Energy management in renewable energy based hybrid systems

Advancements in industry and technology, increasing global population, urbanization, and rising comfort levels of people continuously increase the demand for energy. Today, a significant portion of the world's energy needs is met from fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. The extraction, processing, and combustion of fossil fuels release large amounts of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. These gases contribute to global warming and climate change, leading to negative environmental impacts such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events and habitat destruction. In addition, fossil fuels are limited resources that have been formed over millions of years of geological processes and are therefore at risk of depletion soon. Reducing the negative impacts of fossil fuels and transitioning to cleaner, renewable energy sources (RES) is crucial to combat climate change, reduce pollution, and build a sustainable future. While RESs offer a strong alternative to fossil fuels, resources such as solar and wind energy can be intermittent and variable depending on weather conditions. This can make it difficult to continuously match energy supply to demand. Therefore, rather than relying on a single RES, using hybrid microgrids that integrate various sources provides a more suitable solution. This thesis examines two different applications to meet the energy demand with sustainable and environmentally friendly methods and demonstrates the economic and environmental advantages of renewable energy-based solutions. The first application examines the effective use of RESs to meet the electricity and heat energy needs of Yiğit Harman village in Solhan district of Bingöl. Using HOMER Pro software, a combined heat and power (CHP) system including solar, wind, biomass, and hydrogen energies was designed to meet the entire electricity and half of the heat demand of the village. As a result of the economic and environmental analyses, the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) was found to be $0,271/kWh, the net present cost (NPC) was $739.772 and the annual CO2 emissions were 37.958 kg. This model provides an effective example for increasing energy independence in rural areas. The second application addresses the conversion of diesel and natural gas vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) for urban transportation in Diyarbakır province. A renewable energy-based microgrid designed for the conversion of the existing 933 vehicles to EVs shows that the system can pay for itself within a few years with fuel cost savings, and the annual CO2 emissions (14.137 tons/year) would be less than one-third of those from the current vehicles (45.540 tons/year). Both studies highlight the economic and environmental benefits of using renewable energy and offer sustainable solutions.