Design of Micro-Grid Renewable Energy System with Energy Storage

Renewable energy-based micro-grids are presently attracting significant consideration. Hence the objective of this thesis is to evaluate the technical and economic performance of a micro grid (MG) comparing between MG operation in the two modes; stand-alone (off- grid), and grid connected operation (on-grid). The MGS suggested components are; PV panels, wind turbine(s) in case of grid connected. To evaluate electrical energy storage in batteries and compare it with advanced super-capacitor technology, an experimental set up is designed and constructed. A set of experiments were conducted to investigate the different characteristics and their suitability to charging and discharging conditions. The results showed that super capacitor has higher power density than battery, while battery surpasses the super capacitor in energy density. Hence, the results confirm the understanding that super-capacitor is more suitable for rapid charging and discharging processes than battery which is more suitable for long charging and discharging times. Also, from the economic point of view battery is still more economic than super capacitors.