Design of a Fuzzy Logic Controller for a Remote Power Application

Traditional energy sources depletion and the need of power related CO2 emission reduction determine a progressive integration of renewable and sustainable technologies. Renewable energy sources (RES) have a highly fluctuating character, so they are often exploited coupled with energy storage systems (ESS) in interconnected or remote small-scale power grids. Newly available solutions on the market enable increased reliability and enhanced power quality. Technological advances in the area of both distributed generation and ESS indicate multiple generation/storage systems as a viable solution to overcome the issues related to RES stochastic features. The design, modeling and analysis of poly-generation micro-grids are therefore complex topics. Furthermore, the management and control of remote energy systems, it is known to be challenging. Several approaches are presented in the literature, aiming to achieve optimal management of the resources and efficient operation both of each component and the system as a whole. This paper addresses a remote micro-grid including an electrolyzer, a chemical storage component and a PEM fuel cell, specifically for what concerns the design of a fuel cell controller based on fuzzy logic. Fuzzy logic control enables improved performances compared to traditional strategies and it is able to cope with forecast related uncertainty. Simulations are performed in Simscape/SimpowerSystems Matlab environment.