Run-of-the-River Hydro-PV Battery Hybrid System as an Energy Supplier for Local Loads

• Main Authors: Dariusz Borkowski, Dariusz Cholewa, Anna Korzeń
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-08-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: small hydropower plant; hybrid power systems; renewable energy sources; energy management; variable speed operation
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/16/5160

Hybrid hydro energy systems are usually analysed with pumped hydro storage systems, which can facilitate energy accumulation from other sources. Despite the lack of water storage, run-of-the-river hydropower plants are also attractive for hybrid systems owing to their low investment cost, short construction time, and small environmental impact. In this study, a hybrid system that contains run-of-the-river small hydro power plants (SHPs), PV systems, and batteries to serve local loads is examined. Low-power and low-head schemes that use variable-speed operation are considered. The novelty of this study is the proposal of a dedicated steady-state model of the run-of-the-river hydropower plant that is suitable for energy production analysis under different hydrological conditions. The presented calculations based on a real SHP of 150 kW capacity have shown that a simplified method can result in a 43% overestimation of the produced energy. Moreover, a one-year analysis of a hybrid system operation using real river flow data showed that the flow averaging period has a significant influence on the energy balance results. The system energy deficiency and surplus can be underestimated by approximately 25% by increasing the averaging time from day to month.