A Hybrid PV-Battery/Supercapacitor System and a Basic Active Power Control Proposal in MATLAB/Simulink

Abstract

An increase in the integration of renewable energy generation worldwide brings along some challenges to energy systems. Energy systems need to be regulated following grid codes for the grid stability and efficiency of renewable energy utilization. The main problems that are on the active side can be caused by excessive power generation or unregulated energy generation, such as a partially cloudy day. The main problems on the load side can be caused by excessive or unregulated energy demand or nonlinear loads which deteriorate the power quality of the energy networks. This study focuses on the energy generation side as active power control. In this study, the benefits of supercapacitor use in a hybrid storage system are investigated and analyzed. A hybrid system in which photovoltaic powered and stored the energy in battery and supercapacitor are proposed in this study to solving the main problems in two sides. The supercapacitor model, photovoltaic model, and the proposed hybrid system are designed in MATLAB/Simulink for 6 kW rated power. Also, a new topology is proposed to increase the energy storage with supercapacitors for a passive storage system. The instantaneous peak currents energy is aimed to store in supercapacitors temporarily with this topology. The main advantages of this topology are voltage stabilization in two sides by the supercapacitors and a limitation of the battery load, which directly results in longer battery life and decreases the system cost. The simulation results are investigated for this topology.