Renewable-energy-based DC microgrids are acting as a possible replacement for the diesel-generator-based stand-alone power systems for critical loads as they are environment friendly, efficient and reliable. Research attention is required on optimization and effective power management of DC microgrids to address power failures and affordability issues. This paper performs optimization and proposes a power management strategy for a DC microgrid consisting of Solar PV/battery/fuel cell and stored hydrogen. A suitable case study is implemented in HOMER (Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources) to check the feasibility of the proposed system configuration for the remote location of North India (74.75∘ E and 34.05∘ N). The HOMER is used to evaluate the best system configuration in size and cost per unit of energy. A custom-based power management algorithm is suggested to enhance the proposed microgrid topology scope for any given site. The custom-based power management algorithm helps in effectively sharing the critical load demand among the various renewable power sources, considering the various parameters like battery state-of-charge (SOC) and availability of solar photovoltaic power. Time-domain simulations are performed to check the proposed custom-based power management algorithm’s microgrid response and effectiveness considering random solar irradiance profile and various operating modes. It is assumed that hydrogen is available in the tank and supplied to the fuel cell at a constant flow rate for the time-domain simulations. The contribution of this work is to describe the application of renewable-energy-based DC microgrid in electrifying ventilator critical loads, where load shedding is not feasible and neither allowed. The optimization results indicate the economic feasibility with the best optimal system configuration providing electricity at $ 0.186 with a total NPC of $83103. Time-domain simulations are performed in MATLAB/Simscape software and the results indicate the technical feasibility of electrifying the ventilator loads through the proposed renewable-energy-based DC microgrids.
Photovoltaic-based integrated energy systems act as a possible modern technological solution for clean and affordable green hydrogen production. However, research attempts are required from the scientific community to develop power management, control, optimization algorithms, and new techniques for these integrated energy systems effective and economical operation. The integrated energy system considered in this work consists of a solar photovoltaic, battery, grid and proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer. PEM electrolyzer with a power rating of 100 kW is modelled as a controlled current sink to interfere with the DC bus directly. This work proposes a power management and control algorithm for the photovoltaic-based integrated energy system considering different parameters like availability of solar photovoltaic power, DC link voltage, battery state of charge (SOC), tariff and availability of grid power. Effective power-sharing among the different power sources increases system reliability and stability. Optimization is performed for optimal sizing and costing to achieve economical operation such that these photovoltaic-based integrated energy systems become affordable and are encouraged for wide use. The photovoltaic system operates at the maximum power point through a neural network-based control strategy; in addition to this, stacking in neural network topologies is also discussed for improving system accuracy in tracking the reference voltage for MPPT operation. The DC link voltage is controlled by interfacing the battery with the DC link via a bidirectional buck-boost power converter. The contribution of the work is to highlight the role of renewable energy sources for continuous green hydrogen production. Green hydrogen will be a critical driving force for the future transportation system, fuel cell-based power generation, and industries utilizing hydrogen in direct or indirect forms-that will help transition towards a carbon-free society. Optimization and time-domain simulation results indicated the economic and technical feasibility of the proposed photovoltaic-based integrated energy system for green hydrogen production with the best optimal configuration producing hydrogen at the cost of $ 4.806/kg and total net present cost of $749904.
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