Performance assessment of hybrid PV-wind systems on high-rise rooftops in the Brussels-Capital Region

Abstract

In cities, the tallest rooftops have the best potential for electricity production. They often combine good wind and solar conditions with available space. Rooftop-mounted photovoltaic (PV) panels have already proven their efficiency and profitability. For tall rooftops with good wind conditions, also small wind turbines can be economically viable. However, hybrid PV-wind systems apparently have never been studied for these limited spaces. In this work, we study the technical, economic and environmental performance of hybrid PV/wind systems installed on tall buildings. From the rooftop plan, the building electricity consumption and the solar and wind resources of a roof, we developed an algorithm that generates hybrid retrofitting configurations and calculates their global performance. We then use the algorithm for two high-rise buildings in the Brussels-Capital Region.For these two real case studies, in which all building and energy characteristics are known (i.e. rooftop plan, energy consumption) and where we measured wind and solar resources, we observe that hybrid PV/wind systems show good technical, economic and environmental performance. They also offer a good trade-off between economic and environmental objectives. However, we observe that the shadow impact from the turbines on PV panels is much larger than for ground-based hybrid installations (about 1% to 8% annual loss of irradiance).