Hybrid stand-alone power supply using PEMFC, PV and battery - Modelling and optimization

Hybrid Stand-Alone Power Supplies (HSAPS), coupling several renewable energy sources and means of storage, are interesting for supplying small communities in remote areas. During the conception, the sizing of the elements in such systems, in terms of power and capacity, is a difficult and important aspect. This design must ensure the lowest cost of energy and must depend on the meteorological characteristics of the site where the system is installed as well as the consumption profile. To answer this question, a model of the system and a method to optimise the energy cost are proposed. Through a case study with a photovoltaic generator, a battery and a fuel cell, it is shown that an optimal sizing is able to deliver energy with a cost around 0.5EtildeUR/kWh. The model and the results are presented and discussed in this paper.