Design and optimal energy management of a stand-alone PV/WT/Diesel/battery system with EV charging facility for Thar desert camp: a case study

ABSTRACT

Due to different financial restrictions, extending the existing power grid to remote locations like desert camps is not practically possible, forcing the camp owner to utilize expensive and ecologically hazardous diesel generators (DiG). In this regard, renewable sources based hybrid microgrid could be a viable approach toward reliable and sustainable electrification of these desert camps. However, optimum designing and proper energy management of such a system can be a challenging task. In these terms, this study presents a novel model based on the multi-objective PSO (MOPSO) algorithm for optimal design and energy management of a hybrid microgrid employing solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind turbine (WT), battery, and DiG for electrification of Thar desert camp in Jaisalmer, India. To address techno-eco-environmental aspects, objectives such as Dump Energy (DE), Installation and Operation Cost (IOC), and Reduction of Pollutant Emission (RPE) are considered. The optimal configuration of PV, WT, battery, and DiG are determined based on the maximization of RPE and minimization of both DE and IOC. The proposed model is formulated taking into account the seasonal load variation of a typical camp and the stochastic behavior of renewable energy sources. Moreover, electric vehicles (EVs) charging facility for the tourists staying in these camps is also included while modeling the microgrid system. Furthermore, three distinct system configurations are carefully analyzed over a 10-year period based on technical, environmental and economic indicators. The optimum configuration obtained is the hybrid PV/WT/DiG/battery system with 62 kW PV, 76 kW WT, 350 kWh battery and a 117 kW DiG. According to simulation findings, this system has an operational cost of 323.7 × 10⁴ $ and a pollutant emission of 2034.3 tons, which is 33.67% and 63.32% less than that of the DiG-only configuration, respectively. Moreover, as compared to PV/WT/DiG system, PV/WT/DiG/battery system can reduce dump energy by 81.40%, highlighting the necessity of battery for fully utilizing renewable energy. Overall, this analysis suggests that the utilization of renewable energy sources along with the battery is the optimal planning solution for the camp owner to maximize their potential benefits. Moreover, the proposed technique can be effectively used to optimally design hybrid renewable energy system for other remote locations.

KEYWORDS:

• Hybrid microgrid system
• electric vehicles
• renewable energy sources
• battery storage system
• desert camp
• multi-phase planning

