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Hybrid Wind/Photovoltaic/Diesel System Research at the University of Massachusetts

J. G. McGOWAN and J. F. MANWELL
Renewable Energy Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 0 10 0 3, USA

ABSTRACT
The past decade has yielded significant developments in the desig n, analy sis and installa tion of hy brid (wind/ photovoltaic (PV )/ diesel) pow er sy stem s. This paper presents a sum mary of recent prog ress on this subject in the United States with emphasis on the analy tical and ex perim ental w ork carried out at the University of Massachusetts. Topics discussed here include: 1) sy stem configuration and hardw are, 2) m odeling and design tools, and 3) recent applications.

1. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND
A wind/ diesel or hy brid power sy stem (illustrated schem atically in Fig ure 1) presents an opportunity to combine the conventional attributes of autonomous diesel electric g enerators with the a dvantages of renewable energy resources. Since our review of w ind/ diesel sy stems 12 years a go (McG owan, et al., 1988), significant progress has occurred in the design, analy sis, and im plementation of such sy stems on a national (U .S.) and international basis. The concept of a wind/ diesel sy stem has now been ex panded to that of a hy brid power sy stem . In g eneral, hy brid power sy stems are desig ned for the g eneration of electric power (usually AC), and incorporate at least tw o ty pes of power sources. In this paper, the definition of hy brid power sy stem s incorpora tes renewa ble energ y sources ( w ind or photovoltaic) a nd diesel genera tors. D uring the 1990s, w ork at the U niversity of Massachusetts (U Mass) concentrated on m any phases of the U nited States program for hy brid power sy stems. This w ork (primary sponsored by the National R enewable Energy Laboratory, NR EL) w as divided into the following four general a rea s: 1) 2) 3) 4) D ata collection/ technical review of previous national and international hy brid power sy stem projects. Construction/ operation of a versatile ex perimental hy brid power sy stem sim ulator. D ev elopment of specialized component a nd control hardw a re for hy brid power sy stem s. A naly tical m odeling and software development of analy tical design tools for hy brid power sy stem s. The purpose of this paper is to sum marize the U Mass ex perience w ith hy brid power sy stems over the past ten years- especially in light of recent progress and developments in the United States. This overview and sum mary w ill be concentrated on the following topics:

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1) 2) 3)

Sy stem Configuration and H ardw are Modeling and D esig n Tools R ecent A pplications

Figure 1

Schematic of Generalized Hy brid Power Sy stem

2. SYSTEM CONFIGURATION/HARDWARE
There are numerous potential hy brid sy stem a rchitecture options. D etails are given in an initial review of the subject ( McG ow a n, et al., 19 88) , a nd in a reference tex tbook on w ind/ diesel sy stem s (see Chapter 1in H unter a nd Elliot, 1994). This is a major point to consider w hen developing analy tical perform ance models (discussed nex t) for such sy stem s. It should be noted, however, that simple battery storag e ty pe sy stems are the most common design for sm all hy brid sy stem s (e.g . see Ca rdinal. et al., 1997). F or a ctual operating sy stems, especially those installed in developing countries, m ost developers of hy brid power sy stem s have tried to build sim ple sy stem s, w ith as few major components as possible. In the U .S., sy stem s that represent this philosophy hav e been developed and installed by several companies (see Corbus, et al., 1996 and Flowers, et al., 1994). A lso, as noted previously, w hen reviewing sy stem configurations, it is im portant to note the ex pansion of w ind/ diesel sy stems to hy brid sy stems (w ind/ photovoltaic (PV )/ diesel). This change occurred in the mid 90s and occurred as a result of the success of sm all photovoltaic/ battery sy stem s and the development of small, reliable w ind/ diesel sy stems. Simply stated, it w as realized that, in many applications, such sy stems could be rea dily combined to yield cost-effective hy brid power sy stems. On the subject of component a nd sy stem hardw are for hy brid power sy stem s, one should note that 10 years ag o (except for some sm all telecommunications sy stem s), the technology w a s essentially hardw are limited. That is, no reliable and cost effective hardw are w as a v aila ble on the comm ercial m a rk et to m a k e hy bri d power sy stem s pra ctically a nd

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economically viable. On this subject, at the University of Massachusetts, m ajor hardw are development for entire hy brid power sy stems and important components w as carried out using a wind/ diesel sim ulator facility, show n schem atically in Figure 2 (Stein, et al., 1990). In its original configuration, this sim ulator consisted of a 15 k W w ind turbine sim ulator coupled to an induction g enerator, a 40 hp diesel engine directly coupled to a 15 k W sy nchronous genera tor, a 10 k W pulse width m odulated (PW M) resistance ty pe dump load, a computer controlled 10 k W load simulator, and a 13 k W rotary converter connected to a bank of eight 225 ampere hour rated lead acid batteries.

