Cleantech Snapshot – Solar-Wind hybrid - India Renewable Energy Consulting – Solar, Biomass, Wind, Cleantech
Select Page

EAI presents Cleantech Snapshots: a quick summary of some of the most interesting and innovative areas in clean technology that will drive the sustainability movement in future.


This snapshot focuses on Solar-Wind hybrid. Within this page you will find


Overview

  • Solar-wind hybrids use solar panels and small wind turbine generators to generate electricity
  • Typical capacities are in the range of 1 kW to 10 kW for the solar panel and the wind turbine combined system
  • Wind blows when the sun does not shine, and vice versa. This complementary nature lends itself to a hybrid solution to generate reliable power.
  • Currently, solar-wind hybrids are found only as small-scale systems and not in large, MW scale solar-wind farms owing to some bottlenecks
  • With the advancements in grid management and related technologies, one can expect this hybrid technology to be far more prevalent in future

Solar-Wind hybrid system

Solar-Wind hybrid system (Image source)

 

Working

  • The solar panel and the wind turbine work in tandem to charge a battery via a controller
  • The wind turbine could be a vertical axis wind turbine or a horizontal axis wind turbine.
  • In a typical hybrid system the battery is first charged by the Solar, then by Wind

Advantages

  • Ecologically sound
  • Clean renewable energy
  • Reduction of carbon footprint
  • Cost effective
  • Both Solar and Wind complement each other

Area required for system setup

  • Smaller systems (1kW) take up about 1 m2
  • Solar panels typically take up about 12 m2 for each kW

Applications

  • Commercial and industrial sectors (Rural offices, Tourist hotels, etc.)
  • Buildings in rural and urban fringe areas
  • Railway tracking signaling
  • High end residential apartments and villas

Copyright © 2024 EAI. All rights reserved.