Grid expectations

There is an urgent need to transition from conventional energy sources to environmentally friendly, sustainable alternatives. Research in the International Journal of Power and Energy Conversion, discusses a control system that could be used to balance solar and wind power within a hybrid microgrid. The work could help address the issue of the inherent unpredictability of power generation involving solar and wind, so improving the overall reliability of a microgrid power supply.

A hybrid microgrid typically has a few core components: Renewable energy sources including solar panels, wind turbines, or sometimes hydroelectric systems. They also have conventional backup, such as a fossil fuel generators or other traditional energy source. They usually have batteries as an energy storage system. A control system integrates the different energy sources to give as steady and efficient an output as possible.

Such hybrid microgrids could be the power-generating mainstay of remote and off-grid areas of the world, such as remote villages or even mines and other industrial sites. They might also be employed in disaster zones when conventional power supply has been disrupted by extreme weather events, earthquakes and other geological activity, or due to military activity.

Guoku Wang of Harbin Institute of Petroleum, China, explains that while renewable energy is at the heart of global sustainability goals, it presents us with a major problem: instability. Solar power fluctuates with light conditions, while wind power is as changeable as the weather. A new approach that integrates photovoltaic (solar) power generation with direct-drive wind power within a smart system could automatically adjust its operations to accommodate changing environmental conditions.

The research demonstrates how the system can compensate for real-time changes in wind speed and sunlight. When wind conditions are unfavourable, the system responds by increasing the photovoltaic output to maintain a steady power supply. The adaptive balancing keeps power supply stable, mitigating for the dips and spikes that can be common with renewable energy supply.

Wang, G. (2024) ‘Architecture and research of photovoltaic hybrid microgrid control system combined with renewable energy’, Int. J. Power and Energy Conversion, Vol. 15, No. 5, pp.1–19.