ENERGY DREAM MAP

Hybrid

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Hybrid energy is a combination of multiple energy sources to produce power, most notably electricity. These energy plants usually combine a renewable energy source integrated with a secondary generation or storage application. The secondary generation can be either gas or diesel engines or can be renewables such as photovoltaics, wind turbines or a hydro source. They can also incorporate a battery or fuel cell as secondary storage. Hybrid systems provide a high level of energy security through the mix of generation methods. They can also provide energy in the form of heat in certain applications. 

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Advantages:

• High level of energy security.

• Ability to counter electricity fluctuations.

• Decreased fuel consumption.

• Low greenhouse gas emissions.

• Suitable for off-grid applications.

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Disadvantages:

• Inconsistent operating conditions (e.g. wind speed, sunlight).

• High infrastructure cost.

• Requires further research and development.

• Extra power generation is wasted.

• Higher maintenance.

• Complex controlling system.

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Applications

1. Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRES): Utilization of two or more renewable energy sources used together for electricity generation.

2. Biomass, Wind, and Fuel Cell: Biomass is combusted to generate electricity alongside energy extracted through wind power and fuel cells.

3. Photovoltaic and Wind: Wind turbines and PV systems are used in conjunction to generate electricity.

4. Photovoltaic and Diesel: It combines Photovoltaic (PV) and diesel generators in which the diesel generators are used to constantly fill in the gap between present load and actual generated power by the PV system.

5. Wind and Diesel: A wind-diesel hybrid power system combines diesel generators and wind turbines, alongside ancillary equipment to generate electricity.

6. Wind and Hydro: A wind-hydro system generates electric energy combining wind turbines and pumped storage.