WIND TURBINE SIMULATOR 2

PC Motor Controller DC Motor Induction Generator Wind and Load Data

GRID
RPM Phase Signal

A/D

D/A Wind Speed & Load Control Signal

Torque

Wind Power

Motor Controller

DC Motor

Induction Generator

PWM Load Controller

WIND TURBINE SIMULATOR 1

Diesel Fuel Contactor Diesel Starter Synchronous Generator

LOAD SIMULATOR
Load Power & Hz Dump Power PWM Dump Controller

DIESEL GENERATOR 1
Generator Volts Diesel Power

DUMP LOAD
Control Signal Control Signal

Diesel Fuel

Diesel Starter

Synchronous Generator

AC Mach

DC Mach

BATTERIES

DIESEL GENERATOR 2

ROTARY CONVERTER

Rotery Converter Power Battery Current & Battery Voltage PC System Control

D/A A/D A/D

Mac Data Acquisition

Figure 2

Schematic of UMass W / D Simulator

In addition to its use a s a validation tool for hy brid sy stem sim ulation m odels, this ex perim ental sy stem w a s used for several im portant component development programs, including controls, dump load components, and (variable speed) diesel engines. F or exa mple, the power shedding (or dump load) control investigation at UMass w a s carried out to ensure stability of the electrical netw ork (g rid frequency ) or to maintain a minimum load on the diesel(s). This program resulted in the development of a sim ple pulse w idth modulation (PW M) D C-D C converter combined w ith a single resistive elem ent. The ex perim ental integration of this component into the U Mass w ind/ diesel sim ulator facility showed that it could successfully maintain g rid frequency, had acceptable harm onic distortion, and could ensure a minimum load on a diesel g enerator ( Stein, et al., 1992). A s a follow up to this ty pe of test sy stem, NR EL installed a hy brid power test bed (H PTB)

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a t the National W ind Technology Center (see, Cardinal. et al., 1997). This sy stem is designed to test up to three hy brid power sy stem s simultaneously, use either real or sim ulated energy sources, sim ulate a local electrical grid, operate with real or simulated loads, a nd test wind turbines producing AC or D C power. A nother major component development study that w as carried out at the University of Massachusetts involved the development and testing of a variable speed g enerator sy stem. A s described by Stein, et al. (1994), this sy stem was based on the premise that variable speed diesel operation w ith speed proportional to load w ould result in lower acceptable diesel/ g enerator loads, and increased fuel efficiency. A s show n schematically in Figure 3, an ex perim ental sy stem consisting of a rectifier, boost regulator, and an inverter between the g enerator and grid w as incorporated into a w ind/ diesel simulator. In g eneral, results from the analysis and testing of this concept showed that variable speed diesel sy stems w ould be m ost applicable w here the peak power sy stem capability is large compared to the averag e load. Specifically, in existing, isolated hy brid diesel power sy stem s, fuel savings as high as 40% could be realized.
Variable Voltage Variable Frequency Synchronous Generator AC DC Rectifier Voltage Regulator Battery Storage DC Variable Voltage Boost Circuit DC Link Fixed Voltage AC DC Inverter 240 VAC 60 Hz

Diesel

Load

Speed Governor

Voltage Regulator

Control Computer

Power

Figure 3

Schematic of Variable Speed Diesel concept

It is im portant to em phasis that during the past 10 years m ajor im provem ent have occurred in hy brid sy stem components such a s w ind turbines, inverters, a nd pow er electronic components ( see Flowers, et al., 1994). F or ex am ple, ten years ago, the choices of available sm all sized (a bout 50 k W or less) wind turbines were sm all. Today, there are several reliable w ind turbines, such as the A OL 15/ 50 w ind turbine (F acchetti, et al., 1994), that have been specifically designed for hy brid power sy stems. F urthermore, four ty pes of new small size w ind turbines a re ex pected to become comm ercially a vailable in the U .S. as they a re developed under NR ELs sm all m achine development program (F orsy th, 1997).

3. MODELING AND DESIGN TOOLS

D uring the past ten years, m any sim ulation models have been developed for hy brid or w ind/ diesel power sy stems. F or ex ample, European researchers (see H unter and Elliot, 1994) have developed numerous analy tical models of va rying sophistication and complexity for such sy stems. D uring the sam e time, w ork at UMass has produced a number of sy stem models for w ind/ diesel/ hy brid power sy stems. G enerally, as reviewed by McG owan and Manw ell (1995), these models can be classified into tw o broad categories: logistical and dy namic

