PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT OF A COMBINED SOLAR AND WIND SYSTEM

Abstract

This paper deals with a feasibility study of a solar and wind hybrid system for highway energy requirements. The paper describes the modeling of two emerging electricity systems based on renewable energy: photovoltaic and wind power. The study presents an evaluation of combined solar and wind system for highway energy requirements such as lighting, SOS, billboard, etc. A new model Savonius Wind Turbine was used for this study. The Savonius Turbine rotor has 3 stages with total of 2520 mm height; each stage has three plates of 1220 mm in diameter deviated at 120 degrees from each other. Savonius turbine performance tests were realized to determine its experimental parameters. Also, cost optimization and feasibility of the combined system were evaluated. According to the result of the optimization, optimum numbers for solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries are computed as 16, 5, and 278 respectively for one km highway illumination. The proposed system with the present prototype is to be tested in situ.