the experimental study. A lead-acid battery is also added as an energy storage system to enhance the system supply. The electric load of this system comprise of 42 DC light emitting diode (LED) lamps of 12 Watt each and a 25 Watt DC fan. The charge controller provides the control and protection features for the designed system. The complete system design and fabrication of this system have been undertaken at Mehran University of Engineering & Technology (MUET, Jamshoro, Pakistan). The compatibility of the designed system has been analysed by comparing the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) with a conventional gasoline generator system of the same capacity. The capital, running and lifetime costs of DCMG are found to be 1.29, 0.15 and 0.29 times those of the gasoline generator, respectively. Moreover, it is found that per unit cost of gasoline generator is $0.3 (i.e., PKR 31.4) which is almost 3.4 times higher than that of the hybrid DCMG system. The performance and cost evaluation of the designed system indicate its broad potential to be adopted for commercialisation to meet backup power and off-grid power requirements. This study concludes that proposed DCMG system is a not only low cost, but also a pollution-free alternative option compared to the existing traditional small gasoline generator system.

Keywords: DC microgrid; hybrid system; renewable energy; cost of energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/5/1295/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/5/1295/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:5:p:1295-:d:147822

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().