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com

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Solar Energy 97 (2013) 460–473
www.elsevier.com/locate/solener

Optimization of an off-grid hybrid PV–Wind–Diesel system

with different battery technologies using genetic algorithm
Ghada Merei a,b,c,⇑, Cornelius Berger a, Dirk Uwe Sauer a,b,c
a
Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Group, Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives (ISEA), RWTH Aachen University,
Jaegerstrasse 17–19, 52066 Aachen, Germany
b
Juelich Aachen Research Alliance, JARA-Energy, Germany
c
Institute for Power Generation and Storage Systems (PGS), E.ON ERC, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

Received 14 February 2013; received in revised form 26 June 2013; accepted 15 August 2013
Available online 25 September 2013

Communicated by: Associate Editor Mukund R. Patel

Abstract

The power supply of remote sites and applications at minimal cost and with low emissions is an important issue when discussing
future energy concepts. This paper presents the modelling and optimization of a stand-alone hybrid energy system. The system consists
of photovoltaic (PV) panels and a wind turbine as renewable power sources, a diesel generator for back-up power and batteries to store
excess energy and to improve the system reliability.
For storage the technologies of lithium-ion, lead-acid, vanadium redox-flow or a combination thereof have been considered. To be
able to use different battery technologies at the same time, a battery management system (BMS) is needed. The presented BMS minimizes
operation costs while taking into account different battery operating points and ageing mechanisms.
The system is modelled and implemented in Matlab/Simulink. As input, the model uses data of the irradiation, wind speed and air
temperature measured in 10 min intervals for 10 years in Aachen – Germany. The load is assumed to be that of a rural UMTS/GSM base
station for telecommunication. For a time frame of 20 years, the performance is evaluated and the total costs have been determined.
Using a genetic algorithm, component sizes and settings have then been varied and the system re-evaluated to minimize the overall costs.
The optimization has been also done for a site in Quneitra – Syria which has very good solar radiation that allows for the comparison
between two countries, as the weather data in the two countries differ greatly (different weather data).
The optimization results show that using batteries in combination with the renewables is economical and ecological. However, the
best solution is to combine redox-flow batteries with the renewables. In addition, a power supply system consisting only of batteries,
PV and wind generators may be applicable as well to satisfy the power demand.
Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Off-grid hybrid system; Battery management system; Energy cost; Genetic algorithm

1. Introduction equipped with renewable power sources (renewables) such

Climate change, scarcity of resources and an ever
increasing demand for electricity require new approaches
towards powering electrical systems with less use of fossil
fuels. When properly designed, energy systems that are
as wind turbines or PV panels may not only have smaller
impact on the environment, they can also be less costly.
The present study describes a model for a hybrid energy
system with renewable energy sources for the energy system
of a base station as used for example in telecommunication

⇑ Corresponding author at: Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Group, Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives
(ISEA), RWTH Aachen University, Jaegerstrasse 17–19, 52066 Aachen, Germany. Tel.: +49 241 80 49308; fax: +49 241 80 92203.
E-mail address: batteries@isea.rwth-aachen.de (G. Merei).

0038-092X/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2013.08.016
 G. Merei et al. / Solar Energy 97 (2013) 460–473 461

Nomenclature

A area swept through by rotor (m2) O&M Operation and Maintenance (€)
AC alternating current PN-DG nominal power of diesel generator (kW)
AFcycle ageing factor during cycling Pown static energy consumption (W)
AFfloat ageing factor during float life PPV output power of PV generator (W)
ANF annuity factor PV photovoltaic
ASL Above Sea Level PWind output power of wind turbine (W)
Bi benefit of battery technology i (€) R gas constant (8.314 J/mol.K)
BMS Battery Management System RBS Radio Base Station
C(s) battery capacity (Ah) Rc/d cell resistance during charge (c) and discharge
cp aerodynamic efficiency (d)
D rotor diameter (m) SOC State of Charge (%)
DC direct current SOC(s) actual state of charge (%)
EN,i nominal energy of the battery (kWh) SOC0 initial state of charge (%)
F Faraday constant (96,485 As/mol) SOCavg average state of charge (%)
GA Genetic Algorithm SOCopt optimal state of charge (%)
GSM Global System for Mobile SOH State of Health (%)
h hub height (m) T temperature (°K)
ha hectare = 10,000 m2 ti time period (a)
HAWT Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine TRX transceiver
Hdif diffuse irradiation (W/m2) UMPP voltage at maximal power point (V)
Hdir direct irradiation (W/m2) UMTS universal mobile telecommunications system
Href reflected irradiation (W/m2) Uz cell voltage (V)
Ht total irradiation on tilted surface (W/m2) v(h) wind speed [m/s] at hub height h
Hu heat value of diesel fuel (kWh/kg) v10 wind speed at height 10 m
Ia converter’s current (A) Vv output voltage (V)
Ieff(s) effective current used to charge/discharge the z number of exchanged electrons
battery (A) zp number of parallel connected panels
Iz cell current (A) Zreal net interest rate (%)
Kannuity annuity costs (€) zs number of serial connected panels
Ki amount of cash flows (€) a terrain roughness coefficient
Ki-batt deterioration cost of battery technology i (€) b tilt angle (°)
Kspez,i specific battery cost (€/kWh) d azimuth angle (°)
Ksys total system cost (€) DSOC depth of cycling (%)
Lfloat float life Dt time interval (10 min)
Lopt optimum float lifetime at SOCopt g total efficiency of generator and power converter
m_ B fuel consumption of diesel generator (kg/h) combined
MPP Maximal Power Point gDG efficiency of diesel generator
n number of the year ql air density (kg/m3)
PN nominal power of generator (W)

