416
2, JUNE 2004
A Novel Hybrid Isolated Generating
System Based on PV Fed Inverter-Assisted
Wind-Driven Induction Generators
S. Arul Daniel and N. AmmasaiGounden
Abstract—Isolated renewable energy systems based on hybrid
wind-solar sources are considered as feasible and reliable options
instead of wind-diesel systems. An isolated hybrid scheme em-
ploying a simple three-phase square-wave inverter to integrate a
photovoltaic array with a wind-driven induction generator has
been proposed for the first time. A dynamic mathematical model
of the hybrid scheme with variables expressed in - synchronous
reference frame has been developed. The model is implemented in
the power system blockset platform and a comparison has been
made between transients simulated and transients obtained in an
experimental prototype. Close agreement between experimental
and the simulated waveforms has been observed, which validates
the model.
Index Terms—Hybrid wind-solar system, inverter, photovoltaic
array, wind-driven induction generator.
NOMENCLATURE
Thermal voltage (in volts).
, Quadrature and direct-axis machine currents (in
amps).
Current at the operating point of the array (in amps).
Reverse saturation current (in amps).
Light-generated current (in amps).
Short-circuit current (in amps).
, Per phase inductances of stator, rotor (referred to
the stator winding) [in henries].
Per phase magnetizing inductance (in henries).
, Real power delivered by PV array and IG (in watts).
Real power fed to the load (in watts).
Series resistance of the array (in ohms).
, Quadrature and direct-axis machine voltages (in
volts).
Open-circuit voltage of the array (in volts).
Voltage at the operating point of the array (in volts).
Load voltage per-phase (in volts).
Load resistance (in ohms).
, Resistances of stator, rotor (referred to the stator
winding) [in ohms].
, Angular speeds of reference-frame and rotor
(rad/s).
Manuscript received December 4, 2002.
The authors are with the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engi-
neering, National Institute of Technology (formerly Regional Engineering
College), Tiruchirappalli 620 015, India (e-mail: daniel@nitt.edu; ammas@
nitt.edu).
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TEC.2004.827031
0885-8969/04$20.00 © 2004 IEEE
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION, VOL. 19, NO.
I. INTRODUCTION
I T is well known that renewable energy sources are attractive
options for providing power in places where a connection
to the utility network is either impossible or unduly expensive.
Photovoltaic (PV) generation systems and isolated wind-electric
systems are considered among the renewable systems to be vi-
able alternatives for the designer of such remote power supplies.
Nevertheless, systems based on either wind or solar energy are
unreliable due to seasonal and diurnal variations of these re-
sources. Earlier, wind-diesel systems were employed to over-
come the diluteness of the renewable resources, but the recur-
ring need of the diesel oil and frequent maintenance requirement
of the diesel-generators made such a system to be inappropriate
for off-grid supplies [1]. The control of such a scheme is also
far from straightforward, especially where there is a high wind
penetration [2]. Furthermore, it decreases the advantage of clean
and nonpollution energy achieved from the renewable sources.
A system that is based fully on renewable resources but at the
same time reliable is necessary and hybrid wind and solar sys-
tems with a small battery storage meet these requirements.
Recently, a hybrid scheme employing wind-turbine perma-
nent-magnet (PM) alternator and PV array was proposed, in
which the sources were connected in series through dc–dc con-
verters [3]. Subsequently, a simpler configuration connecting
the sources in parallel was attempted [4]. Further, for supplying
ac loads in these hybrid wind-solar schemes, the varying
amplitude varying frequency of the stator voltage of the PM
alternator and the variable dc voltage of the PV array have
to be suitably conditioned using complex power-electronic
interfaces [5]–[7]. However, for any off-grid system, it is
desirable to install components and their associated controls
that are maintenance free and economical. In this situation,
schemes employing wind-driven induction generators with
a simple power-electronic interface have been attempted.
Though induction machines are robust, inexpensive, require
little maintenance and possess higher power-weight ratio over
dc and PM alternators, wind-driven capacitor-excited induction
