Assessing the potential of hybrid PV-Wind systems to cover public facilities loads under different Moroccan climate conditions

In this article, the pre-feasibility of a PV-Wind Hybrid Microgrid System (PWHMS) is carried out to predict a more cost-effective configuration to be able to cover the infrastructure of a typical city with energy consumption of 4874 kWh/month. In this manner, a hybrid system is evaluated in different climatic regions of Morocco in order to demonstrate to what extent a geographical site affects the sizing result in a Moroccan context. Likewise, techno-economic optimization was made by Homer-pro software, based on the net present cost (NPC) for a project life of 25 years. Hence, the result shows the interest of the coupling of PV panels and wind turbines and demonstrates that PWHMS is the optimal solution for all studied areas with the exception of those in the east which are characterized by low average wind speed during the year. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.