Pre-feasibility study of stand-alone hybrid energy systems for applications in Newfoundland

A potential solution for stand-alone power generation is to use a hybrid energy system in parallel with some hydrogen energy storage. In this paper, a pre-feasibility study of using hybrid energy systems with hydrogen as an energy carrier for applications in Newfoundland. Canada is explained. Various renewable and non-renewable energy sources, energy storage methods and their applicability in terms of cost and performance are discussed. HOMER is used as a sizing and optimization tool. Sensitivity analysis with wind speed data. solar radiation level. diesel price and fuel cell cost was done. A remote house having an energy consumption of 25 kW h/d with a 4.73 kW peak power demand was considered as the stand-alone load. It was found that. a wind-diesel-battery hybrid system is the most suitable solution at present. However. with a reduction of fuel cell cost to 15% of its current value, a wind-fuel cell system would become a superior choice. Validity of such projection and economics against conventional power sources were identified. Sizing, performance and various cost indices were also analyzed in this paper. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.