A Hybrid Renewable Energy (Solar/Wind/Biomass) and Multi-Use System Principles, Types, and Applications: A Review

Abstract

Benefiting from renewable energy (RE) sources is an economic and environmental necessity, given that the use of traditional energy sources is one of the most important factors affecting the economy and the environment. This paper aims to provide a review of hybrid renewable energy systems (HRESs) in terms of principles, types, sources, hybridization methods, cost of unit energy produced, and applications. The works were reviewed for HRESs with and without energy storage. The results can be summarized as follows: It is noted from the studies that Greenius, SAM, HOMER, and TRNSYS were often used in simulating, designing, evaluating, and optimizing these systems. There is often a difference in the economic and environmental indicators between different projects due to the type, fraction, price of energy and components, and efficiency of RE sources. All the studies showed that there are environmental benefits from hybrid systems, not only compared with conventional energy systems but also with RE systems with a single source. All of the related studies showed that hybridization between biomass and concentrated solar energy (biomass-CSP) presents a promising option for producing thermal energy and electricity, and this option also provides a solution for environmental problems related to waste biomass, such as municipal solid waste and wastewater and many industrial wastes, and provides high-quality fertilizers for agriculture. In addition, the multi-use of HRESs increases the economic and environmental benefits, which makes these systems more sustainable. There are various options available for hybridizing RE sources, particularly in the context of energy source integration. The selection of the appropriate options depends on several factors: system type, size of the system, type of energy needed, availability and prices of RE sources, technical knowledge, and experience in operation and maintenance. Several parameters play a crucial role in evaluating HRESs: system makeup and capacity, the fractions of RE in the overall energy produced, efficiency, investment, and energy costs, technical knowledge requirements, and environmental effects.