A system that provides electrical power using solar and wind energy is being implemented during the month of September near Alba Iulia, in the Pianu village. Apart from being an off-grid hybrid energy solution, something very rare in Romania at the moment, the system uses a wind turbine with downwind rotor and stall regulation control and also maximum power point tracking (MPPT) solar charging technology.
The turbine to be installed has special shaped fiber-glass blades in order to minimize noise and wind turbulence and maximize energy yield. Moreover, energy yield will be increased by manual selection of 3 different inclination angles of the photovoltaic panels, depending on the season coupled with the MPPT charging technology. Embedded electronics in the wind turbine will provide energy management according to the wind speed and allow two-way wireless communication with the turbine. It can receive and display information from the wind turbine and can also upload commands and new operational settings.
Motivation
The motivation behind this project was to implement a small-scale project using multiple renewable energy sources as an example in Alba County. The County Council, through Alba Local Energy Agency, has been a promoter of energy efficiency and renewable energy use. This project is meant to raise interest for the renewable energy field and encourage the production of ”clean” energy in the area. The impact of this project will be amplified by the environmentally friendly character of the sheepfold (fig. 1) that the system will provide power for and by the many tourists this area attracts every year.
Results
The complete system consists of: wind turbine, solar panels, inverter, solar regulator, DC electrical panel, AC electrical panel. The electrical wiring is presented in figure 2 and indoor installation is presented in figure 3. Total power for the solar panels is 1.05 kW (6 x 175 W). Energy yield from the panels is expected to be around 4.7 kWh/day during the summer and 1.8 kWh/day during the winter. The lack of energy coming from the solar panels during the winter is expected to be compensated by the wind turbine which provides between 3 kWh/day during the summer and 7 kWh/day during the winter based on the wind potential evaluation of the area. The 2.4 kW wind turbine completes the system and offers the chance to monitor and optimize energy production and consumption in various weather conditions.
In collaboration with the University ”1 Decembrie 1918,” Alba Iulia, Alba Local Energy Agency is to implement a system of monitoring energy production, wind speed and direction, humidity, temperature, air pressure and of data transmission to the headquarters of ALEA. This wind energy compared to energy produced will be used as a case study to optimize energy production applications developed in the future.