Reliability assessment of a remote hybrid renewable energy system using Monte Carlo simulation

Abstract

Hybrid renewable energy systems have become a promising alternative for supplying power to remote locations because of the various negative environmental impacts caused by the conventional generating units. The reliability of power supply from such hybrid energy system is of prime concern owing to the stochastic power output from renewable energy sources. Unlike conventional generating units, the reliability aspects of a hybrid energy system are to be treated differently. System reliability depends on various factors such as the wind speed, solar radiation, load demand, wind turbine generator force outage rate (FOR) and hardware status of photovoltaic panels. In this context, a realistic simulation models for the reliability assessment of a remote hybrid energy system with battery storage is presented. The reliability analysis is conducted through Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate the loss of load expected (LOLE) reliability index. Finally, the proposed models are tested in a remote case study area.