Abstract
The paper deals with Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRES) made up of a HighConcentration PhotoVoltaic (HCPV) system together with micro-CHP devices. The combinationof fossil/biomass fuelled micro-CHP devices together with HCPV plants could help to overcomeproblems related to the unpredictable nature of solar energy, such as the difficulty to follow thetime distribution of load demand. The HCPV technology is one of the most promisingtechnologies for solar energy conversion: its efficiency is much higher than a traditional PVplant thanks to the use of triple-junction solar cells which are sensitive to a much wider solarradiation spectrum. Another distinctive characteristic of this technology is to reduce the amountof photosensitive material and to replace it with a cheaper optical system. A specific algorithmhas been developed to assess the optimal size and the operation of HRES aimed at minimizingboth the investment and operational cost of the system. The proposed model has been applied toa case study belonging to the residential sector considering different energy scenarios.