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Abstract
A hybrid (photovoltaic, PV/wind/fuel cell, FC) system comprising different combinations of PV arrays, wind turbine, hydrogen tank, electrolyser, and FC has been investigated for stand-alone applications. Load demand was the electrical requirements of atypical residential apartment having a total area of 500 m2 with a peak electrical load of 35 kW and a yearly load of 24.4 MWh in Kerman, Iran. The assessment criterion for the analysis was levellised cost of energy of each system configuration. National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable software was utilised as the assessment tool of the present study. The effect of electrical load profile on the optimisation results has also been investigated considering a demand load profile with a low peak of 12 kW. Also, a comparison was made between the hybrid (PV/wind/diesel/bat) systems and the hybrid (PV/wind/FC) system of the current study at different fuel price scenarios.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Iran Renewable Organization (SANA) for making available the wind speed and solar radiation data.
Notes
1. The initial capital cost of small wind turbines was taken as $3100 per each kW in HOMER simulations.
2. Battery throughput is the amount of energy that cycle through the battery bank in one year. Throughput is defined as the change in energy level of the battery bank, measured after charging losses and before discharging losses.