generators are not preferred in remote power systems due to
their unsatisfactory voltage regulation and frequency variation
[8], [9]. To overcome these limitations, instead of providing
reactive power using a three-phase capacitor bank, inverter-as-
sisted induction generators (IGs) were proposed. Earlier, Enes
et al. proposed IG schemes with PWM inverters where the
excess energy was sent to the utility grid to maintain the stator
voltage and frequency constant or a speed governor to control
DANIEL AND AMMASAIGOUNDEN: NOVEL HYBRID ISOLATED GENERATING SYSTEM
the amount of the generated energy was employed [10]. These
schemes require either a utility network or a constant speed
turbine, which makes it unsuitable for wind-driven isolated
systems. Subsequently, Olorunfemi Ojo et al. have proposed
a PWM-VSI scheme with a battery bank or a dc-charged
capacitor [11]. In this scheme, there is a possibility of a voltage
collapse in the event of the battery or the capacitor being
deeply discharged due to persistent low wind speeds during a
particular period of the year. The above system is based on a
single resource which is stochastic, and hence, is less reliable.
However, the complementarity of the wind and solar energy
resources can be exploited in a hybrid scheme employing IG to
provide reliable power. In such schemes, the random sources
of energy, which are individually less reliable, could, as a
whole, combine to have a higher reliability. In this context,
a hybrid scheme consisting of wind-driven IG and PV array
with an inverter interposed between PV array and IG has been
proposed in this paper. The PV array charges a battery bank
and feeds an inverter connected to the stator of the wind-driven
induction generator. The battery bank, which is charged during
the daytime, will supply the inverter during the night to provide
necessary reactive power for the induction generator. In sites
where winds are strongest in the winter and spring but weaker
in summer when solar irradiation reaches its peak, the proposed
scheme with appropriate choice of the sizes of the PV array
and wind-generator ensures almost an uninterruptible supply
throughout the year.
II. PROPOSED OFF-GRID HYBRID SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
The proposed scheme is shown in Fig. 1, where the PV array
charges a battery bank. The battery voltage is inverted through
a three-phase, six-step quasi-square-wave IGBT inverter and a
three-phase fixed amplitude, fixed frequency supply is obtained
to form the local grid to which the IG is integrated.
The IG in this case is analyzed by the superposition of the
fundamental voltage and each harmonic term. The fundamental
equivalent circuit of an induction machine adapted for the th
harmonic voltage shows that the impedance offered by the IG
to the th harmonic voltage is about times as that of the
impedance offered to the fundamental voltage [12]. Therefore,
in the case of remote supplies, as the local grid voltage is chosen
to be low (110 V/230 V), the copper losses due to the har-
monics of the quasi-square-wave inverter are not significant.
Further, the rotor core loss due to these harmonics is also neg-
ligible [13]. For this reason, a PWM inverter, if employed in
the proposed scheme, will not considerably improve the effi-
ciency of the system. On the contrary, there would be substan-
tial switching losses (about 50% of the overall losses of the in-
verter) because a switching frequency of about 6 kHz has to be
chosen for a PWM inverter to reduce the harmonic losses of an
induction machine [14]. Hence, quasi-square-wave inverters are
preferred for remote power supplies, as switching losses in these
inverters are less compared to PWM inverters. It is also on this
basis, such inverters are extensively employed in driving PV fed
induction motors for water pumping [15].
In the proposed scheme, the induction generator is integrated
to the inverter output and the stator voltage and frequency are
417
Fig. 1. Integrated photovoltaic and wind-driven IG.
locked to the inverter voltage and frequency. The three-phase
load is also connected to the inverter output and is supplied to-
gether by IG, PV, and battery or by both of the sources together
or any one source and battery or by battery alone depending
upon the varying conditions of irradiation and wind speed.
The battery acts as a constant voltage load line on the PV array
and is charged both by the IG and the PV array. Under conditions
of low wind speed, the induction generator is isolated from the
