Optimum operation of an autonomous energy system suitable for new communities in developing countries

Abstract

This paper presents a general scheme for the optimal utilization of renewable energy resources together with a fossil fuel source as an integrated system to supply, simultaneously, an integrated load demand. This scheme is inspired by the idea of cogeneration to make use of any waste energy to satisfy the various energy needs in the most economic and appropriate manner. This scheme can be used for the different modes of operation of a power system such as stand-alone, hybrid, repowering and fuel saver modes. The integrated sources are a solar thermal plant, a photovoltaic array, a wind energy park and a fossil fuel source, together with different types of storage facilities (electric and water storage). The integrated demands are electrical, thermal (for saline water distillation in remote coastal areas) and mechanical (for water pumping). The nonlinear functions in the system are suitably linearized. The problem is formulated as a minimum cost network flow and is solved by the generalized network flow programming technique.