Analysis of brownsville public utilities board hybrid wind and solar energy systems: Case study and analysis in brownsville, Texas

Engineers are tasked and responsible for studying and designing environmentally safer forms of electrical generation including wind and solar sources. A national effort to reduce dependency on foreign oil due to economic and environmental impacts is underway and race to full scale implementation of alternate energy sources is eminent. The question looms: Is renewable energy generation for residences feasible from an engineering and economic perspective? Although wind and solar generators are gaining ground on conventional generation methods in different sectors, lack of information with regards to design, implementation, and payback still remain a major roadblock. The objective of this case study is to educate utility customers and students in renewable energy technologies. To achieve this, the case study documents a full scale hybrid system installation to be used as an educational outreach tool for the community. Major features of this study incorporate the design, implementation, cost and overall feasibility rating of wind and solar generators installed in Brownsville, Texas. Some of the deliverables include: site environment information, detailed design specifications, and a graphical user interface computer program..