Hybrid renewable energy systems for household ancillary services

Abstract

The development of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRES) under the Distributed Generation (DG) paradigm is the support for substantial reduction of CO2 emissions and for greater penetration of renewable energy sources. The performance and reliability of HRES depend on the interaction between demand, generation, storage and the energy management strategy. In this study a comparison between two different control strategies is presented. In particular, a Rule Based Control (RBC) strategy has been compared with a more sophisticated Model Predictive Control (MPC) for the management of an HRES for residential applications.Results show that a HRES operating in a connected mode has potential to support grid balancing actions giving economic benefits for both end-users and providers. Moreover, the MPC strategy gives a potential reduction of the unbalanced energy exchange with the grid and a more efficient use of the HRES components. The MPC strategy allows thus for a more effective use of renewable sources if compared with a conventional RBC for a Microgrid of same size, thus allowing for a greater penetration of renewable sources into the energy mix, or equivalently, toward downsizing of storage and programmable source subsystems with economic benefits.