Optimal Sizing of Renewable Energy Resources in a Microgrid for a Distributed Generation System

In most of the rural and isolated regions the grid supply is not available or continuous supply is rarely available. The renewable energy resources as distributed generators can be utilized for such requirements. The appropriate selection of renewable energy resources is of utmost importance for designing the microgrid in distributed power generation systems. The paper focuses on the problem of optimal sizing and minimization of investment cost. The proposed method of optimal sizing is a two constraint based linear programming (TCLP) technique. This technique considers the variability of solar irradiance, temperature and wind of the selected site. The proposed technique is designed in two stages firstly, optimal sizing of solar photovoltaic (SPV) system and wind energy generation system (WEGS), secondly, sizing of the battery energy storage system (BESS) for complete off grid system to meet the load demands. The proposed technique aims to prevent over and under sizing by analyzing the load demand profile according to the time of usage (TOU). The assessment of loads into four different categories helped in generation of load demand profile for a year. Results of the optimization problem have demonstrated that the optimally designed distributed generation system has a payback period of 4.88 years.