IEEE Access (Jan 2024)
Autonomous Energy Controller and Econometric Analysis of an Energy Reserve Generating Network
Abstract
Alternative power generators form the basis for reliability, affordability, and sustainability in accessing rural and urban communities from developing or developed countries (with minimized emission of gases) in connection and isolation from the utility grid system have obviously illustrated important roles in power system. Econometrics and energy assessment of a hybrid renewable energy-power reserve network were analyzed with grid connection in Ko-Kut Island (Thailand) from this paper. Hybrid sources (solar photovoltaic energy, utility grid, biomass resources fueling biogas energy system, wind energy turbine and high energy flywheel) and a unified power reserve unit (vanadium redox flow: VRXFB, sodium sulphur: NaS, Li+: lithium-ion, ZnBr: zinc bromide flow batteries) were designed to effectively manage the energy flow linking the unified generators and the needed energy from the island. A combined dispatch energy controller was used as an interactive controller system across the generators, batteries, and load to enhance the unified energy system’s flexible operation into four different configurations in order to investigate their energy cost, net present service cost, energy sales/energy purchases from the utility grid, and estimated operational cost performances, respectively. In addition, an optimized power management control algorithm was designed with microgrid power analysis software (HOMER) to determine the most economic and efficient generating system architecture. It was observed from the optimization result that the architecture of VRXFB energy system had the least energy tariff ( ${\$}$ 0.1013/kWh), net current ( ${\$}$ 2,502,038) and operational ( ${\$}$ 58,830.93) service costs with the highest renewable energy fractional contribution of 75.0 % to the grid network, technically.
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