A Comprehensive Study on the Performance of Various Tracker Systems in Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems, Saudi Arabia

Mohana Alanazi (), Hani Attar, Ayman Amer, Ayesha Amjad, Mahmoud Mohamed (), Mohammed Sh. Majid, Khalid Yahya and Mohamed Salem
Additional contact information
Mohana Alanazi: Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Saudi Arabia
Hani Attar: Department of Engineering Energy, Zarqa University, Zarqa 13133, Jordan
Ayman Amer: Department of Engineering Energy, Zarqa University, Zarqa 13133, Jordan
Ayesha Amjad: Faculty of Organization and Management, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Mahmoud Mohamed: School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK
Mohammed Sh. Majid: Computer Techniques Engineering Department, Al-Mustaqbal University College, Babylon 51001, Iraq
Khalid Yahya: Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Nisantasi University, Istanbul 34467, Turkey
Mohamed Salem: School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Nibong Tebal 14300, Penang, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 13, 1-28

Abstract: To compensate for the lack of fossil fuel-based energy production systems, hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) would be a useful solution. Investigating different design conditions and components would help industry professionals, engineers, and policymakers in producing and designing optimal systems. In this article, different tracker systems, including vertical, horizontal, and two-axis trackers in an off-grid HRES that includes photovoltaic (PV), wind turbine (WT), diesel generator (Gen), and battery (Bat) are considered. The goal is to find the optimum (OP) combination of an HRES in seven locations (Loc) in Saudi Arabia. The proposed load demand is 988.97 kWh/day, and the peak load is 212.34 kW. The results of the cost of energies (COEs) range between 0.108 to 0.143 USD/kWh. Secondly, the optimum size of the PV panels with different trackers is calculated. The HRES uses 100 kW PV in combination with other components. Additionally, the size of the PVs where 100% PV panels are used to reach the load demand in the selected locations is found. Finally, two sensitivity analyses (Sens) on the proposed PV and tracker costs and solar GHIs are conducted. The main goal of the article is to find the most cost-effective tracker system under different conditions while considering environmental aspects such as the CO 2 social penalty. The results show an increase of 35% in power production from PV (compared to not using a tracker) when using a two-axis tracker system. However, it is not always cost-effective. The increase in power production when using vertical and horizontal trackers (HT) is also significant. The findings show that introducing a specific tracker for all locations depends on renewable resources such as wind speed and solar GHI, as well as economic inputs. Overall, for GHIs higher than 5.5 kWh/m 2 /day, the vertical tracker (VT) is cost-effective.

Keywords: tracker; HRES; solar; wind; HOMER (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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