Wind-solar complementation helps enhance project value
Compared with projects that use a single power generation technology, wind-solar hybrid projects can bring many advantages. The addition of photovoltaic power generation in wind farms can effectively share grid connection and other costs, thereby increasing the project's net present value. As wind power and photovoltaic power generation are complementary, the addition of photovoltaic power generation to wind power projects will not increase the amount of curtailment, but also ensure more stable output, ease the pressure on grid facilities, and enable developers to obtain better power purchase agreements (PPA). ). We used wind-solar hybrid models to analyze the models of complementarity, power curtailment, grid usage, and economic benefits of simulation projects at selected sites in the United States, Germany and Australia. We also interviewed project developers and wind turbine manufacturers to promote the core elements of the development of wind-solar hybrid projects. Grid-connected cost sharing is a key factor in promoting the development of wind-solar hybrid projects. In countries and regions with weak grid infrastructure, effective use of the existing power transmission infrastructure can avoid the setbacks in obtaining a separate grid connection agreement. The possible power abandonment situation is not as bad as imagined. Due to the complementarity of wind power and photovoltaic power generation, in sunny Australia, up to 80% of the wind farm capacity can be configured for photovoltaic power generation without increasing the scale of grid connection, and the total curtailment rate can be controlled below 5%. However, since many wind farms are built on agricultural land, this has hindered the construction of photovoltaic power plants in wind farms. In addition, the policy support enjoyed by many wind farms (such as feed-in tariffs, tax credits or other policies) may not continue to be enjoyed after the addition of photovoltaic power plants. The state can issue relevant policies to help make full use of the technological advantages of wind-solar complementary projects. The Indian government has held a bidding for wind-solar hybrid projects and passed two projects with a total capacity of 840MW. The Indian government plans to conduct five bids of the same type, and the bidding capacity is expected to reach 2.3GW.
