Design and Development of a Hybrid Solar-Wind Renewable Energy Generator System

Abstract

Small-scale hybrid solar-wind energy generator system offers a feasible alternative for decentralized power generation compared to large-scale wind or solar farms remotely installed at various wind and solar energy, rich sites across Pakistan. These sites require dedicated power transmission lines in order to connect the electric power generated by these wind or solar energy farms to the national grid. The manufacturing, operation and maintenance costs of small-scale hybrid i.e. vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWT) and solar system, are low, consequently, making them ideal for rural and urban environments. In this work, a small-scale light weight, modular of hybrid solar-wind prototype of 400W rated capacity is designed and manufactured that will produce 200W power through wind turbine and 200W power from solar system. The prototype comprises 03 blades of rotor, made of glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRPs) composites using vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VRTM) process to lower its weight and one number of solar panel as per design requirement. For the rotor blades of turbine, a relatively thick and symmetric air foil of type NACA0021 is used to overcome its self-starting deficiency. The generator part is also made of epoxy resin system to reduce cogging torque between the permanent magnets and stator. In addition, the hybrid solar-wind energy generator system is integrated with local energy (WAPDA) available in domestic level of provinces of Pakistan. Furthermore, prototype testing will be conducted to quantify its efficiency and effectiveness as well as to identify its limitations.