Hybrid renewable energy systems for power generation in stand-alone applications: A review

It has become imperative for the power and energy engineers to look out for the renewable energy sources such as sun, wind, geothermal, ocean and biomass as sustainable, cost-effective and environment friendly alternatives for conventional energy sources. However, the non-availability of these renewable energy resources all the time throughout the year has led to research in the area of hybrid renewable energy systems. In the past few years, a lot of research has taken place in the design, optimization, operation and control of the renewable hybrid energy systems. It is indeed evident that this area is still emerging and vast in scope. The main aim of this paper is to review the research on the unit sizing, optimization, energy management and modeling of the hybrid renewable energy system components. Developments in research on modeling of hybrid energy resources (PV systems), backup energy systems (Fuel Cell, Battery, Ultra-capacitor, Diesel Generator), power conditioning units (MPPT converters, Buck/Boost converters, Battery chargers) and techniques for energy flow management have been discussed in detail. In this paper, an attempt has been made to present a comprehensive review of the research in this area in the past one decade. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.