LAUSR

Abstract Electric power demand in the remote areas can be effectively supplied by the renewable resources. In this context, hybrid wind-photovoltaic systems have attracted more attention due to the system cost reduction and higher level of the supply reliability. In the past decade, various models have been proposed for optimal sizing of the system components with various objectives. In the previous studies, a typical wind turbine for capturing wind power is considered. In this case, changing turbine parameter will change results of the problem to a large extent. In other word, selecting optimal turbine technology is not considered as an influential decision variable. In this paper, a novel formulation is proposed to incorporate turbine technology selection in the optimal hybrid wind/photovoltaic renewable energy system design. The proposed model will select the optimal turbine model among a set of the choices. Also, optimum size of the other equipment according to the problem conditions will be determined. Results of testing the model in the various scenarios demonstrate efficiency and also functionality of the proposed model in real cases.