system and the load is fed by the PV array and the battery. The
load is fully supplied by the battery in situations where there is
inadequate wind speed and irradiation. During nights and under
high wind penetration, the IG supplies the load, the excess en-
ergy if any being used to charge the battery. A dump load can be
switched on in the event of a battery being fully charged and un-
able to accept this excess energy. On the other hand, during the
daytime, in the event of the battery being disconnected to pre-
vent overcharging, the IG and PV array feed the load. In such
conditions, the PV array in addition to supplying power to the
load also provides the needed reactive power to the IG. It should
be noted that when the battery is disconnected from the system
to prevent a voltage collapse, it is required to operate the PV
array as a voltage source by load shedding if necessary. The
battery would be deeply discharged only in the event of long
duration of both low wind speed and irradiation, and hence, is
not subjected to cyclic charging and discharging unlike in PV
alone or wind-alone systems. This results in higher lifetime for
the battery bank.
It can be found that the proposed scheme requires only an
inverter for integration whereas in hybrid schemes employing
PM alternator, a rectifier-inverter interface with complex con-
trol is required for obtaining constant frequency constant ampli-
tude supplies [5]–[7]. This inherent simplicity in the proposed
scheme employing IG and PV array, makes it ideal for isolated
applications. The detailed sizing of each of the element in the
system is beyond the scope of this paper and the traditional and
nontraditional techniques proposed for this purpose can be made
use of [16] and [17].
III. MODELING AND SIMULATION OF THE HYBRID SCHEME
In the proposed scheme, the PV array is connected in par-
allel to the battery bank. Hence, the operating voltage of the
array is fixed to the battery voltage and the corresponding
current in the – characteristics of the array is the PV cur-
rent . It is apparent that when the battery is available in
418
Fig. 2. The d-q axis model of the proposed system. (a) d-axis equivalent circuit. (b) q -axis equivalent circuit.
the system, the inverter input voltage is same as the battery
voltage, which is assumed to be a constant, and hence, the anal-
ysis is straightforward. Nevertheless, in the event of the battery
being overcharged during daytime and is disconnected from the
system, both the operating voltage and current of the PV array
may vary with the wind speed and irradiation. In order to find
the operating point of the PV array and to study the dynamics of
the system without the battery bank, the PV array equivalent cir-
cuit has been suitably connected to the synchronously rotating
reference frame equivalent circuit of the induction machine.
A. PV Array Model
The classical equation of a PV cell describes the relationship
between current and voltage of the cell (neglecting the
current in the shunt resistance of the equivalent circuit of the
cell) as
(1)
Assuming
and
Equation (1) can be written as [18], [19]
(2)
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION, VOL. 19, NO. 2, JUNE 2004
where
(3)
since
The above equations can be used to determine the characteris-
tics of a panel or an array, as it is evident that the characteristics
of a panel made up of identical cells can be obtained by appro-
priately scaling the – characteristics of the individual cells.
B. Development of - Axis Model of the Proposed Scheme
The synchronously rotating reference frame equivalent
circuit of the induction machine with stepped stator voltages
caused by the inverter operation is well established and is
available in the literature [20], [21]. Nevertheless, in order to
represent the proposed hybrid scheme in the synchronously
rotating reference frame, the equivalent circuit of the inverter
fed induction machine is extended by the present authors
to include the PV array and the load resistance. The -axis
and -axis equivalent circuits of the hybrid system obtained
by appropriately connecting the equivalent circuit of the PV
array and the load resistance are shown in Fig. 2(a) and (b),
respectively. The diode in the classical equivalent circuit of the
PV array has been represented by a controlled current source
whose output varies with the PV array voltage and current
according to (3). The voltage equation of the induction machine
is written as [22], (4), shown at the bottom of the page.
(4)
DANIEL AND AMMASAIGOUNDEN: NOVEL HYBRID ISOLATED GENERATING SYSTEM 419

