Abstract
Solar irradiance and wind speed were measured in Sacramento, California for the entirety of 2020. Numerical analysis was carried out on localized 1-hour interval wind speed and solar irradiance measurements and compared to averaged 1-hour interval TMY NREL wind speed and solar irradiance data. Weibull Probability Distribution analysis was used as a validation method for Sacramento measured data. High variance was observed in wind speed data between Sacramento and NREL TMY data, however this was concluded to be caused by high annual wind speed variance. System performance analysis was carried out on standalone wind and solar renewable energy system, as well as a hybrid configuration, with the goal of supplying the monthly energy consumption of a residence in Sacramento. It was determined that a 12.6 kW standalone PV system would sufficiently meet this goal. Due to high monthly wind speed variance throughout 2020, it was determined a standalone wind turbine renewable energy system is not feasible. Multiple hybrid system configurations were investigated, with the conclusion that a 5 kW wind turbine and 9.8 kW PV hybrid system would be optimal. Compared to the 12.6 kW standalone PV system, however, the hybrid system will over-generate 6% more energy. Additionally, the standalone PV system was calculated to be 35% cheaper than the hybrid system configuration. The standalone PV renewable energy system was concluded to be the optimum system configuration in Sacramento, California.