Improving the reliability of photovoltaic-based hybrid power system with battery storage in low wind locations

The optimum configurations of photovoltaic-micro wind hybrid power systems with battery storage are determined for 12 low windy locations in the Indian western Himalayas which will provide inputs to formulate a policy for the renewable energy based hybrid systems in the region. The objective is to utilize the available wind resource to supplement the solar resource for improving reliability and minimizing energy storage requirements of hybrid systems. In the analysis 7 micro turbines ranging from 1 kWp to 5 kWp are considered. The solar and wind resource assessment of the region shows good solar resource of 4.11-5.24 kWh/m2/day but low wind resource with wind speeds ranging from 2 to 3.6 m/s. However, wind speeds more than 5 m/s are also available for about 1000 h annually indicating potential for small wind power generation. The feasibility analysis is carried out for 12 locations using measured data for one location and NASA satellite data for other 11 locations. A 1 kWp micro-wind turbine with cut in speed of 2 m/s is found to generate maximum energy annually for these locations for a typical load. The methodology can be used for identifying optimum micro-wind PV hybrid systems for low wind locations worldwide.