Wind & Solar power generation system

Résumé du document

This report contains the procedure which was followed by a group of senior students from Virginia Tech's electrical engineering department to set up a lab where one may study the combination of wind and solar power generation. Throughout this report, the basics of wind and solar energies used to produce electric power will be described. Moreover, the wiring and setting of the lab will be extensively discussed to provide a real-life example of the combination of both systems. The purpose of such a laboratory is to enable undergraduate students to observe the behavior of such an arrangement and collect data for research purposes.

Extraits

[...] The next steps V. Appendix VI. Acknowledgment VII. References I. Introduction Since 1998 the Virginia Tech College of Architecture has owned a wind powered turbine for research purposes. It is no longer being used, and stands a couple of miles away from the campus. The original purpose of the turbine was to connect it to a solar panel and study the combination of both technologies. Those solar arrays stand on another building next to the turbine. An interconnection of both technologies onto one system and at the use batteries for storage is the main aim of this project. [...]

[...] References Users Manual Southwest Windpower Inc. AIR Marine manual Internet Web sites Dallas Semi conductor: http://www.maxim-ic.com/products/ibutton/. BP solar: http://www.bp.com/modularhome.do?categoryId=4260&contentId= Solarex: http://www.solarex.it/ 6 Appendix 2. Circuit wired in the lab, including the solar panel and the wind turbine. [...]

[...] This means that a system independent of the grid and containing only these two technologies can be unreliable. The use of energy storage in the form of batteries partly compensates for this by allowing the system to continue operating when there is either no wind or no sun. However, battery life is limited. Reliability can be improved further by combining the two technologies and creating a hybrid system that utilizes both. Thus energy is being produced at a higher rate and more of the time. III. [...]

[...] Having the voltage at given times during the day and different periods during the year would allow us to make conclusions about the efficiency of the system. Another upgrade would be to get a new computer running in the lab and also some digital voltmeters and amp meters that we could connect to it. It seems possible to get an internet connection in that lab, either using the phone lines that were set there, or using a long distance wireless module that would receive the campus' network signal. [...]

[...] Moreover, the wiring and setting of the lab will be widely discussed to provide a real-life example of the combination of both systems. The purpose of such a laboratory is for students, most likely undergraduate level, to be able to observe the behavior of such an arrangement and collect data for research purposes. Index Terms-- Solar energy, Photovoltaic cells, Solar power generation, Wind energy¸ Wind power generation. I. Introduction II. General Overview of system technologies A Solar Power III. A complete lab for observation A. The way the lab was leftover B. Our achievements IV. [...]