networks. Base stations are often studied in the context of
standalone energy systems since they are frequently
installed at remote locations without easy access to the
energy grid. Another reason is that a large quantity of base
stations is typically needed to provide network coverage
and that their operation requires about 80% of the total
network power consumption (Arnold et al., 2010).
Various articles discuss less polluting and more cost-
effective ways to power base stations (Arnold et al., 2010;
Marsan et al., 2009). Some approaches have been imple-
mented. For example, in the US 295,000 grid-connected
base stations are planned to be equipped with renewable
power sources like PV by 2013, and further 40,000 base sta-
tions will operate entirely in an off-grid mode (http://
www.abiresearch.com, 2011).
Most studies about stand-alone energy systems for spe-
cific applications include a single storage technology (Bez-
malinovic et al., 2013; Borowy and Salameh, 1996;
Koutrolouis et al., 2006; Kusakana and Vermaak, 2013;
Lagorse et al., 2009; Nfah and Ngundam, 2012; Testa
et al., 2010), typically lead-acid batteries. However, with
recent progress in other battery technologies, also lith-
ium-ion and vanadium redox-flow batteries are viable
alternatives (Vetter et al., 2005; Kaer et al., 2011). Hence,
462 G. Merei et al. / Solar Energy 97 (2013) 460–473
all three battery technologies have been included in this
work. Furthermore, the energy management system does
not control only power flow among the system compo-
nents. It is also responsible for deciding at each time step
which battery technology has to be charged or discharged.
This paper presents a tool which has been developed to
be used for meeting the load demand in any region in the
world due to the adaptability of the input data. It optimises
systems with different combinations of components and
finds the optimal sizing and operation conditions. The
main purpose is to supply the application with electrical
power at the cheapest energy price.
2. System topology and components
The system consists of a load profile representing a base
station, PV panels and a wind turbine as renewable power
sources, batteries for storing excess energy and to improve
the system reliability, as well as a diesel generator for
backup power. The PV panels, the wind turbine and the
three battery types are connected to a 48 V DC bus. A die-
sel generator and the load are connected to a 230 V AC
bus. The buses are joined through a bidirectional power
converter. In order to use lithium-ion, lead-acid, vanadium
redox-flow batteries or a combination of them simulta-
neously, a battery management system (BMS) is needed.
It regulates the power flow by assessing the current state
of health (SOH) and the state of charge (SOC) of the bat-
teries and the diesel generator (Fig. 1).
The system model has been implemented with Matlab/
Simulink. Taking into account different battery operating
points and ageing mechanisms, the BMS chooses the cost
optimal storage technology. It also oversees the power
flows within the whole system and triggers the diesel
generator.
The load is assumed to be that of a rural UMTS/GSM
base station for telecommunication.
As further input, the model uses data of the insolation,
wind speeds and air temperature for Aachen-Hörn, Ger-
Fig. 1. System components and topology.
many (50°470 North, 6°040 East, 222 m ASL) and for
Quneitra – Syria (33°080 North, 35°490 East, 60 m ASL).
Using a 10 min interval, the system has been simulated
for a time frame of 20 years. Then, system performance
has been analysed and total operation cost have been com-
puted. Using a genetic algorithm, key parameters of the
components and the system settings are then varied and
the simulation has been repeated, with the goal to minimize
overall cost.
At each point in time, the load needs to be covered and
therefore the equilibrium of generated, stored and used
power needs to be satisfied
P PV þ P Wind þ P Batt þ P DG P P Load þ P loss ð1Þ
PPV is the output power of PV generator, PWind the output
power of wind turbine, PDG the output power of diesel gen-
erator, PBatt the input or output power of the batteries,
PLoad the load demand, and Ploss is the aggregated system
power losses.
This is achieved by redirecting power from or into the
batteries using the control strategy implemented in the
BMS. Furthermore the constraints for the model compo-
nents need to be fulfilled. In the following sections, we dis-
cuss the components and the input and output data of the
model separately.
2.1. Input data
The input for the model uses a realistic load profile that
the system needs to cover, as well as real environmental
data to determine the contribution of the renewables
towards the total power supply.
The model uses the load profile provided by E-Plus
GmbH & Co. KG, Potsdam for a GSM/UMTS base sta-
tion (macro cell) with air conditioning (Menzel, 2010).
The load is almost constant at 2750 W with a maximal
deviation of 6%, see Fig. 2.
The load profile has been provided for a time of 1 month
in 15-min intervals. From this, a profile with 10 min inter-
vals has been derived. In such systems less than 5% of the
 G. Merei et al. / Solar Energy 97 (2013) 460–473 463

Fig. 2. Profile of the effective power of a Flexi GSM 9 TRX & Ultra Macro 3TRX and Ericsson RBS 3106 combined GSM/UMTS base station.

0.2 0.3

Relative frequency [-]

0.25

Relative frequency [-]

Relative frequency [-]

0.6
0.15
0.2

0.4 0.15
0.1

0.1
0.2 0.05
0.05

0 0 0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Global radiation [W/m2] Wind speed [m/s] Temperature [°C]

Fig. 3. Relative frequency of the irradiation, wind speed and air temperature in Aachen.

