Estimation of hybrid energy generation of solar‐wind tower for electric vehicle charging: A case study of Indian highway

Abstract

Advances in non‐conventional energy technologies and increasing fossil fuel prices along with environmental concerns have made hybrid renewable energy systems important. In view of this scenario, solar panel mounted on a vertical axis wind turbine (called as solar‐wind tower) can be utilized to produce more electric energy than individual one. This solar‐wind tower will be located in the space available between two opposite roads of expressways/highways. Solar‐wind tower located in such a manner that the air velocity produced from driving vehicles on both sides of the road is adequate to cut the turbine blades which will produce unidirectional torque. A battery energy storage system (BESS) stores the power produced by the solar‐wind tower so that it can subsequently be used for local loads and electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) and remaining energy can be supplied to the grid. In this work, a hybrid system composed of wind and solar is designed and modelled in Simulink (MATLAB) and tested on real data of wind speed and validated by Opal‐RT simulator. From the simulation result, it is estimated that total electrical power output of a single solar‐wind tower is around 15 to 20 kWh in a day under the assumed conditions.