Design a Community-Owned Smart, Standalone Hybrid Renewable Energy System with Power Sharing Option Between Neighbours

Renewable energy sources are available without restrictions and are environmentally friendly. Due to their availability and topologic advantages, these renewable energy sources are believed as favourable power sources. Hybrid systems use more than two renewable energy sources, enhancing system efficiency and reliability. On the other hand, this system helps reduce the energy storage needs for stand-alone applications. With the advancements in renewable energy technologies, hybrid systems are becoming increasingly popular in isolated area power generation applications. Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRES), including solar and wind energy, are an environmentally friendly, economical alternative for catering to the power needs of rural areas compared to traditional sources. However, these systems have certain drawbacks, as they are less reliable, and the power produced depends on climatic conditions. Proper sizing, battery backup, and a diesel generator as a standby source increase the reliability of hybrid systems. This project aims to design a community-owned, innovative, standalone hybrid renewable energy system with a power-sharing option between neighbours, comprised of PV panels, a wind turbine, battery storage, dump load, and a standby diesel generator. The PV, wind generator, and battery sizes are determined using interactive methods (Deficiency of Power Supply Probability DPSP) and analytical methods (HOMER, iHOGA). Smart controllers have been designed using artificial intelligence and MATLAB programming to achieve the overall control action. The recommended HRES would be able to cater to the load demand of the targeted community with minimum interruption throughout the year without grid power. Community power projects are now increasingly popular in Australia. One exciting application of standalone HRES is “community power.” This type of system enables a community to cater to their power requirements without being dependent on grid power. It helps to reduce their greenhouse gas emission while providing control of the power generation in the hands of the locals. This also increases the job opportunities for the residents and strengthens the local economy. Renewable energy generation projects have been undertaken in Australia involving communities. However, they are primarily grid-connected systems. Not much work has been done so far here on standalone systems. This research can be presented as a guideline for this kind of project as it includes the most popular renewable techniques and steps to be undertaken for developing this kind of system.