0.2 0.25
Relative frequency [-]

Relative frequency [-]

Relative frequency [-]

0.6 0.2
0.15

0.15
0.4
0.1
0.1
0.2 0.05
0.05

0 0 0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Global radiation [W/m2] Wind speed [m/s] Temperature [°C]

Fig. 4. Relative frequency of the irradiation, wind speed and air temperature in Quneitra.

power is consumed by the AC–DC converter, where the solar radiation data have been obtained from the website
power consumption of the feeder will not be regarded. SoDa for the year 2005 (soda-is.com, 2010). The following
Power supply and battery backup needs between 10% figures illustrate the relative frequency of the weather data
and 15% of the power depending on the employed (solar irradiation, wind speed and air temperature) in both
technology. Moreover the cooling system could consume sites (see Figs. 3 and 4).
between zero and 40% according to the site (Arnold
et al., 2010). 2.2. The photovoltaic panels
It is clear that the base station in Syria will have a higher
demand for cooling compared with the Germany location. The total irradiation on a tilted surface is composed
Nevertheless it was decided to use the same profile for both from the direct, the diffuse and the reflected part of the
locations, because it makes it easier to see how the tool insolation. The actual insolation depends on the diurnal
designs for the same load profile different systems based and annual path of the sun (Eq. (2)). The three parts have
on different weather conditions. been computed from the measured data of the global and
The values used for air temperature and the solar irradi- direct insolation taking into account the surface tilt angle.
ation (direct and global) as well as the wind speeds have
H t ðb; dÞ ¼ H dir ðb; dÞ þ H ref ðb; dÞ ð2Þ
been measured over 10 years in 10-min intervals for
Aachen-Hörn, Germany and have been provided by the Ht is the total irradiation on tilted surface, Hdir, Hdif, Href
Geographical Institute of RWTH. The temperatures range the direct, diffuse and reflected irradiation, and b, d are the
between 15 °C and 35 °C. The maximal wind speed is tilt and azimuth angle.
18 m/s. It is assumed that the PV generator always operates in
For the site in Syria (Quneitra) the wind speed and tem- maximum power point (MPP) condition. The module data
perature data was provided by the faculty of Mechanical has been taken from the data sheet of a Shell SM55 PV
and Electrical Engineering in Damascus University. The module.
464 G. Merei et al. / Solar Energy 97 (2013) 460–473

Fig. 5. Typical performance of the solar module at various level of irradiance and at various temperatures.

