Modeling of a Stand-Alone Microgrid Based on Solar-Hydrogen Energy Systems for the Design of Energy Management Systems

The high penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources in the distribution generations has necessitated a substantial demand for energy storage systems. A solar-hydrogen microgrid emerges as an enticing solution for establishing a sustainable energy supply. The proposed microgrid consists of five primary components: a photovoltaic (PV) panel, an electrolyzer, a hydrogen storage tank, a fuel cell, and a battery. After specifying the purpose of energy management (EMS), models for each component of the system are established to design the EMS. For the PV panel, a one-diode model is constructed, incorporating the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm. An empirical relationship is proposed to describe the characteristics of the alkaline electrolyzer. Fuel cells are modeled with mechanistic and empirical equations. A relatively quasi-static model is used to simulate the battery. All components are aggregated into a system model in MATLAB/Simulink environment. Simulations have been conducted to demonstrate that the proposed model is suitable for long-duration simulations and accurately captures the behavior of the system.