The mechanical system is represented by the following

equations:

(5)

(6)

where is the electromagnetic torque given by (6) and is

the mechanical shaft torque, taken negative for generator action.
The machine voltages can be related with the PV array
voltage as [23]

(7) Fig. 3. PV array model for use in PSB.

and

(8)

A resistive load is connected in each of the phases and the

load current in terms of -axis and -axis variables is given by

(9)

and

(10)

From the equivalent circuit shown in Fig. 2

(11)
and

(12)

By assuming that there is no power loss in the inverter

(13)

The PV array voltage (inverter input voltage) fluctuates with

the variation in its – characteristics. Consequently, with the
battery disconnected from the system, the inverter is not sup-
plied by a stiff voltage source. The corresponding inverter cur-
rent (PV array current) and the induction machine variables
can be obtained from (2) and (13) using any of the available
simulation tools viz. power system blockset (PSB), SABER,
PSCAD, etc. The variation in the PV array equivalent circuit
parameters with irradiation and temperature may be obtained
using the method given in [18]. The developed model of the
hybrid scheme has been implemented in PSB to carry out the
simulation.
C. Computer Simulation
PSB has proven to be a convenient tool to simulate elec-
trical circuits containing power-electronic devices [24], [25],
and hence, the proposed system was simulated using this soft-
ware. The model of the PV array as given by (2) and (3) has been
implemented as shown in Fig. 3 in PSB using an independent
current source , a controlled current source , measure-
ment blocks, and arithmetic blocks. The output of the controlled
Fig. 4. Experimental waveforms at steady state. (a) Per-phase load voltage
waveform (50 V/div; 10 ms/div). (b) Stator line current (2.8 A/div; 10 ms/div).
current source depends upon the terminal voltage and cur-
rent of the PV array as in (3) and it has been realized in
the PV array model. It should be noted that the power-electronic
simulation platforms viz. PSB, SABER, and PSCAD, do not
have a PV model in their libraries.
Models of the power-electronic switches and the - axis
model in the synchronously rotating reference frame of the IG
are available in PSB [26]. The PV model developed in Fig. 3 is
appropriately connected to the inverter fed induction machine
model and the proposed hybrid system has been simulated.
The parameters and variables for simulation have been ob-
tained from a laboratory prototype of the proposed scheme.
IV. EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS
The laboratory prototype was constructed using a PV array
(14 panels connected in series each rated for 80 , 22 V, 4.7 A)
and a squirrel cage induction machine rated for 0.5 kW, 120 V
420 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION, VOL. 19, NO. 2, JUNE 2004

Fig. 6. Stator line current waveform when the IG is integrated with the inverter.
(a) Experimental (2.8 A/div; 50 ms/div). (b) Simulated (2 A/div; 50 ms/div).

Fig. 5. Per-phase load voltage waveform when the IG is integrated with the
inverter. (a) Experimental (50 V/div; 20 ms/div). (b) Simulated (50 V/div;
20 ms/div).

