Defining indispensability of storage for raised renewable penetration in conventional and thermoelectric coupled microgrid: Modeling,analysis and validation

The inflation of clean, efficient, sustainable, effective, secure, and reliable electricity demand have been triggered much interest for Microgrid (MG) at a miraculous and quickened pace. The necessity of reliability enhancement, diversity of fuel, cutback of greenhouse gases, severe weather fluctuation etc. has stimulated the inclusion of MG concept not only in utility level but also in customer and community level. Incorporation of solar photovoltaic (SPV) and thermoelectric (TE), termed as Solar photovoltaic-thermoelectric (SPV-TE) hybrid system is found be a very promising technique to broadening the utilization of solar spectrum and enhancing the power output effectively-cum-efficiently. This hybrid architecture caters electrical energy with additional thermal energy that signifies upon harnessing of solar insolation in an exceptional way. But in order to retain the voltage profile in the permissible level, MG needs storage mechanism for smoothening of renewable based power inconstancy, catering high active power significantly and dodging the long term reactive power rising. This paper illustrates the comparative analysis of three systems such as Conventional MG;TE coupled Conventional MG, and only TE coupled solar PV based MG defining the necessity of employment of energy storage system (ESS). The superiority of third system has been outlined in terms of lesser complexity in source integration, mitigating the detriment of Wind energy system (WES) and Fuel Cell Systems (FCT) integration in real life application, delivery of higher active power, and lesser reactive power absorbance over the two other systems. The studied system is modeled in MATLAB/Simulink environment and the results are presented to support, verify, and validate the analysis.