Using the temperature dependent MPP algorithms and

equations given by Sauer (1994) the current and the voltage
of one PV module relative to the solar radiation and tem-
perature have been determined. Other factors such as air
density, dust have been neglected. Then the total power
output has been computed according to
P MMP ¼ zP  I MPP ðT ; H t  Z S  U MPP ðT ; H t ÞÞ
PMPP is the power at the maximal power point (W), IMPP
the current at the maximal power point, temperature
dependent (A), UMPP the voltage at the maximal power
point, temperature dependent (V), zp the number of paral-
lel connected panels, and zs is the number of serial con-
nected panels.
Therefore the total power output is essentially depen-
dent on key optimization parameters module area (peak
power) and the tilt angle as well as on the input data of
the insolation. The panels have assumed a lifetime of
20 years, so they do not need to be replaced within the sim-
ulated time frame.
The typical performance of the modelled solar module
at different irradiations and different temperatures are
shown in Fig. 5.
2.3. The wind turbine
As a second renewable power source, a micro Horizon-
tal-Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT) has been considered.
Wind power has been chosen to complement the PV gener-
ator for times when there is no insolation.
According to power transformation laws, wind energy is
proportional to the cube of the wind speed and also
depends on the swept area of the rotor.
1 3
P Wind ¼  cp  ql  A  mðhÞ  gðP =P N Þ
2 turbine are the rotor diameter, the hub height and the nom-
cp is the aerodynamic efficiency = 0.3, . . . , 0.5, ql the air
density = 1.26 kg/m3, A the area swept through by rotor
(m2), v(h) the wind speed (m/s) at hub height h, g the total
efficiency of generator and power converter combined, and
PN is the nominal power of generator.
The experimental wind speeds used as input data for the
model were measured at 10 m above ground. To obtain
ð3Þ
Fig. 6. Typical wind turbine power output with steady wind speed.
wind speeds at any height h, the relationship given in Eq.
(5) has been used. Here the value 0.3 has been considered
for a site in a small town with trees. Suitable values for
other sites can be found in Kleemann and Meliß (1993):
a
mðhÞ ¼ m10  ðh=10Þ ð5Þ
H is the hub height, v10 the wind speed at height 10 m, a is
the terrain roughness coefficient (0.3), and see Kleemann
and Meliß (1993).
The wind turbine will only generate power when the
actual wind speed exceeds a cut-in velocity of 3 m/s. The
output power is then only limited by the nominal power
of the wind generator and that of the power converter.
At wind speeds higher than the cut-out speed of 25 m/s,
the power output is set to zero by stopping the electrical
power to the 48 V DC. Fig. 6 shows the cut-in and cut-
out speeds in the typical wind power curve for the wind tur-
bine .
ð4Þ The parameters for optimizing the settings of the wind
inal power of generator and converter.
2.4. The diesel generator
A diesel generator has been used in this simulation as a
backup solution. It is utilised when the power output of PV
generator and wind turbine are both insufficient and when
 G. Merei et al. / Solar Energy 97 (2013) 460–473
Fig. 7. Efficiency and specific fuel consumption of diesel generator.
all batteries are discharged. The generator’s efficiency
depends strongly on the operation mode. All processes
inside the generator are optimised for full load. Here, the
maximum efficiency is 30% and the internal combustion
is without residue. If the generator needs to deliver less
than the rated power incomplete combustion can occur
and efficiency decreases. Fuel consumption is calculated
as follows:
m_ B ¼ P DG =ðgðP DG =P N -DG Þ  H u Þ
m_ B is the fuel consumption (kg/h), PN-DG the nominal
power (kW), gDG the efficiency (0.1, . . . , 0.3) (Degner,
1998), and Hu is the heat value (kWh/kg).
The efficiency curve of diesel generator (Silva et al.,
2010) and the specific fuel consumption at different loads
are illustrated in Fig. 7.
In addition to fuel consumption, the state of health
(SOH) of the generator was determined. For this, a total
of 20,000 operational hours before the generator needs to
be replaced has been assumed. Starting the generator
causes greater degradation than normal operation. Hence,
for every start-stop cycle one additional hour has been sub-
tracted from the hour contingent.
The main parameter of the diesel generator is the nom-
inal power. Since the diesel generator has been primarily
used as backup power supply, the nominal power of the
diesel generator needs to be at least the maximum load
required by the system. However, the nominal power can
also be larger in order to charge the batteries using the gen-
erator. The extend to which the batteries are charged by the
diesel generator is determined by the part load factor. This
factor is defined as the minimal power output as a percent-
age of the nominal power. It guarantees the operation of
the generator above a minimum tolerated efficiency. Hence,
along with the nominal power the part load factor can be
optimised for the system. Also, to prevent frequent start-
stop-cycles, a minimum runtime of the generator has been
defined and optimised.
2.5. Battery models
Three battery technologies have been used in this simu-
lation simultaneously: lead-acid, lithium-ion, and vana-
dium redox-flow technologies. The battery voltage
465
depends strongly on the battery chemistry, the state of
charge (SOC), the temperature and the state of health
(SOH). Therefore for each battery an independent model
has been implemented. The battery models are discussed
in Sections 2.5.1–2.5.3 below. However, in all models, the
state of charge (SOC) of the battery at time t has been com-
puted by the Coulomb counting method
Z
ð6Þ SOCðtÞ ¼ SOC0 þ ðI eff ðsÞ=CðsÞÞds ð7Þ
SOC0 the initial state of charge (%), C(s) the battery capac-
ity (Ah), SOC(s) the actual state of charge (%), and Ieff(s) is
the effective current used to charge/discharge the battery
(A).
Here, the effective current has been obtained from divid-
ing the battery power by the voltage and taking into
account electrical losses and additional losses due to gas-
sing (lead-acid) or pumping losses (redox-flow).
In general, the performance of a battery depends on its
nominal capacity and on operational factors such as SOC
limits and charge rates. Therefore, these are the optimiza-
tion parameters for each battery. For lead acid and lith-
ium-ion technology the battery power has been directly
correlated with the capacity. However, in case of the redox-
flow battery the nominal power can be optimised indepen-
dently from the capacity (see Section 2.5.3). Additionally
the performance of the battery is affected by its state of
health. The state of health has been computed based on
specific ageing data, the temperature and the actual usage
of the battery (see Section 2.6).
2.5.1. The lead-acid battery
The lead-acid battery is the oldest electrochemical stor-
age system that is technically relevant. Lead-acid batteries
are very well understood, and their low cost renders them
attractive for many applications (Dürr et al., 2006; George-
scu et al., 2010; Perrin et al., 2005; Rydh, 1999; Sauer,
2003). However, lead-acid batteries are considered to have
low energy density, poor efficiency and a relatively short
life span.
In this work, the battery model proposed by Schiffer
et al. (2007) was chosen. It includes the main ageing effects
that occur in lead-acid batteries: sulfation, acid stratifica-
466 G. Merei et al. / Solar Energy 97 (2013) 460–473
Fig. 8. Work flow of the used model for a lead-acid battery.
tion and corrosion. The work flow is illustrated in Fig. 8
below.
The specific parameters used for the model settings are
based on actual measurements and product information
of six cell lead-acid battery OGi bloc 12V60 (batteries with
flat grid plates) by HOPPECKE Carl Zoellner & Sohn
GmbH, Brilon.
2.5.2. The lithium-ion battery
Lithium-ion systems feature high energy density, high
cell voltage, low electrical losses and a life time of up to
20 years. They are therefore currently used in many mobile
applications, where weight is an issue. However, lithium-
ion technology is costly and requires elaborate electrical
and thermal management system due to safety issues (Mag-
nor et al., 2009; Ozawa, 2009; Sen and Kar, 2009; Vetter
et al., 2005).
Our implementation of the battery model is based on
measured impedance spectra of a VL45E lithium ion bat-
