Modeling and optimization of a renewable power system

The power provided by solar or wind power is only available on an intermittent basis. This paper presented an approach to better match electricity supply to demand. It involved using electricity to create hydrogen via electrolysis when supply exceeds demand, and then generating electricity using a hydrogen fuel cell when demand exceeds the renewable energy supply. The purpose of the approach was to optimize the complete energy storage and recovery system, including the major sub-systems for the electrolyzer, hydrogen storage, and fuel cell. The system was evaluated using representative duty cycles for input wind speed or solar load. The availability of power was maximized against a representative demand cycle. The dynamic system simulation package MSC Easy5a was used to create response surface models as an input to the optimization process. The simulations were performed in an effort to maximize system efficiency and minimize cost