Hybrid PV/Diesel Energy System for Power Generation System: A Review

The continuous decline of costs for renewable energy technology, together with the establishment of a mature alternative energy industry, has led to the increased utilisation of renewable energy sources for remote area power generation. Rural households in industrialised and less developed countries attach high value to a reliable supply of electricity even if its capacity is limited. The paper reviews the current state of the design and operation of stand-alone PV-diesel hybrid energy systems. It highlights future developments, which have the potential to increase the economic competitiveness of such systems and their acceptance by the user. In 2018 the number of people without access to electricity dropped to less than 1 billion. However, the difficulty of serving these people became higher, as the locations are in the most remote areas of the world. Brazil, for example, needs to bring electricity to around 1 million people who, in the vast majority, live within the Amazon region. In this way, hybrid energy systems (HESs) count as an attractive alternative for power generation, especially in remote areas. Therefore, this article analyzes a case study of a hybrid photovoltaic-diesel system installed in the Tapajo�s-Arapiuns Extractive Reserve in the Brazilian Amazon region. The studied plant is composed of a photovoltaic (PV) system, a lead-acid electrochemical battery bank, a diesel generator, and electro-electronic loads with highly variable demand throughout the year. The HOMER PRO software is used as the simulation tool. The results show that the load following dispatch strategy is the best option, with 85.6% of the load demand being supplied by PV energy and only 14.4% by the diesel generator set. As a result, the system is technically feasible to be replicated as a reliable energy source in other areas of the reserve to supply schools, public health places, and other community services.