A graphical approach to optimal power management for uncertain OFF-Grid PV-FC-electrolyzer-battery hybrid systems

Abstract

The problem of optimal power management for uncertain off-grid hybrid systems is studied in this paper. A suitable parametrization of the energy sources and sinks is used to obtain a graphical representation of the feasible set along with a direct observation of the solution and its piecewise description. The proposed approach pretends to clarify how the optimal solution migrates from the use of one source to another as the solar radiation changes and how the dynamic response of the sources restrict the feasible set. A power generation system (PGS) is used to study the limitations that the sun power variability and the parametric uncertainty impose on the optimality; being the PGS constituted by photovoltaic (PV) panels, a fuel cell (FC), an electrolyzer (E) and a battery bank. A simple optimal Power Management Strategy (PMS) is proposed as a result of the analysis and its performance is illustrated in a telecom facility for three different locations in Mexico. Results are shown indicating the viability of the strategy for highly variable environments.