Energy Management Control System for Hybrid Renewable Energy Power Sources

Abstract

AbstractEthiopia is a developing country, where population living in the country side still does not have access to electricity – for the most part. The majority of the population in the rural areas uses fossil fuels for house hold use. Fossil fuels are friendly to the environment. Renewable energy sources are alternative solutions to mitigate these problems. Ethiopia is endowed with numerous renewable energy resources naturally. The major ones are small-scale hydropower, biomass, and solar power. This paper deals with the design and implementation of a hybrid power generation energy management system to be used in the Benti rural village of Fogera Wereda. Managing the different energy sources is discussed in detail. The Fogera site consists of 426 households with a total electric power demand of 120 kW. To satisfy this demand, 50%, 30%, and 20% are to be contributed from hydro, solar, and Biomass power system generations respectively. A fuzzy logic controller is used as the main component of the power management system. The controller monitors the demand coming from the loads and which sources are available to switch to the appropriate power supply regularly.KeywordsHybridSolarBiomassHydropowerFuzzy logic controller