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Overview & Outcomes

A turbine is mounted atop the utility pole, with two solar panels below the turbine, all mounted above the luminaire.  
The wind turbine generates AC electric power with variable voltage and frequency due to the variations of wind speed.  A rectifier converts AC power generated by the wind turbine to DC power.  A capacitor bank is used for power conversion and storage.  A DC-DC boost converter is used to increase and regulate the DC output voltage of the rectifier to a constant DC voltage at a level required by the grid interface inverter.  
The photovoltaic (PV) panels convert sunlight into unregulated DC electric power using the photoelectric effect.  The variable DC power generated by the wind/solar hybrid system is collected a battery bank through DC-DC power electronic converters.  A controller has been developed for each DC-DC converter to control the corresponding wind turbine or solar panels to generate the desired amount of power.  A typical control strategy is called the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control, where the wind turbine and PV panels are always controlled to generate the maximum power.  The controllers of the power electronic converters are coordinated by a local power management controller (LPMC).
The DC-AC inverter then converts the DC power into 60-Hz AC power and connects the wind/solar hybrid system to the utility power grid.  The action of the LPMC is subject to the regulation requirements from the upper-layer supervisory power management controller (SPMC) of the roadway microgrid.

The Roadway Wind/Solar Hybrid Power Generation and Distribution System (RHPS) and its components are smart grid units. It has a wind/solar hybrid power system installed on the pole of a roadway/traffic signal light to exploit the advantages of both solar and wind energy for electric power production and storage. Each unit consists of a wind turbine generator and one or more PV panels mounted on the top of the pole for electric power generation.

The system design takes into account constraints from various factors, such as structural stability, driver distraction, economic efficiencies. The overall system involves power generation, storage, distribution, grid operation, and demand-side management.

The electricity generated by the system will first used to power the facilities on-site, such as traffic control devices at intersections. The system will also be connected to the existing utility distribution grids to transmit the energy generated at local sites.

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