Combining wind and solar energy sources: Potential for hybrid power generation in Brazil
Introduction
Developing new renewable energy is a key factor for the transition from fossil fuel-based energy sources to alternative and diversified resources with lower environmental impacts. In this context, wind and photovoltaic solar energy have stood out significantly in recent years in terms of investments, research, and expansion of the world's installed capacity.
The current power generation paradigm is based on centralized generation from large power plants that use a single type of resource. However, the combined use of more than one energy source is quite common for distributed generation in remote places, where it would be economically unfeasible to connect these consumers to the centralized generation infrastructure. In recent years there have been some initiatives aimed at the creation and study of Hybrid Energy Systems (HES) for centralized generation. Among renewable energy technologies, the combination of wind and solar PV energy, when a complementarity exists, has emerged as a possibility of producing electricity from HES. However, the economic feasibility of HES is quite recent, and there are many gaps in the technical and scientific knowledge that need to be filled.
Brazil is a developing country, and its demand for non-hydro renewable energy is growing. Abundant wind and solar resources are available in Brazil. In recent years, wind and solar energy have been introduced in the electrical matrix, and the prospects for the development of these technologies are excellent. In addition, in specific regions of Brazil, there is a high complementarity between wind, solar, and water resources, which can be exploited. Therefore, HES power plants can benefit from energy resources complementarity and produce energy more efficiently than plants with a single energy source. Renewable electricity generation is promoted and supported through the current regulatory framework; however, there is not yet specific regulation for HES projects in Brazil. This study demonstrates that the Northeast Region of Brazil is conducive to HES projects; there are two pilot hybrid power plants in the Northeast, and that wind-solar PV hybrid power plants can be one innovative option for national energy security.
Despite the availability of resources, the effectiveness of hybrid plants, and the results of some technical studies on HES in Brazil, the current regulatory framework is not yet supportive of hybrid plants because so far, there has been no regulatory decision by the Federal government or the regulatory agency.
In this context, this article contributes to knowledge of HES development for large scale generation from wind and solar sources. The main objectives of this work are: demonstrate the expansion potential of wind and solar energy in Brazil, the complementarity of these resources in specific regions, and consequently, the potential for wind-solar hybrid plants; and examine the current national renewable energy generation regulatory framework and provide recommendations for the development of a regulatory framework that would support wind-solar hybrid power plants.
Section snippets
Methods
The methodology applied is exploratory, descriptive, and qualitative. The article reviews governmental and academic documents, technical reports and thematic maps of national (EPE, ANEEL, ONS, ABEOLICA, and ABSOLAR) and international (IEA, IRENA, and REN21) agencies and associations, as well as two case studies of hybrid power plants with an aim to (a) demonstrate the expansion potential of wind and solar energy in Brazil, the complementarity of these resources in specific regions, and
Literature review
Supply of, and demand for electric power in the world has increased over the last decades (IEA, 2014a). Therefore, planning and energy security considerations drove several countries to diversify their energy generation strategies and include alternative sources for electricity generation to reduce fossil-fuel consumption, address environmental issues, and climate change mitigation targets (Santos, 2015). Developed countries, such as the USA, Germany, and the United Kingdom, and developing
Overview of wind and solar photovoltaic power expansion in the world
The development of wind power and, to a lesser extent, solar PV power in the Brazilian Electricity Sector has followed a worldwide expansion trend. About 15%–18% of global electricity could be provided by wind power in 2050, from a total installed capacity of about 2300–2800 GW, and this would avoid emissions of up to 4.8 GtCO2/year. It is also suggested that wind power production could increase significantly, generating 6678 TWh annually, from 2500 GW of installed capacity, in 2030 and
Overview of the Brazilian Electricity Sector
Initially, the BES was almost entirely state-owned in its three parts: generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. However, from the 1990s a Liberal government was elected for two terms (1995–1998 and 1999–2002) and the Federal government's public policies started to have a more liberal economic profile, which resulted in reform of the BES's institutional model in 1997 (BRADSHAW, 2017; SILVA, 2011; D’ARAÚJO, 2009).
In the late 90s and early 2000s, a severe drought in Brazil
Wind and solar potential in Brazil
Brazil has a considerable potential for electricity generation from wind and solar energy. The National Institute of Science and Technology for Climate Change (INCT–Clima) estimated a gross wind power potential of up to 880.5 GW (with a possibility of production of 1700 TWh/year) considering hub heights of 100 m, with 522 GW being technically feasible (PEREIRA, 2016). The wind regime in the South, especially in the Northeast region, has excellent characteristics for electricity generation: good
Regulatory framework revision and the need for inclusion of the hybrid projects
In Brazil, there is a need for more renewable electricity generation; great potential for hybrid projects due to the complementarity of resources, and great potential for hybrid projects due to the established higher performance and synergy of such projects. The current regulatory framework does not support hybrid projects. Thus, the current discussions related to the BES regulatory framework revision are an opportunity to create new specific regulations on HES plants.
In 2016, the Federal
Discussion
In terms of the expansion potential of wind, solar and hybrid projects, the information presented in this article proven that Brazil has excellent conditions of geographical coincidences associated with high potentials and the complementarities (seasonal and daily) of wind and solar sources. Brazil showed the expressive development of wind and solar PV power in Brazil during the past few years, and the installed capacities of wind power and solar PV in Brazil were 14.4 GW and 2.3. GW,
Conclusion
Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power are proving strategic and assisting Brazil to expand and diversify its electricity matrix. Large scale wind energy in Brazil began in 2009, and hundreds of new wind farms have been installed since then. Large scale solar PV energy had an initial milestone in 2014, signalling that the technology can grow as much as wind energy.
This study demonstrated the great potential for the deployment of centralized wind-PV hybrid power plants. It was
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no financial interests involved in this paper.
Acknowledgment
This study was financed in part by the Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel - Brazil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001.
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