Nomenclature

Nmod	=	Number of PV modules
FF	=	Fill factor
V; I	=	Voltage/Current of PV module.
VMPP; IMPP	=	Voltage/Current at maximum power point
V0; IS	=	Open circuit voltage/Short circuit current
KI; KV	=	Temperature coefficient of current/voltage
TC	=	PV cell Temperature
T; T0	=	Ambient/Nominal operating temparature
${\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{t}}^{\mathrm{P}\mathrm{V}}$	=	Power output of PV at tth time
${\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{s}\mathrm{s}}\left(\mathrm{s}\mathrm{i}\right)$	=	PV power at sith state of solar irradiance
${\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{r}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{d}}$	=	Rated power of WT
${\mathrm{v}}^{\mathrm{w}\mathrm{s}}$	=	Wind Speed
${\mathrm{v}}^{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{i}};\hspace{0.17em}{\mathrm{v}}^{\mathrm{r}};\hspace{0.17em}{\mathrm{v}}^{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{o}}$	=	Cut-in/rated/cutout speed
${\mathrm{\Omega }}_p$; ${\mathrm{\Omega }}_s$	=	Set of planning phases and seasons
${\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{t},\mathrm{s},\mathrm{p}}^{\mathrm{b}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{t}}$	=	Battery’s SOC at tth time
$\mathrm{\partial }$	=	Self discharge rate of battery
${\mathrm{O}\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{t},\mathrm{s},\mathrm{p}}^{\mathrm{P}\mathrm{V}};{\mathrm{O}\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{t},\mathrm{s},\mathrm{p}}^{\mathrm{W}\mathrm{T}};{\mathrm{O}\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{t},\mathrm{s},\mathrm{p}}^{\mathrm{D}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{G}}$	=	Output power of PV/WT/DiG at tth time
${\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{t},\mathrm{s},\mathrm{p}}^{\mathrm{l}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{d}}$; ${\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{t},\mathrm{s},\mathrm{p}}^{\mathrm{E}\mathrm{V}}$	=	Camp/EV’s charging load at tth time
${\eta }_{\mathrm{b}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{t},\mathrm{c}\mathrm{h}};{\eta }_{\mathrm{b}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{t},\mathrm{d}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{h}}$	=	Charging/discharging efficiency of battery
${\eta }_{\mathrm{i}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{v}}$	=	Inverter efficiency
$\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{t}$	=	Time segment
${\mathrm{F}\mathrm{u}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{l}}_{\mathrm{t},\mathrm{s},\mathrm{p}}^{\mathrm{D}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{G}}$	=	Fuel cost at tth time
${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{p}}_{\mathrm{p}}^{\mathrm{D}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{G}}$	=	Capacity of DiG
${\mathrm{S}\mathrm{O}\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{t},\mathrm{s},\mathrm{p}}^{\mathrm{E}\mathrm{V}\mathrm{\_}\mathrm{n}}$	=	SOC of nth EV’s battery at tth time
${\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{t},\mathrm{s},\mathrm{p}}^{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{h},\mathrm{E}\mathrm{V}\mathrm{\_}\mathrm{n}};{\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{t},\mathrm{s},\mathrm{p}}^{\mathrm{d}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{h},\mathrm{E}\mathrm{V}\mathrm{\_}\mathrm{n}}$	=	Charging/discharging power of nth EV at tth time
${\eta }_{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{h},\mathrm{E}\mathrm{V}\mathrm{\_}\mathrm{n}}{\eta }_{\mathrm{d}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{h},\mathrm{E}\mathrm{V}\mathrm{\_}\mathrm{n}}$	=	EV’s battery charging/discharging efficiency
$\mathrm{I}\mathrm{N}\mathrm{C}$; OC	=	Installation/operation cost
ir	=	Interest rate
k	=	No of years in a planning stage
${\mathrm{I}\mathrm{n}}_{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{t}}^{\mathrm{P}\mathrm{V}};{\mathrm{I}\mathrm{n}}_{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{t}}^{\mathrm{W}\mathrm{T}};{\mathrm{I}\mathrm{n}}_{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{t}}^{\mathrm{D}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{G}}$	=	Installation cost of PV/WT/DiG ($/kW)
${\mathrm{I}\mathrm{n}}_{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{t}}^{\mathrm{b}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{t}}$	=	Installation cost of battery ($/kWh)
${\mathrm{O}}_{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{t}}^{\mathrm{P}\mathrm{V}};{\mathrm{O}}_{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{t}}^{\mathrm{W}\mathrm{T}}{;\mathrm{O}}_{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{t}}^{\mathrm{b}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{t}}$	=	Operation cost of PV/WT/battery ($/kWh)
${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{o}}_{\mathrm{p}}^{\mathrm{f}\mathrm{u}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{l}}$	=	Cost of fuel ($/L)
$\mathrm{P}{\mathrm{E}}^{\mathrm{D}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{G}}$; $\mathrm{P}{\mathrm{E}}^{\mathrm{h}\mathrm{y}\mathrm{b}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{d}}$	=	Pollutants emission with DiG/hybrid system
${\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{C}\mathrm{O}2}$; ${\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{N}\mathrm{O}2}$;${\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{C}\mathrm{O}}$	=	Emission of pollutants (kg/kWh)
${\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{m}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{n}}^{\mathrm{b}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{t}}$; ${\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{m}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{x}}^{\mathrm{b}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{t}}$	=	Minimum/Maximum SOC limit of battery
$\mathrm{D}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{D}$	=	Depth of discharge
${\mathrm{C}}^{\mathrm{b}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{t}}$	=	Capacity of battery
${\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{t},\mathrm{s},\mathrm{p}}^{\mathrm{b}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{t},\mathrm{c}\mathrm{h}}$;${\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{t},\mathrm{s},\mathrm{p}}^{\mathrm{b}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{t},\mathrm{d}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{h}}$	=	Charging/Discharging energy of battery at tth time
${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{p}}_{\mathrm{m}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{n}}^{\mathrm{D}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{G}}$;${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{p}}_{\mathrm{m}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{x}}^{\mathrm{D}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{G}}$	=	Minimum/Maximum power generation of DiG
# Subscript s denotes sth season and p indicates pth planning phase	=

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Surajit Sannigrahi

Surajit Sannigrahi received the B.Tech. degree from the Meghnad Saha Institute of Technology, Kolkata, India, in 2012, and the M.Tech. and Ph.D. degrees from the National Institute of Technology Durgapur, Durgapur, India, in 2016 and 2020, respectively. He has more than 3 years of teaching experience. He is currently with the Electrical Engineering Department of NIT Warangal, as a Visiting Faculty (Assistant Professor). His research interests include active distribution system planning, Hybrid renewable energy system design, microgrid and smart grid.