Power management strategy in the alternative energy photovoltaic/PEM Fuel Cell hybrid system

This paper deals with the control and management of a hybrid power system composed of two clean generators connected to the load via a DC-Bus. The system configuration can solve certain problems inherent to reliability and power supply quality emanating from generators renewable energy resources based connected to the load. Since the primary natural energy resource cannot be easy to handle due to fluctuations appearing at the output. This can be solved by using an adequate control strategy including intermediate energy storage. The paper describes some research works achieved till now in hybrid energy system area, including the assessment of the modeling and control methods used and a survey of control problems which must be carried out. The main contribution in this paper focuses with modeling the hybrid PV/PEMFC energy system, using Matlab/Simulink, optimizing a hybrid system devices using artificial intelligence and carrying out simulation studies using a real climate data and practical load profile. A comprehensive results of simulation showed that the model is effective, operational and that backup system composed of PEM Fuel Cells and electrolyser can be integrated with photovoltaic power systems to provide uninterrupted high-quality power. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.