Off-grid nonrenewable based hybrid systems: Architecture, design, demonstration, and study cases

Technological development and the world economy are currently based on hydrocarbons, which is why research in the field of nonrenewable off-grid hybrid systems is promoted. This chapter presents the operation of various nonrenewable autonomous hybrid systems and presents a feasibility analysis. Hybrid systems consist of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell: diesel generators (PEMFC-DG) and energy storage systems (ESS) using lead-acid batteries, lithium-ion batteries, and supercapacitors. A novel control system is proposed in HOMER Pro. To determine the optimal size of the system, minimizing the operation of the diesel generator. The main parameters analyzed are net current cost (NPC), cost of energy (COE), hydrogen consumption, and penetration of the diesel generator. The new energy control is compared to DG operation without an energy storage system. The results show that lithium-ion batteries cause the minimum DG operability and the lowest energy cost compared to other energy storage systems.