Reliability and Economic Viability of Wind-SPV Hybrid Systems

Increasing energy demand and environmental concerns aroused considerable interest in hybrid renewable energy systems and its subsequent development. Wind and Solar PV are complementary energy sources, when used together can meet the demand. Intermittent solar irradiation and wind speed characteristics will influence the resulting energy production. Major factors in the selection of solar photovoltaic (SPV) and wind turbine generator (WTG) power generation systems, to provide a reliable power supply to the consumer are, varying atmospheric conditions and the corresponding total system cost. It is essential to select potential site, number and type of WTGs and SPV modules along with their Balance of System (BoS) to supply reliable power to the load, thereby keeping the cost of the system minimum. A detailed study of the published literature reveals the work carried out in the area of assessment of wind power potential, reliability and cost analysis of standalone WTG, SPV systems and WTG-SPV hybrid systems. Reliability analysis is done by calculating indices like Loss of Load Expected, Forced Outage Rates and Loss of Expected Energy.