In a Sunny Country... Wind & Solar Hibrid Power

Hey man, In an #energy context such #Spain, where we must meet the EU targets for renewable energy by 2020, remember the importance of the #solar #pv and #wind #power inside our electricity #mix and just because we are in a country that has great resources for these two technologies, and by the way, only by joinning together two small isolated facilities in the area, which already found their owners the importance of having a few photovoltaic modules and a small wind turbine all together.

Hibrid facilities like the ones which we all have seen on Spanish roads, plus facilities that have been made by owners who have put their own money, to see how costly it was to bring the utility line of duty.

But besides this type of remote installations, where storage is present, you also could consider, as in many other parts of the world, to combine both technologies in On Grid installations, using and making profitable the same resources, you can get scale economics. While this may in some cases incur a small loss on the premises, by the interaction between this two technologies.

It is known that the hibrid site construction (solar and wind) complement each other better than it looks, but make a small summary of some of these synergies on why this happens:

• A wind farm site has surfaces on which you can install an additional photovoltaic plant.
• The combination of photovoltaic and wind systems, can make the same resource of land occupied, can produce up to twice as much electricity, while it was found that the losses caused by shading of the turbines are just only considered to be at the order of two percent at most.
• The construction of such plants hybrid energy does not require network expansion because these plants generate wind and solar energy at different times, which means that the level fed into the grid is more stable than wind power plants and photovoltaic alone.
• The effects on power grids, this type of facilities photovoltaic and wind energy in electricity networks, both global and regional level, makes these networks behave in a much more stable, because while producing wind turbines much more electricity during the coldest parts of the year, due to higher levels of wind over the winter months, the solar power plants generate more energy in summer, offsetting lower production of wind energy at this time of year.
• Losses wind shading on photovoltaic installations are minimal (evidently for that are also the designers).
• The common elements that will be used by each facility, such as network connections, authorizations, driveway, mains power evacuation, …, will lead to significant cost reductions, in addition to the aforementioned stabilization of energy production.
But besides synergies, when seeing the whole project, also a series of mutual interactions between the two facilities will be taken:
• The integration of the PV plant within the wind, generate a reduction of wind speed and wind profile disturbance, and consequently the energy production of the wind farm decreases, although very little.
• In the interaction of the wind farm on the PV system must be taken into account among others, the following topics:
- The slopes of the available areas
- The own shadows on the horizon
- The impact of shadow generated by wind turbines

But all this can be a good project circumvented in some cases, taking into account the effects of possible stabilization in production, mixing the two types of technologies, as we will have:
• wind during winter, while solar radiation is low but very efficient production in sunny days due to less cell temperature
• wind during the night, when there is obviously no radiation
• wind during the rainy and cloudy days, while radiation is low
• Good radiation on sunny days, when we anticyclone, and we have wind

A profit will also be in Capex (capital expenditure), due to the synergies between the wind farm and photovoltaic system:
• Cost of installed electrical equipment
• Cost of energy networks evacuation
• Costs of civil engineering works (access, roads …)
• Cost of land lease
• Stabilization of the energy produced

All this should be compared with revenue losses already mentioned, when they are operating the two facilities, due to the loss of energy production, as losses due to the PV system, can cause a loss of income below 1 5% by photovoltaic systems, and losses in the turbine, can also cause a loss of income below 2% (compared with independent photovoltaic plant, according to some studies consulted).
The study should be complete and contemplate:

• The mutual interactions
• Annual degradation modules
• Rates
• Discount rates

Other points where synergies could be established is in operation and maintenance activities, although it is more difficult in some of its aspects have staff specialized in both technologies, but those common elements can be treated together, after having more specialized staff Specific elements of the different facilities.

Say that, although it seems that there are lights and shadows, international experiences made are positive. And in the future framework for distributed generation and smart grids, making the generation is stable, and that fits as far as possible to demand, will make use of existing networks and lower requirements Additional investments are to collect more and more important. Not to mention that in some cases it is not possible to perform short-term lines due to environmental problems.


