Effect of various design configurations and operating conditions for optimization of a wind/solar/hydrogen/fuel cell hybrid microgrid system by a bio-inspired algorithm

The hybrid microgrid system (HMS) can offer a cost-effective system for isolated areas by optimizing energy sources. This paper presents a design approach for a wind turbine (WT)/hydrogen HMS with eight alternative small horizontal-axis WTs and arrives at a conclusion based on the total annual cost (TAC), cost of energy (COE), and the loss of power supply possibility throughout the project's life cycle. The effect of adding solar panels to the HMS is investigated in different scenarios. The modified bio-inspired optimization algorithm with high efficiency is used, and its results are validated using an original particle swarm optimization in different unavailability levels. Owing to a sensitivity analysis that utilized the wind speed, load demand, and interest rate, the potential of the proposed algorithm to achieve the optimal off-grid HMS design was highlighted. Among the investigated systems (more than 16 systems), the Winds WT/hydrogen energy/solar configuration with $11,952 TAC and 0.3458$/kWh COE has the minimum cost while setting the unavailability level to 2%. In addition, the adding of solar panels, variation of small WT models, wind speed, load demand, and interest rate levels have a significant impact on COE value and number of components.