tery by SAFT S.A., Bagnolet, France. ZARC elements rep-
resent the non-linear behaviour of the battery (Fig. 9)
(Buller, 2002; Buller et al., 2005).
The voltage of one cell of the lithium-ion battery is com-
puted as a function of the SOC, the electric current and the
battery temperature.
Buller’s model does not take into account ageing effects.
Therefore, an ageing model was developed and added in
this study on top of the original model. It updates the
parameters battery capacity and cell resistance and then
derives an ageing factor that is used to determine the time
for replacement of the battery.
Fig. 9. Equivalent circuit for the lithium-ion battery.
2.5.3. Vanadium redox-flow battery
The vanadium redox-flow battery was first reported by
Skyllas-Kazacos et al. (1986). Two solutions of vanadium
species of different oxidation states are pumped through a
stack, thereby releasing or storing electrochemical energy.
Compared to other chemical storage technologies it has
very long life span, high storage efficiency and low cost.
This kind of battery also allows for independent design
of battery power and capacity. Despite its rather low
energy density and charge/discharge efficiency as well as
its narrow temperature window, it offers a promising alter-
native to the common lead-acid technology in stationary
applications (Kaer et al., 2011; Rydh, 1999).
The open circuit voltage is calculated with the SOC:
U OCV ¼ 1:4 V þ 2ðRT =zF Þ lnðSOC=ð1  SOCÞÞ ð8Þ
UOCV is the open circuit voltage (V), R the gas constant
(8.314 J/mol K), T the temperature (°K), z the number of
electrons exchanged in the electrochemical reaction, F the
Faraday constant (96,485 As/mol), and SOC is the state
of charge (%).
The actual cell voltage is obtained taking into account
ohmic losses, which are proportional to the current:
U z ¼ U OCV  Rc=d  I z ð9Þ
Iz is the cell current (A) and Rc/d is the cell resistance during
charge (c) and discharge (d).
R is taken as 0.037 X and 0.039 X for charge and dis-
charge respectively (Blanc and Rufer, 2008; Blanc, 2009).
Losses due to over potentials are disregarded. For a 48 V
battery 36 cells need to be connected in series.
The efficiency of the battery is less than 80%, mainly
because of pumping losses.
In addition to its impact on battery efficiency, the flow
rate has a large effect on battery temperature and therefore
on battery ageing. Battery ageing will lead to irreversible
capacity loss and an increase of internal resistance.
2.6. Calculating the State of Health (SOH)
Battery ageing depends on two main processes: cyclic
ageing and float ageing. Cyclic ageing takes place, while
the battery is being charged or discharged. In this case ther-
mal and mechanical stresses lead to a deterioration of bat-
tery properties. To estimate the effect of cycling aging
information about the average SOC and its amplitude is
needed.
In case of not using a battery the properties may still
deteriorate due to chemical processes inside the battery.
 G. Merei et al. / Solar Energy 97 (2013) 460–473
These effects occur continuously and affect the process of
float ageing. Float ageing generally depends on the state
of charge (SOC) and the temperature a battery is stored at.
In this study ageing is determined based on experimental
data for each battery technology. At different SOC levels
and temperatures float ageing tests have been conducted.
Also, batteries have been repeatedly charged and dis-
charged at different average SOC levels and SOC ampli-
tudes (SOCavg, DSOC) until failure (Wöhler-Matrices). In
the model for both processes an ageing factor (AF) is
introduced
AFfloat ¼ Dt=Lfloat ðSOC;T Þ
AFcycle ¼ 1=zcycle ðSOCavg ; DSOC;T Þ
Dt is the time interval (10 min), Lfloat the float life, and zcycle
is the number of possible cycles according to ageing data.
At each instance one of the ageing processes dominates.
Hence the actual state of health (SOH) can be calculated as:
Z
SOHðtÞ ¼ 1  maxðAFfloat ðsÞ; AFcycle ðsÞÞds
SOH = 0 corresponds to a capacity fade of 20% and a dou-
bled internal resistance. The battery then needs to be
replaced.
2.7. Converter model
In this system three converters were considered. A DC–
DC buck-converter with MPP tracker for the PV generator
and an AC–DC converter for the wind turbine were mod-
elled to estimate power losses. The power losses during
converting can be classified into static and dynamic losses
and can be calculated to Sauer (2003):
P loss-conv ¼ P own þ V v  I a þ Rv  I 2a
Ploss-conv is the power losses of converter (W), Pown the sta-
tic energy consumption (W), Vv the output voltage (V), Rv
the ohmic resistance (X), and Ia is the converter current
(A).
Both converters can be optimised by varying the nomi-
nal power, which affects the efficiency and cost.
Also, a central bidirectional AC–DC converter that is
able to transfer power in both directions has been mod-
elled. It provides power at voltages of 48 V (DC) and
230 V (AC) respectively. As mentioned above, the PV pan-
els, the wind turbine and the three battery types are con-
nected to a 48 V DC bus. A diesel generator and the load
are connected to a 230 V AC bus.
However, the nominal power of the central power con-
verter needs to be at least as big as the maximum power
demand and is therefore no optimization variable.
3. Management system
The management system contains the control strategy
for regulating the power flow. The cases of power shortage
467
(battery discharge) and power excess (battery charge) have
been analysed separately. In the case of power shortage the
management system chooses the battery with the least cost
to provide the demanded power. Battery cost has been
determined with respect to cyclic battery ageing (cost of
deterioration).
K i-batt ¼ EN ;i  K spez;i =zcycle ðSOCavg ; DSOCÞ ð14Þ
Ki-batt is the deterioration cost of battery technology i (€),
Kspez,i the specific battery cost (€/kWh), EN,i the nominal
energy of the battery (kWh), SOCavg the average state of
charge (%), and DSOC is the cycling depth.
ð10Þ
Assuming that every charged battery (SOC > SOCmin) is
ð11Þ able to provide enough power to meet the load, only the
one with the least operating cost is chosen. Larger batteries
cause greater cost. However, in a larger battery the same
current causes a smaller SOC amplitude and hence a smal-
ler impact on battery ageing.
In the case of power excess (due to the diesel generator
or the renewables) one or more batteries will be charged.
ð12Þ
The decision, which battery is charged, is made by estimat-
ing the benefit that a recharge offers. This benefit is deter-
mined on the basis of float life estimation. Each battery
has a technology specific optimum state of charge, at which
the maximum float lifetime Lopt is reached. For example a
lead-acid battery will achieve a long float life when stored
fully charged, whereas the optimum float lifetime of lith-
ium-ion battery will be reached at an SOC of around
20%. The benefit, a battery provides, depends therefore
on its nominal energy and the current SOC.
Bi ¼ EN ;i  K spez;i  ððLopt;i  Lfloat ðSOCÞÞ=Lopt;i Þ ð15Þ
Bi is the benefit of battery technology i (€) and Lopt,i is the
optimum float lifetime at SOCopt.
Due to limited charge acceptance rates it may be neces-
ð13Þ
sary to charge two or more batteries at the same time.
Hence, the battery with the largest benefit will be charged
first with the maximum possible charge rate. If there is still
excess power available, the next battery in line will be
charged and so forth. The recharge beyond the optimum
SOC does not normally occur. Further charging will only
take place, if all batteries have already reached their opti-
mum SOC and there is still excess power.
Especially for the lithium-ion battery with its low opti-
mum SOC the algorithm would rarely lead to a charge over
SOC = 20%. Therefore, to actually use a larger share of the
capacity an optimisable virtual state of charge is intro-
duced, which signals the system that the state of charge is
still below the optimum. According to this, regular
recharges above the optimum SOC are possible without
changing the general algorithm.
For all batteries the state of health is subdivided into the
signals float ageing and cyclic ageing. If for one battery the
accumulated factor for float ageing dominates over the fac-
tor for cyclic ageing, this particular battery will be favoured
for charging and discharging. This makes sure that there
will be a guaranteed minimum usage of each battery.
468 G. Merei et al. / Solar Energy 97 (2013) 460–473

