| This dissertation investigates the performance analysis of a Stand Alone Wind/Photovoltaic Hybrid System that is capable of generating electrical power from the alternative energy sources produced by wind and solar radiation. It consists of a Bergey BWC 1500 wind turbine, 1.5 kW permanent magnet brushless, synchronous generator, 2.5 kW photovoltaic array, a battery bank which consisting of 24 lead acid batteries of 305 Ah each and connected in a series-parallel combination to form a 24 V DC bus, controlled rectifier, maximum power point tracker, static inverter, and an output transformer. The system delivers power to a typical New England house whose load characteristic was determined by a utility company.; I will present the methodology for the optimum selection of this type of photovoltaic module for a specific site. In the study for selection of the best photovoltaic module, I used 30 years long term data for Logan Airport Boston. The data used for the studied site were recorded for hour in a day. The selection of the module for the hybrid wind/photovoltaic system I determined by a comparison of capacity factors of the five different types of photovoltaic modules. Considering that price per installed peak watt is identical for different modules, the cost analysis was not taken into account. A module with the maximum capacity factor is optimal and recommended for the specific site applications.; The size of the photovoltaic array for a given load characteristic and a specific wind turbine was calculated based on the statistical method and the energy concept.; I investigated what the optimal mix of the number of photovoltaic modules and the number of batteries would be for the system. To achieve a certain reliability level for the system's power delivery as required by the load and to deduce for the actual price of photovoltaic modules and batteries, I calculated the number of both the batteries and the photovoltaics necessary.; I also analyzed the dynamic performance of the system under wind gust and a moving cloud conditions including mathematical modeling of the components of the system. The analysis is based on the d-q model technique.; A data acquisition system was designed to record an actual system variables analyzed and compared with theoretical data.; As well I investigated the performance of the system during steady state conditions. The calculated power generated from both sources, i.e., wind and solar radiation were compared to the actual data recorded by a data acquisition system.; Lastly, I include the practical realization of a sinusoidal, stand alone inverter with control based on the Pulse Width Modulation technique. |
