Comparison of different power generators in PV-battery-power generator hybrid system

Nowadays, the use of solar panels for generating electricity is common. Given the discontinuous nature of solar energy, the use of batteries to store energy in the day and supply it at night is essential. However, using one auxiliary power system (APS) can reduce the number of solar panels needed, reduce the cost, and increase reliability. In this study, the combination of different auxiliary systems with solar panels and batteries is compared in terms of economical efficiency, ecological compatibility, and reliability. Auxiliary systems include diesel generator, gas generator, solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), and micro gas turbine. Of course, in this study, the effect of fuel price, technology development in SOFC cost, change in the power of auxiliary power system and also change in the maximum number of panels have been considered. A multi-objective evolutionary algorithm was used to obtain the best solutions of every configuration. The evolutionary algorithm is Pareto envelope-based selection algorithm (PESA). According to the results and necessity of using a backup power generator, the most ecological and economical recommended hybrid system is the hybrid system with target SOFC. Therefore, if SOFC technology develops rapidly, using SOFCs as the auxiliary system will be cheaper than others and ecologically the most compatible. Also from ecological point of view, the use of systems such as gas generators or diesel generators is not justified.