Optimal sizing of energy storage devices in wind-diesel systems considering load growth uncertainty

Nowadays, wind energy has become a very viable alternative solution to provide electrical energy. The development of wind energy is especially relevant for the case of isolated island in the south central provinces of Vietnam, where there is great potential for wind energy. For these isolated systems, the co-generation of diesel generators and wind turbines is a common configuration, but also poses several technical challenges. Auxiliary equipments such as battery storage, flywheel and dump loads are often needed to ensure a more stable operation, higher penetration level of wind energy. However, the cost for these auxiliary equipments can be substantial. This paper proposes an optimization framework to determine the optimal size of energy storage devices in a hybrid wind-diesel system. The optimization problem considers two main uncertain factors, which are the wind speed and the load growth rate.