( -connected), four-pole, 1500 r/min. The parameters of the

induction generator were obtained ( ,
, , ) by conducting blocked
rotor and no-load tests. A resistive load of 80 per phase was
connected in star across the stator terminals of the IG.
A 50-Hz, three-phase IGBT inverter was fabricated and a mi-
croprocessor-firing scheme has been used to trigger the IGBTs
in 180 conduction mode. The PV array voltage was fed to
the inverter whose three-phase output forms the local grid to
which the output of the IG is connected. The induction machine
was driven by a dc motor to simulate the wind-turbine and the
connected gear. Care has been taken to see that the IG is in-
tegrated into the system only when the shaft speed is greater
than the synchronous speed. The oscillographic waveforms of
the steady-state load voltage ( , ,
) and the stator current of the IG ( ,
, ) are shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 7. Per-phase load voltage waveform when an additional load is switched
The transient waveforms under different conditions of irradi- on. (a) Experimental (50 V/div; 50 ms/div). (b) Simulated (50 V/div; 50 ms
ation and shaft torque of the proposed scheme have /div).
also been captured and compared with the corresponding simu-
lated waveforms. The IG current transient at the time of integration (
The transient in the load voltage observed during the inte- , , , ,
gration of the IG is shown in Fig. 5 along with the simulated ) obtained experimentally is shown in Fig. 6
transient using the developed model under the same conditions together with the transient obtained from the simulation. The
( , , , , observed and simulated load voltage waveforms, when an ad-
). ditional load of 50 per phase ( , ,
DANIEL AND AMMASAIGOUNDEN: NOVEL HYBRID ISOLATED GENERATING SYSTEM
, , , REFERENCES
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The validity of the developed model can be ascertained by the
close agreement between the experimental and simulated wave-
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V. CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH
A reliable and simple scheme integrating wind-driven induc-
tion generators and PV array has been successfully developed
for the first time to supply a three-phase remote load with con-
stant frequency balanced voltages. The generation system will
supply constant voltages with varying wind speed and irradi-
ation when the battery is switched on. The hybrid system is
cost-effective and requires a simple interface for integration,
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performance of the system without the battery, the - axes
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The developed model has been used for simulating various tran-
sients. The close resemblance of the simulated and observed
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sources, confirms the feasibility, operational simplicity and ef-
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The proposed - model of the hybrid scheme can be used
to study the performance (viz. , , , ) of the system
for changes in irradiation, temperature, shaft torque of the wind
turbine, and load resistance. With the battery disconnected from
the system, the change in – characteristics due to tempera-
ture and irradiation and the variation in the operating point on
the – characteristics due to change in IG power output will
cause the load voltage to vary. A dc–dc step-up converter can
be interposed in the proposed system between the PV array and
the inverter to maintain the PV array voltage constant. The same
converter can track the peak-power point of the PV array when
the battery is switched to the system.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The PV panels and MATLAB software used in this work
were procured under the “Thrust Area for Technical Education
Scheme” of the Ministry of Human Resources Development,
India. The authors gratefully acknowledge the same. The au-
thors also thank the authorities of Regional Engineering Col-
lege, Tiruchirappalli, for providing the facilities to carry out this
work. The authors are also grateful to T. Suresh for his assistance
in fabricating the inverter.
421
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422
S. Arul Daniel was born in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil-
Nadu, India, on June 24, 1967. He received the B.E.
degree from Government College of Technology,
Coimbatore (Bharathiar University, Coimbatore,
India) in 1988, and the M.E. degree from Regional
Engineering College, Tiruchirappalli (Bharathidasan
University, Tiruchirappalli, India) in 1991. He is
currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree in the area of
hybrid wind-solar systems.
Currently, he is a Lecturer with the Department of
Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Regional En-
gineering College, Tiruchirappalli, India, where he has been since 1994.
Mr. Daniel was a British Council Study Fellow under Indo-UK REC’s Project
at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST),
Manchester, U.K., in 1997.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION, VOL. 19, NO. 2, JUNE 2004
N. AmmasaiGounden was born in Coimbatore,
TamilNadu, India, on October 5, 1955. He receievd
the B.E. degree from the College of Engineering,
Guindy, India (Madras University) in 1978, and
the M.E. degree in control systems from P.S.G.
College of Technology, Coimbatore, India (Madras
University) in 1980. He received the Ph.D. degree
from the Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli,
India, in 1990.
Currently, he is a Professor with the Department
of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Regional
Engineering College, Tiruchirappalli, where he has been since 1982. His areas of
interest are power-electronic applications in renewable energy systems, hybrid
renewable systems, and isolated wind-electric generators.