Chapter 16 - Off-grid hybrid systems reliability and transmission line utilization from the perspective of renewables complementarity

Abstract

Solar and wind energies are prominent examples of resources that have been used for centuries and that have started shaping the modern power systems landscape over the recent years, due to the technological advancements achieved. However, their intrinsically variable and non-dispatchable nature makes their efficient utilization a challenging task. This problem is not only an issue from the perspective of large-scale power systems; but also, the integration of variable renewable energy sources into the power system is a significant challenge despite the many available technological solutions in this era. In the context of off-grid renewables-based energy systems, the number of available intermittency countermeasures is limited and reliability of supply often comes at a high cost. Furthermore, the potential of renewables like solar and wind energies is often poorly spatially correlated with the demand. As a result, such a mismatch forces investment in new transmission capacity, which is not often welcomed by local societies. Even if a new transmission line project is accepted, the variable nature of solar or wind power stations may result in its low utilization and will, adversely, affect the economies of renewable energy. In this chapter, the impact of hourly complementarity on off-grid hybrid system reliability and transmission line utilization has been investigated based on simulated power generation from solar and wind power stations over Algeria.