Integrating Non-Conventional Energy Sources to Supply a Local Load with Fuel Cell as Backup System
Manoj Kumar1, S. K. Suman2, Vinita Vasundhara3
1Manoj Kumar, Department of Electrical Engineering, PEC University of Technology, (Chandigarh), India.
2Prof. S.K. Suman, Department of Electrical Engineering, PEC University of Technology, (Chandigarh), India.
3Vinita Vasundhara, Department of Electrical Engineering, PEC University of Technology, (Chandigarh), India.
Manuscript received on 11 June 2013 | Revised Manuscript received on 17 June 2013 | Manuscript Published on 30 June 2013 | PP: 177-180 | Volume-3 Issue-1, June 2013 | Retrieval Number: A0945063113/13©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: The electrical energy is distributed worldwide by overhead transmission lines or cables from generating stations. However, power systems are still needed at locations which are isolated or far from electrical energy suppliers. Renewable energy resources in micro-grid power systems are interesting topics of recent research as environmental pollution and scarcity of energy resources come to the fore. Moreover the integration of renewable energy systems (RESs) in smart grids (SGs) is a tough task, mainly due to the intermittent, varying and unpredictable nature of the sources, typically wind or sun due to changing weather conditions throughout the year. Sometimes there are low wind speeds and lesser sunny conditions and therefore power generation by solar and wind energy is reduced. This paper proposes a system in which solar and wind energy is integrated with fuel cell to provide a continuous power supply to a small local load to enhance reliability of power supply. Here PV and wind energy is used as the primary source of power with the fuel cell section acting as a current source, feeding only the deficit power. The proposed system is analyzed with a case study using MATLAB.
Keywords: Fuel Cell Backup System, Micro-Grid, Renewable Energy Sources, Solar Energy, Wind Energy.
Scope of the Article: Economics of Energy Harvesting Communications