Abstract:

The depleting conventional energy sources and world population growth at a rapid rate predict the severe global energy crisis in near future. As an alternative, the world has started considering renewable energy sources as they are ubiquitous, environmentally affable and freely available. One of the fastest expanding renewable energy sources is wind energy. The wind energy systems, while operating alone, may not be practical for fulfilling the electric load demands owing to the low wind speeds and high unpredictability. A wind-hybrid energy system comprises of the wind energy system combined with one or more other renewable energy systems and a suitable backup system in the form of batteries bank or diesel generator. Combined operation enhances the reliability and compensates for the unpredictability. This paper presents a detailed study dealing with the different wind-hybrid energy systems in order to yield a useful reference for the concerned researchers.

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