%0 Journal Article
%T Modeling, Control, and Simulation of a Solar Hydrogen/Fuel Cell Hybrid Energy System for Grid-Connected Applications
%A Tourkia Lajnef
%A Slim Abid
%A Anis Ammous
%J Advances in Power Electronics
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/352765
%X Different energy sources and converters need to be integrated with each other for extended usage of alternative energy, in order to meet sustained load demands during various weather conditions. The objective of this paper is to associate photovoltaic generators, fuel cells, and electrolysers. Here, to sustain the power demand and solve the energy storage problem, electrical energy can be stored in the form of hydrogen. By using an electrolyser, hydrogen can be generated and stored for future use. The hydrogen produced by the electrolyser using PV power is used in the FC system and acts as an energy buffer. Thus, the effects of reduction and even the absence of the available power from the PV system can be easily tackled. Modeling and simulations are performed using MATLAB/Simulink and SimPowerSystems packages and results are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed system. 1. Introduction At present, most of energy demand in the world relies on fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas that are being exhausted very fast. One of the major severe problems of global warming is one of these fuels combustion products, carbon dioxide; these are resulting in great danger for life on our planet [1]. Fossil fuels can have as an alternative some renewable energy sources like solar, wind, biomass, and so; among them on the photovoltaic (PV) generator which converts the solar radiation into electricity, largely used in low power applications. The photovoltaic generator is chosen for its positive points including being carbon free and inexhaustible; moreover, it does not cause noise for it is without moving parts and with size-independent electric conversion efficiency [2]. Nevertheless, the power generated by a PV system is influenced by weather conditions; for example, at night or in cloudy periods, it would not generate any power or application. In addition, it is difficult to store the power generated by a PV system for future use. The best method to overcome this problem is to integrate the PV generator with other power sources such as an electrolyser, hydrogen storage tank, FC system, or battery due to their good features such as high efficiency response, modular production, and fuel flexibility [3, 4]. Its coordination with a PV system could be successful for both grid-connected and stand-alone power applications. Thanks to the rapid response capability of the fuel cell power system, the photovoltaic fuel cell hybrid system can be able to overcome the inconvenience of the intermittent power generation. Furthermore, unlike a secondary
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ape/2013/352765/