Abstract
Solar and wind energy systems, without storage, cannot satisfy variable load demands, but their combined use can help to solve the problem of the balance between generation and consumption. Energetic complementarity studies are useful to evaluate the viability of the use of two or more renewable energy sources with high variability in a specific interval of time in a determined region. In this paper, the monthly energetic complementarity study of solar and wind resources of Colombia is carried out. A novel approach to conduct the study is proposed. A dataset with the average monthly solar radiation and wind speed values is obtained from high-resolution images of renewable resources maps, using image processing algorithms. Then, the dataset is used to calculate the energetic complementarity of the sources employing the negative of the Pearson correlation coefficient. The obtained values are transformed to energetic complementarity maps, previously eliminating the protected areas. The obtained results show that there is a good energetic complementarity in the north and northeastern regions of the country throughout the year. The results indicate that projects related to the joint use of solar and wind generation systems could be developed in these regions.
Highlights
The accelerated growth of the world population and the use of new technologies are directly related to the increasing demand for electricity, mainly generated by using fossil fuels [1], which generate greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change [2]
The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section 2 describes the natural resources and protected area maps of the country used in this research and the proposed procedure for the calculation of the energetic complementarity between renewable sources (RES); in Section 3, the energetic complementarity maps obtained for Colombia and the discussion about the obtained results are presented; the last section of this paper draws the main conclusions of this research
The country has 6342 km of land borders and borders the countries of Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama. It is a privileged country in terms of RES. It has 1600 km of coast in the north facing the Caribbean Sea and 1300 km in the west bathed by the Pacific Ocean, which favors the generation of air currents suitable for the installation of wind generation systems [29]; it is a country with a good amount of solar energy because of its location in the Tropical Belt—energy that can be used in solar generation systems [30]
Summary
The accelerated growth of the world population and the use of new technologies are directly related to the increasing demand for electricity, mainly generated by using fossil fuels [1], which generate greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change [2] To address this issue, two major solutions have been proposed [3]: improve energy efficiency or generate electricity using RES (renewable energy sources). RES offer many benefits, there are some drawbacks [5], one of which is that solar and wind energy are intermittent and depend on the weather conditions For this reason, these RES are called variable renewable energy (VRE) sources and their generation cannot follow changing electricity demand patterns without storage systems. The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section 2 describes the natural resources and protected area maps of the country used in this research and the proposed procedure for the calculation of the energetic complementarity between RES; in Section 3, the energetic complementarity maps obtained for Colombia and the discussion about the obtained results are presented; the last section of this paper draws the main conclusions of this research
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
