Reliability well-being assessment of PV-wind hybrid system using Monte Carlo simulation

The utilization of renewable energy has gained momentum nowadays due to the rapid decrease in fossil fuel resources and increased environmental concerns. But the amount of power available from these natural resources will vary continuously from place to place and time to time depending on its geographical locations, terrains, altitude, climatic conditions. So the energy supplied from these sources will be fluctuating in nature. Hybrid energy systems are excellent options for supplying small isolated power systems (SIPS) and remote villages where conventional grid cannot reach due to technical and economical reasons. This paper will discuss various components of hybrid energy systems involving photo voltaic (PV) and wind energy conversion systems (WECS) and their modeling for reliability studies. The reliability of supply is the major concern in the hybrid energy systems. Several methods for reliability evaluation have been reported in this paper. The traditional methods for evaluating reliability evaluation like deterministic and probabilistic techniques have their own disadvantages. An improved method known as system well-being analysis which is the combination of deterministic and probabilistic techniques has been applied for evaluation of reliability of the system applying Monte Carlo simulation technique. The reliability and cost implications of PV and wind energy utilization in hybrid energy systems designed for Indian conditions are discussed in this context. The effect of different energy types, effect of changes in peak load and renewable capacity on system health and fuel savings are also studied in this paper.