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m odels. Logistical m odels a re used prim a rily for long term perform a nce predictions, component sizing, and for providing input to economic analy sis. D y namic m odels are used prima rily for component design, a ssessm ent of sy stem stability, a nd determination of power quality. A lthough the hy brid sy stem m odeling in the U .S. has focused on both dy namic and logistical m odeling, the m ajority of the w ork has been based on the use of logistical models. The im portance of dy namic m odeling, however, has been em phasized in U Ma ss w ork (Jeffries, et al., 1996) and other U.S. investigators (Childs, et al., 1996) w ho used specialized dy namic m odels or comm ercially a vailable v ersions of the Electromag netic Transient Program (EMTP). The logistical m odeling w ork has produced a series of combined time series/ probabilistic models, first used via the HY BRID1 code ( McG owa n a nd Manwell, 1995). This detailed hy brid simulation code allowed the sim ulation of a variety of no storage as well as storage-based hy brid power sy stem s. It also contained a unique model battery simulation component model (K A BA M) that w as developed during the U Mass m odeling w ork (Ma nwell a nd McG owan, 1993). Based on the HY BRID1 code, a new model, called H Y BR ID 2, has been developed at UMass that grea tly ex tended the hy brid sy stem m odeling capabilities of HY BR ID1, and that also featured a user-friendly w indow s-based interface (G reen and Manwell, 1995). Using a generalized sy stem layout (see Figure 1), this code is able to sim ulate a wide range of hy brid power sy stem designs- allowing a hy brid power sy stems designer a wide range of sy stem hardw are configuration choices. The analy tical details of this code and its development are discussed in a number of references (see McG owa n a nd Manwell, 1995 and Manwell, et al., 1997). It should be noted that an ex tensive series of ex perim ental validation tests have been carried out using the H Y BR ID codes and ex perimental data from the U Mass w ind/ diesel simulator (Baring-G ould, et al., 1994) and other available data from operating hy brid power sy stems. Recent w ork at the University of Massachusetts has produced a preliminary performa nce (or screening ) m odel for hy bri d w ind/ diesel sy stem s (Ma nw ell, et al., 2000) . T he corresponding computer code (W ndscreen3) allow s one to rapidly evaluate the performa nce of w ind/ diesel sy stems w ith one or m ore identical m ultiple wind turbines, one or m ore identical diesels, w ith or without energy storage.

4. RECENT APPLICATIONS
Similar to progress in the tw o previous subjects, the past ten years has seen a larg e number of hy brid power installa tions, from both a planned and actually installed perspective. A s documented in UMass w ork on this subject (McG owan, et al., 1994) the use of the previously discussed a naly tical models, such as H Y BR ID2 (or its predecessor, HY BRID1) is g enerally the first detailed a naly tical step in the inv estig ation of a potential hy brid pow er sy stem application. On this subject, the im portance of a sy stemic design approach for hy brid power sy stems can not be underestimated. That is, the use of a model such as H Y BR ID2 can represent a m ajor part of the detailed design evaluation for variations in hy brid power sy stem design. F or ex ample, as dem onstrated in a Brazilian a pplication case study, simulation results from HY BRID 2 provide quantitative information on the first and second order effects of design parameters on the sy stem energy flow s a nd economics (McG owan, et al., 1997). A lso, as show n by numerous sy stem desig n studies sponsored by the NR EL Villag e Power progra m, there are numerous recent ex amples of the use of H Y BR ID2 for design and performa nce validation modeling (Cardinal. et al., 1997; NR EL, 1998).

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On the subject of hy brid power sy stem applications sponsored by the U .S., the D epartm ent of Energy (via NR EL and the Office of U tility Technologies) have sponsored or co-sponsored a number of w orldwide a pplications of hy brid power sy stem s for both isolated (non-grid connected) a nd g rid sy stems. The w ide scope of the non-grid connected sy stems, is illustrated in Table 1. It can be seen that the currently installed hy brid power sy stem s applications are g enerally in the small power size range (50 k W or less), but, as show n, some larger non-grid connected sy stems have been installed.

Table 1. Sample of NREL/DOE Sponsored Hybrid Power System Applications

The design and installation of hy brid power sy stems in larger sizes, especially into existing g rids presents som e interesting technical challenges, especially w hen the sy stem approaches m edium to high penetration of w ind energy. A n ex am ple of this ty pe of sy stem is the hy brid w ind/ diesel sy stem in K otzebue, A lask a. This sy stem w ill feature the installation of up to 10 A tlantic Orient 15/ 50 w ind turbines into the existing villag e diesel grid (a bout 1 MW averag e load). F uture w ork planned here is designed to include the installation of a 1 to 2 MW miniw indfarm . A nother (high penetration) project is planned for Wales, A lask a w here 130 k W of w ind turbines w ill be installed to meet a villag e load of 40- 120 k W (D rouilhet, 1999).

5. CONCLUSIONS
D espite the progress of the past decade, there is m uch m ore w ork required for the implementation of hy brid power sy stem s on a w orldwide basis. Specifically, progress is needed in the important areas of sy stem and component reliability, accurate documentation a nd m onitoring of sy stem performa nce, and the cost-effective im provement of sy stem components. F urthermore, the authors ex pect that, in the near future, more manufacturers of components and hy brid power sy stems w ill enter the scene.

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