Optimal sizing of a hybrid renewable energy plant using linear programming

In many isolated and remotes rural areas not served by the grid, islanded hybrid renewable energy systems can be built as main source of electricity. The proper selection of the hybrid system with proper cost and sizing optimization of its components are important and difficult tasks, capital for the system viability. In this paper, the problem is expressed as an optimization problem which minimizes the size and initial cost of the system's components. This study proposes linear programming to optimize the above system's characteristics. The proposed methodology is used to design a hybrid system for a farm located in the Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. The simulation results are compared to numerical optimization methods; showing that the proposed linear programming is reliable, faster and provides excellent feasible optimum solution for investment cost and sizing of islanded hybrid systems comprising several renewable energy sources.