Simulation and Optimization of a Stand-Alone Sustainable Renewable Energy System Alhassan Salami Tijani 1,a , Ku Muhammad Ridzuan Ku Suid 2,b , Yazhar Yatim 3,c 1 Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia 2 Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia 3 School of Electrical System Engineering, University Malaysia Perlis a alhassan@salam.uitm.edu.my, b kie_ridzuan89@yahoo.com, c yazharyatim@gmail.com Keywords: Off-grid Renewable Energy System; Solar Energy; Photovoltaic System; Optimization Abstract. This paper presents a state of the art design of a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system to provide the required electrical power for a single refrigeration system at Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. The simulation result shows a total of 1849.7 kW/m²/year horizontal global irradiation available at Kuala Terengganu. After considering losses such as IAM factor, model array miss match etc, the final energy available to the consumer is 5,256 (kWh/year). The energy requirement of the refrigerator system is 83.3% of the energy available. Introduction Conventional fossil fuel energy sources such as petroleum, natural gas, and coal which meet most of the world’s energy demand today are being depleted rapidly. In view of this the development and adoption of reliable sources of renewable energy (solar) has become a major challenge to most part of the world. Among these renewable energy sources, the photovoltaic (PV) energy has been widely utilized in low power applications. Recently there has been increasing interest in the use of solar-PV systems for power supply in remote areas or other standalone applications [1-4]. Mekhilef et al. [5] presented the state of the art technology covering different types of solar energy systems such as solar photovoltaic for rural application. Inconsistent power supply for the operation of refrigeration systems can result in expiring of food items such as medication, dairy products, chicken, meat etc. One method to overcome this problem is to rely on electrical energy supply through photovoltaic. There is a growing interest of researchers and scientists in this field of solar refrigeration technologies, for example Kim et al. [6] presented an overview of the state of the art of the different solar refrigeration technologies including solar electric, they concluded that proper sizing of solar- refrigerator components and integration of the whole system are essential for good design options for rural application. In this study, a standard model of a refrigerator system powered by photovoltaic panel has been studied. The PV-refrigerator system is independent of the local electricity grid. Daily and seasonal operating performance of PV-refrigerator was investigated through simulation. During the daily operation of the refrigerator system, the parameters which affect the system capacity and performance were determined. The results obtained from simulation study were presented and evaluated. Photovoltaic system design concept Fig. 1 shows the simulation model of the photovoltaic stand-alone system considered in this study. It consists of PV arrays, batteries, system regulator and load. The PV array converts the sunlight directly into DC electrical power. The regulator is used to monitor the electrical power from the PV Applied Mechanics and Materials Vols. 465-466 (2014) pp 172-176 © (2014) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.465-466.172 All rights reserved. No part of contents of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of TTP, www.ttp.net. (ID: 202.58.85.15-06/11/13,01:28:15)