Design of a hybrid household power generation system for a coastal area: A case study for Geraldton, Australia

Rising energy cost and declining technology cost particularly household batteries has seen a rise in demand for small scale renewable energy sources. There have been reports of doubling of grid-connected solar panels with battery storage from 1568 to 4356 units in 2017. Therefore, this paper aims to provide a design and economic feasibility study of a hybrid power generation for coastal area in Geraldton, Australia. A photovoltaic panel and wind hybrid system were considered. Calculations were performed to design two different systems and their respective components. An economic analysis was also performed to determine the total cost of the systems over a 20-year period. Study indicates that properly designed hybrid system can be an effective means of partially (50%) fulfilling power demand. A total of ten 280 W photovoltaic panels and one 1 kW wind turbine is sufficient to provide 110% of the summer demand and 85% of the winter demand. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.