Cost Optimization of a Stand-Alone Hybrid Energy System with Fuel Cell and PV

Shakti Singh, Prachi Chauhan, Mohd Asim Aftab, Ikbal Ali, S. M. Suhail Hussain and Taha Selim Ustun
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Shakti Singh: Electrical and Instrumentation Engineering Department, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala 147001, Punjab, India
Prachi Chauhan: Electrical and Instrumentation Engineering Department, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala 147001, Punjab, India
Mohd Asim Aftab: Electrical and Instrumentation Engineering Department, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala 147001, Punjab, India
Ikbal Ali: Department of Electrical Engineering, Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University), New Delhi 110025, India
S. M. Suhail Hussain: Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute, AIST (FREA), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Koriyama 963-0298, Japan
Taha Selim Ustun: Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute, AIST (FREA), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Koriyama 963-0298, Japan

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-23

Abstract: Renewable energy has become very popular in recent years. The amount of renewable generation has increased in both grid-connected and stand-alone systems. This is because it can provide clean energy in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly fashion. Among all varieties, photovoltaic (PV) is the ultimate rising star. Integration of other technologies with solar is enhancing the efficiency and reliability of the system. In this paper a fuel cell–solar photovoltaic (FC-PV)-based hybrid energy system has been proposed to meet the electrical load demand of a small community center in India. The system is developed with PV panels, fuel cell, an electrolyzer and hydrogen storage tank. Detailed mathematical modeling of this system as well as its operation algorithm have been presented. Furthermore, cost optimization has been performed to determine ratings of PV and Hydrogen system components. The objective is to minimize the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of this standalone system. This optimization is performed in HOMER software as well as another tool using an artificial bee colony (ABC). The results obtained by both methods have been compared in terms of cost effectiveness. It is evident from the results that for a 68 MWh/yr of electricity demand is met by the 129 kW Solar PV, 15 kW Fuel cell along with a 34 kW electrolyzer and a 20 kg hydrogen tank with a LPSP of 0.053%. The LCOE is found to be in 0.228 $/kWh. Results also show that use of more sophisticated algorithms such as ABC yields more optimized solutions than package programs, such as HOMER. Finally, operational details for FC-PV hybrid system using IEC 61850 inter-operable communication is presented. IEC 61850 information models for FC, electrolyzer, hydrogen tank were developed and relevent IEC 61850 message exchanges for energy management in FC-PV hybrid system are demonstrated.

Keywords: ABC-PSO algorithm; fuel cells; hydrogen; optimization; sizing; IEC 61850 (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: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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