The PEM fuel cells are a viable alternative to diesel engine generators as renewable, clean,
safe energy and high efficiency for the next century. PEM fuel cell technology, while still
facing economic and technical hurdles on the way to becoming a popular energy supply
alternative, can now claim to be a durable and reliable choice for power system generation.
PV/FC hybrid power system is proposed as an ultra low emission energy system. Computer
program and control strategies have been developed to coordinate the optimal design and
operation of the PV/FC hybrid power system components. The proposed control strategy
can be easily adapted and applied to similar renewable energy systems which contain
multiple components working together. Moreover a complete economic picture of the
system under study has been proposed. Performance of the system components and control
strategies were found to be satisfactory. From simulation results the system being installed
at the Aswan site consists of a 12 MW PV array coupled to a high pressure bipolar alkaline
electrolyzer, rated 9.5 MW and fuel cell rated with 2MW. The proposed method can be
broadly implemented in different cases of the optimization of hybrid PV/FC power system
for varieties of load profile and meteorological condition.