It is for all this, so important to conduct this type of hibrid facilities, with only renewable technologies, for cases of small isolated facilities to small and medium connected to network an important consumption facilities, and avoid the use of large MW existing sites, where the combination of the two technologies can lead us to some technical and economic synergies.

Renewable Energies can Replace Fossil Fuels by 2050.

In 15 years, participation in Electricity Generation from renewable energies will triple the current situation, from the current 21% to 64%. In a new report entitled Energy Revolution pioneer 2015 by Greenpeace International, the Global Wind Energy Council and Solar Power Europe, former EPIA, we are shown on 364 pages, the road to an energy sector powered by 100% renewable energy, as this shows that it is possible to completely do without fossil fuels and stock only clean and renewable energies in 2050.

The Energy Revolution scenario is 2015 or something similar, is necessary if we are to have a reasonable chance of complying with the agreed target of keeping the increase in global average global temperature below 2°C.

Missing and less than three months to go to the climate summit in Paris, world leaders have the opportunity to take the first critical steps to tackle climate change by accelerating the ongoing transformation of the energy sector in the world fossils and towards 100% renewable fuels by mid-century.

According to Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council, we now have competitive technologies that can solve most of the climate problem, namely the carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector.

What is needed now is the political will to implement the right policies and fiscal and regulatory measures to implement them in full.

On the other hand, according to Greenpeace Sven Teske, lead author of the report, wind and solar technologies currently have a competitive cost with respect to coal. It is very likely that these outweigh the coal industry in terms of jobs and energy supplied in the next decade.

The Energy Revolution scenario 2015 shows how this transformation is possible and at what cost, as well as its impact on employment in the energy sector. The report updates the previous scenarios energy revolution, and for the first time offers an advanced with a supply of 100% renewable energy scenario and provide updated with current policies scenario of the World Energy Outlook the IEA extrapolation all this comparison purposes. A detailed report shows that the transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050, could create millions of new jobs and save money analysis.

In fact, the investment required would be more than covered by the future savings in fuel costs, since to make these changes, an investment that would be more than covered by the savings generated in the future in fuel costs would be necessary. On the one hand the average additional investment required in renewable energy by 2050 would be approximately 900,000 million euros a year, while as renewable energy, which do not require spending fuels, saving at that time would be about 950,000 million euros a year, enough to cover the investment required, with the balance point between 2025 and 2030.

In this 2015 report Energy Revolution, the largest global source of energy worldwide for 2050 would be wind energy, supplying about 30% or 32% respectively.

The wind industry alone could employ 8 million people in 2030, almost 10 times more than at present (which is almost twice as many people currently employed by the oil and gas), and in the case of the photovoltaic industry could employ 9.7 million people by 2030 worldwide, ten times more than today.

Within 15 years, the share of electricity generation from renewable energies would triple the current situation, from the current 21% to 64%, covering almost two thirds of global electricity demand. In countries with rapid development of renewable energy, such as Brazil, China and India, CO2 emissions could fall by a third, from the current 30 Gt generated annually, 20 Gt by 2030.

Smart Grids, Self-Consumption and Sellf Sufficient Micro Grids

More important, however, is the reduction of global CO2 emissions, and reaching zero emissions in the energy sector will not solve all the climate problem, although it is by far the biggest challenge, and must therefore be the main objective of the work of governments to the climate summit in Paris later this year, governments will have to manage the dismantling of the industry that is becoming obsolete, guiding the fossil fuel industry, to prepare gradually, and being aware that every euro invested in fossil fuel projects, it is a sunk cost, as declared Sven Teske, Greenpeace researcher.

Also, be careful not to be influenced by pressure from vested interests in the fossil fuel industry, that will not get in the change of renewable energies, which are the most effective and fairest way to have a clean and secure energy future, due to their investment costs.

Meanwhile Kumi Naidoo, head of Greenpeace International has urged all the skeptics who say you can not do, to read this report and recognize that can be done, should be done and it will be for the benefit of all.

We hope therefore that the climate summit in Paris, have advances that allow us to be optimistic about the evolution of our energy future.

EGA is registered as 14.302 Engineer at COITIMadrid