Pairing wave and wind power offshore cuts grid strain, new study shows
Researchers found that combining wave and wind energy at the same offshore location boosts grid reliability far more than either technology alone. The finding offers utilities a blueprint for maximizing existing marine infrastructure and reducing the need for costly backup power as renewable energy expands.
Originaltitel: Grid Impact of Co-located Offshore Renewable Energy Sources
<p>As the share of renewable energy sources in the energy mix increases, weather-dependent variations in several time scales will have a significant impact on the power system. One way of mitigating these variations is to co-locate complementary energy sources at the same location. In this study, the complementarity between offshore floating photovoltaics, wave, and wind power is analyzed and the grid impact of such co-located energy sources is addressed using capacity credit. Additionally, the possibility of installing supplementary generation capacity within existing offshore wind power farms is investigated. It is found that co-locating wave power with offshore wind results in increased capacity credit compared to stand-alone wind power farms and that in all analyzed cases, the capacity credit of the co-located energy sources exceeds the capacity credit contribution of the separate energy sources. Co-locating photovoltaics with offshore wind brings little benefit to the capacity credit, but shows potential in increasing the utilization of the transmission cable.</p>