The management system also provides maintenance for
the lead-acid battery. To reduce the effects of sulfation and
acid stratification there will be an additional benefit in a
defined interval (e.g. 30 days) to fully charge the battery.
4. Cost
Net present value method was used to calculate the cost
of the entire system. This method allows for comparison of
cash flows, which are carried out at different points in time.
These cash flows can be the capital (investment) cost of the
components and the cost of operation and maintenance
(O&M) as well as the cost of possible replacements. The
total cost equals the accumulated present values of
payments:
X lowing equation:
K sys ¼ K i ð1 þ Z real ðti ÞÞti ð16Þ
Ki is the amount of cash flows, Zreal the net interest rate
(5%), and ti is the time period.
Annuity method has been also used to calculate the
energy cost. In this method the yearly amount of the pay-
ment was calculated depending on the net value of the
investment. The difference between the net present value
and the annuity method is the annuity factor which
depends on the interest rate and the time period (n).
Eq. (17) gives the relationship between the two methods:
K annuity ¼ K sys  ANF
ANF is the annuity factor; it can be calculated accord-
ing to the following equation:
n n
ANF ¼ Z real  ð1 þ Z real Þ =ðð1 þ Z real Þ  1Þ
In the last equation, this factor is constant and therefore
the used calculation method does not play any role in the
optimization.
The assumptions for the cost functions are summarised
in Table 1. In order to achieve realistic results, as much
price information as possible was accumulated. The cost
functions have been derived from the collected data. The
cost of the tower of the wind turbine was computed assum-
ing the following functions of the hub-height. Each func-
tion has been defined for a certain nominal power range
of the turbine.
0 < P wind 6 6 kW f ðhÞ ¼ 8:609h2  42:56h þ 2551 ð19Þ
ð0:04492hÞ
6 kW < P wind 6 15kW f ðhÞ ¼ 3724  e ð20Þ
15 kW < P wind 6 30 kW f ðhÞ ¼ 6543  eð0:02789hÞ ð21Þ
The cost of the rotor (the blades) has been calculated as
a function of the diameter in meters and is given in the fol-
f ðDÞ ¼ 44:03D2 þ 140:5D þ 72:91 ð22Þ
For the diesel consumption a relatively high price of
1.6 €/l is assumed for Germany. This price was derived
from a current 1.25 €/l price for the fuel and 0.35 €/l for
transportation and logistics.
5. Optimization
The concept of genetic algorithms (GAs) was first devel-
oped in the mid-seventies. It is a search method that imi-
ð17Þ tates the principles of biological evolution (Renner and
Ekárt, 2003). Genetic algorithm can be used to efficiently
optimise multi-dimensional, non-linear engineering prob-
lems as shown in Badejani et al. (2007), Shahirinia et al.
ð18Þ (2005), and Suryoatmojo et al. (2008). This is especially
true for the case described here. With various constraints
and no continuous derivatives this method provides an
easy way to come up with quick and feasible solutions.

