Optimal capacity configuration of the hydro-wind-photovoltaic complementary system considering cascade reservoir connection

To address the critical issues on environmental pollution and energy consumption, humans began vigorously developing and employing renewable energy sources (RESs). Hydro-wind-photovoltaic(PV) complementary system plays an indispensable part in the sphere of renewable energy research, while the optimal capacity proportion serves as a foundation and premise for building hybrid energy systems. Taking the lower portion of the Jinsha River in Sichuan Province as an example, this research presents a novel capacity configuration model of hydro-wind-PV complementary systems. Based on the consideration of cascade hydropower station connection, the model aims to minimize discarded energy and maximize delivery channel utilization. A new DE based on chaotic local search is then employed to solve the model. The result shows that the optimal proportions for the complementary system with 35 GW, 40 GW and 45 GW of delivery channel capacity are (0.93,0.93), (1.18,1.18) and (1.35,0.35), respectively. Meanwhile, as the affordability of complementary systems increases, the total installed capacity of wind power and photovoltaic power that may be accessible will also rise. Consequently, this paper not only offers a novel strategy for tackling similar issues on optimal capacity configuration, but also makes a contribution to maximizing the accessed installed capacity of RESs.