Optimal sizing of a stand-alone hybrid photovoltaic/wind system using new grey wolf optimizer considering reliability

In this paper, a methodology of sizing optimization of a stand-alone hybrid PV/wind/battery power generation system (HPWGS) is proposed. The main objective of this optimization is to minimize the total annual cost (TAC) of the hybrid system considering power balanced constraint and determination of the optimal number of wind turbines, PV panels, and batteries. For this purpose, a new meta-heuristic nature-inspired algorithm, called Grey Wolf Optimizer is utilized. The obtained results show that the proposed methodology finds optimal sizing of the HPWGS easily with fast convergence and lower cost. Comparing the results of this new method with the well-known published works in the literature, the superior capabilities of this proposed method are demonstrated. Moreover, the results show that the reliability characteristics are weakened with decreasing the component availability, and the supply reliability of the HPWGS is improved by increasing the inverter efficiency while the TAC is decreased. Furthermore, the HPWGS can cover the load demand variations with high reliability.