Table 1
Cost assumptions of the optimised system.
Component Investment Annually cost (O&M) Replacement cost
PV system
1600 €/kWp 2% –
350 €/ha (lease)
DC–DC converter 200 €/kW 1% –
Wind turbine
Blades f(H) 2% –
Generator 2000 €/kW –
Tower f(H) –
AC–DC converter 200 €/kW 1% –
Batteries
Lead-acid 150 €/kWh 1% 80%
Lithium-ion 750 €/kWh 1% 80%
Redoxflow 150 €/kWh, 2000 €/kW (Dennenmoser, 2012) 2% 80% (stack only)
Diesel generator 1000 €/kW 2% 90%
Periphery
Installation & planning 20,000 €
Bidirectional converter 600 €/kW 1% –
 G. Merei et al. / Solar Energy 97 (2013) 460–473 469

Since this method is well known and there are already Table 3
several commercial implementations available (for example Optimization options for the genetic algorithm.
Matlab, optimtool), all that is needed is to define the impor- Option Value
tant genes, a fitness function and constraints as well as to Generations 200
choose the population size, the number of generations Population size 150 individuals
and general options for the genetic operators. In Table 2 Creation function Constraint dependent
Fitness scaling Rank based, linear
the optimised genes and the constraints are listed. GA Selection function Roulette
chooses the optimal value of each parameter within the Elite count 1–3
defined upper and lower boundaries. The fitness function Crossover function Scattered
is the cost function (Eq. (16)) with the condition that the Crossover fraction 50–70%
load has to be covered at all times. Mutation rate 1–5%
All these parameters have direct or indirect impact on
the system cost. For example the installed power of the
PV panels, the nominal capacity of the batteries or
the hub height of the wind turbine have direct impact on R2011b with multiple processors on a scientific Windows
the cost and the system behaviour. Other parameters Server 2008 64-bit operating system. The applied options
like the tilt angle or the part load factor affect the system for the algorithm are shown in the following table (see
behaviour directly but have no direct influence on the cost. Table 3):
The optimization can easily be modified by changing the
constraints. For example the whole system could be 6. Results and discussion
installed in a natural reserve, where use of fossil fuel is
not allowed. Then all that is needed is to set the allowed The optimization results for different test cases are pre-
size of diesel generator to zero. Likewise, any component sented in the following sections. Firstly, the entire system
can be disregarded by changing the constraints. with all components was optimised, followed by a system
The optimization is conducted on the high performance without a diesel generator. The latter case is needed in nat-
computing (HPC)-cluster of RWTH Aachen using Matlab ural reserves and in areas where the use of diesel fuel is for-
bidden or transport is not possible and economically not
convenient. The third case does not consider batteries (no
Table 2
Optimization parameters and constraints of the system. storage system). Finally, in the last three cases, each system
uses only one battery technology (three optimizations).
Component Parameter Boundaries
Table 4 includes the different scenarios definition.
PV generator Peak power 0–30 kWp
In the following, the results for the first case will be dis-
Tilt angle 0–90°
Azimuth angle 30° to 30° cussed in detail. The results for the other cases will be all
DC–DC nominal power 0–30 kW presented in a table allowing for comparison among them.
Wind turbine Nominal power 0–30 kW
Rotor diameter 0–20 m 6.1. System with redox-flow, lead-acid and li-ion batteries –
Hub height 0–40 m scenario I
AC–DC nominal power 0–30 kW
Lead-acid battery Capacity 0–3000 Ah It is assumed that different storage technologies have
Minimum state of charge 0.05–0.6 been applied to store the excess energy and use it when it
Maximum state of charge Constant is needed (not enough energy generated by PV panels
(=1) and wind turbine to satisfy the power demand). However,
Interval between scheduled full 20–60 days
recharges
the optimization results show that the optimal storage sys-
tem is using just one battery technology which is the redox-
Lithium-ion battery Capacity 0-3000 Ah
flow battery with a capacity of 1460 Ah. The energy cost of
Minimum state of charge Constant
(=0.05) the optimal system is 0.65 €/kWh. Table 5 gives an over-
Maximum state of charge 0.7-1 view of the configuration.
Optimum state of charge 0.2-0.7
Vanadium redoxflow Capacity 0-3000 Ah
battery Table 4
Nominal power 0-10 kW Systems definition.
Minimum state of charge Constant Lead-acid Redox-flow Li-ion Diesel generator
(=0.05) p p p p
Scenario I
Maximum state of charge Constant p p p
Scenario II –
(=1) p
Scenario III – – –
p p
Diesel generator Nominal power 4–10 kW Scenario IV – –
p p
Part load factor 0–1 Scenario V – –
p p
Minimal runtime 0.5–5 h Scenario VI – –
470
Table 5
Optimal configuration (scenario I).
Parameter
Peak power of PV generator
Nominal power of DC–DC converter
Inclination angle of PV panels
Azimuth angle
Peak power of wind turbine
Nominal power of AC–DC converter
Tower height
Rotor diameter
Nominal power of diesel generator
Minimal running time of diesel generator
Partial load of diesel generator
Battery capacity – Li-ion
Maximal state of charge (SOC) – Li-ion
Desired state of charge – Li-ion
Battery capacity – lead-acid
Minimal state of charge (SOC) – lead-acid
Interval between scheduled full recharges
Battery capacity – redox-flow
Nominal power of the stack – redox-flow
The peak power of the PV generator is 14.7 kWp (which
is equivalent to about 114 m2). Concerted to this, the nom-
inal power of the PV converter is 5.9 kW. That means at
high insolation a big part of the solar energy is not used.
Above an irradiance of 240 W/m2, the PV generator alone
is able to provide power to the load. The nominal power of
the wind turbine amounts to 12.6 kW. A rotor with a diam-
eter of 14 m makes this power available above a wind speed
of about 5.4 m/s. Due to the relatively low average wind
speeds (3.5 m/s annual average) and the rare occurrence
of wind speeds above 6 m/s (<20%) the power converter
has a power rating of 9.6 kW. This maximum power output
as well as the peak efficiency of the converter is reached for
wind speed of around 5 m/s. For a wind speed of 5 m/s
(and more) the wind turbine alone can ensure the power
supply for the load. The turbine is mounted at a height
of 17 m. This way the cut-in speed is exceeded more often
than in a lower height.
The output power for both wind turbine and solar pan-
els is shown in Fig. 10 over one month (January).
In order to show the behaviour of the optimised system,
Fig. 11 illustrates the hourly energy balance using the
resulting optimization parameters. The main condition
10
8
Wind power [kW]
6
4
2
0 0
0 10
time [day]
Fig. 10. Output power of wind turbine and PV over 30 days.
G. Merei et al. / Solar Energy 97 (2013) 460–473
here is to maintain the complete covering of the load
demand (uninterrupted power supply UPS = 0). The load
Value need is met firstly by the output power of the renewables
14.7 kW then from the batteries and if the battery reaches its mini-
5.9 kW mal state of charge diesel generator starts to supply the
39° required power.
3° Since the system avoids using diesel frequently and for
12.6 kW
9.6 kW
long periods, it can be seen in Fig. 12 (left) that the largest
17 m part of the energy is produced by the wind turbine (49%).
14 m Energy generated by the PV panels has a share of 29%
5.13 kW and the diesel generator contributes 22%.
50 min A comparison between the optimization results in
85%
0 Ah
Aachen, Germany and Quneitra, Syria was done. Fig. 12
– shows at the right side the energy fraction provided from
– the energy sources. The optimal solution for such a system
0 Ah in Syria is a system using the PV alone as renewable energy
– source and diesel generator as back-up system. This is
–
1460 Ah
because the installation of the wind turbine is too expensive
3.3 kW compared to the PV and due to the very good solar radia-
tion (1300 kWh/kWp/a in Quneitra and 850 kWh/kWp/a in
Aachen). Another reason is the cheap diesel price (1.6 €/l in
Aachen and 0.35 €/l in Qunaitra).
The storage system satisfies the energy request for a per-
iod of more than 20 h through redox-flow batteries (VRB).
Furthermore, two replacements for the redox-flow batteries
during the system lifespan have to be done. Genetic algo-
rithm selects the redox-flow batteries to be the optimal
storage system in both countries.
The segmentation of the components costs is shown in
Fig. 13 (left), whereas a synopsis of the investment and run-
ning costs of the system with total cost of 258,841 €
(131,676 € investment cost and 127,164 € running cost) is
given in Fig. 14.
For the cost segmentation comparison, a similar figure
for the system in Quneitra is added in Fig. 13 (right).
The energy cost for the optimised system in Syria is
0.34 € per kWh which is about the half of that in Aachen.
7. Comparison
The following Table 6 summarises all the systems char-
acteristics including the definition of the six system scenar-
ios, the components sizes, number of replacements and the
4000
PV power [kW]
3000
2000
1000
20 30 0 10 20 30
time [day]
 G. Merei et al. / Solar Energy 97 (2013) 460–473 471

