Systems Engineering of Hybrid Renewable Electric Power

Hybrid power systems are a combination of electric power generation technologies configured to meet specific customer needs such as reliable electric power, low cost, or portable power. If the power generation uses renewable sources such as wind, geothermal, solar, biomass, and waste, then the result is rightly considered a renewable system-of-systems. This is because each of the power systems can operate separately, but when combined, individual subsystems and components can be shared. In addition, the combined systems provide functionality that is not possible from any one of the sources. The discipline of systems engineering offers methods and techniques that can be applied to the engineering of hybrid renewable electric power generation. In this work, we apply systems-of-systems methods developed by systems engineering to develop a hybrid renewable electric power system. We examine customer needs for a specific renewable energy source. We then develop concepts that will meet that need by exploring multiple alternatives and their combinations. The concepts are subject to trade study against the customer needs. We then show the baseline design of a system that combines Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) with waste processing such as biomass and Pyrolysis. We conclude with a summary and suggestions for other hybrid electric power systems that can benefit from systems engineering techniques.