Load Power / kW
3
2.8
2.6

PV Power / kW
4
2
0

Wind Power / kW
10
5
0

Diesel Power / kW
5

SOC [%]
100
50
0
UPS
1
0
-1
10 20 30
time [day]

Fig. 11. Behaviour of the optimised system over 30 days.

PV:
29%
Diesel:
22%
PV:
44%
Diesel:
56%

Wind: 49%

Fig. 12. Energy provided from diesel generator and the renewables in Aachen and Quneitra.

PV: 9%
PV: 14%

Wind:
23% VRB:
Diesel: 13%
47% Diesel:
63%

periphery:
VRB: 10%
15% Periphery: 6%

Fig. 13. Fraction of the component costs (investment + running costs) in Aachen and Quneitra.

costs. In addition two scenarios for Quneitra were added to
compare different scenarios (scenario I and scenario III):
The symbols used in the storage technology field indi-
cate to the most important chemical component in the bat-
teries. Pb denotes lead acid, V vanadium-redox-flow and Li
lithium-ion batteries.
It should be noted that using batteries in the hybrid sys-
tem makes the energy cost about 50% cheaper than depend-
ing on diesel generator only. However the combination of
three battery technologies is not advisable. The optimization
showed that using just one battery technology (redox-flow)
as a storage system is the most economical system.
472 G. Merei et al. / Solar Energy 97 (2013) 460–473

x 104
12
invest costs
running costs

10

Installation and Running Costs / Euro 8

0
Diesel PV Wind RedoxFlow Pb Li-ion Converter

Fig. 14. Investment and running costs of the system components.

Table 6
Systems properties.
Property Unit Scenario I all Scenario Scenario Scenario Scenario Scenario Syria all possible Syria
possible batteries II III IV V VI batteries scenario III
Storage technology – Pb/V/Li Pb/V/Li – Pb V Li Pb/V/Li –
Using diesel – Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Nominal Capacity kWh 0/70/0 882/244/55 –/–/– 150 70 18.3 0/55/0 –/–/–
Peak power – PV kW 14.7 27.8 14.1 12.8 14.7 14.7 12.4 10.6
Nominal power DC–DC kW 5.9 14.5 3.2 11.1 5.9 3.7 5.2 4.7
Nominal power – wind kW 12.6 22.6 12.2 13.2 12.6 8.7 0 0
Nominal power AC–DC kW 9.6 24.5 10 11.2 9.6 7.8 0 0
Battery lifetime a 5 18/14/4 - 5 5 6 9.5 -
Replacements diesel – 2 0 5 1 2 3 5 5
Investment costs k€ 131.67 471.68 91.01 171.06 131.67 135.39 76.68 41.7
Running costs k€ 127.16 62.46 273.55 99.66 127.16 151.99 60.15 102.55
Total cost k€ 258.84 534.15 364.56 270.73 258.84 287.39 136.83 144.23
Energy cost €/kWh 0.65 1.35 0.91 0.68 0.65 0.72 0.34 0.36

Using renewable energies in combination with batteries lithium-ion batteries). The optimization was done for six
to assure the reliability is the most ecological system with different scenarios with different system configurations.
0% emission. It is however expensive (1.35 €cent/kWh). The results show that combining the batteries with the
Comparing the systems using one battery technology, renewable energy systems is effective, economical and eco-
redox-flow system is the cheapest technology (0.65 €/kWh), logical. However, using a combination of more than one
followed by the lead acid system (0.68 €/kWh) and finally battery technology as energy storage (PV, wind turbine,
the most expensive system is that with Li-ion batteries diesel and batteries) is not favourable. Instead, the optimi-
(0.72 €/kWh). zation results showed that using only redox-flow batteries
The last column shows the system properties and the is the best system (the same optimization result for Aachen
costs for a site in Quneitra with a relatively cheap energy and Quneitra).
cost of 0.34 €/kWh. In the situation where diesel generators are not allowed
(natural park or difficulty in tanking), a combination of
8. Conclusion and outlook three battery technologies is an optimal solution for the
stand-alone hybrid system.
In this study, a hybrid system consisting of PV panels The cheapest system with a low energy cost of
and a wind turbine as renewable energy sources, batteries 0.65 €/kWh in Aachen and 0.34 €/kWh for Quneitra is
for energy storage and diesel generator as a back-up system the system using redox-flow battery as a storage system.
was optimised using genetic algorithm. Initially three differ- As a future work the system needs to be validated using
ent battery technologies in combination with the renewable measured data and price data of real installations. Then,
energy sources were considered (lead acid, redox-flow and the calculation tool presented in this work is very valuable
 G. Merei et al. / Solar Energy 97 (2013) 460–473 473

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