India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) published a national policy on May 16 that envisions a national grid of “hybrid” power plants integrating both solar and wind power, a concept that potentially addresses the challenges that renewable energy production faces such as inconsistent output and land shortages. According to MNRE, hybrid power can reduce variability in renewable power generation, and create overall better grid stability.
MNRE’s finalized “Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy” outlines plans for a grid of integrated power plants across the country that can generate power day and night, as well as during dust storms and the monsoons. In mid-May, President Ram Nath Kovind sanctioned a program to set up 2.5 GW of hybrid projects on build-own-operate basis.
The ministry’s hybrid strategy recommends adding solar PV capacity to existing wind projects, and vice versa, maximizing the usage of land that has already been acquired. It has identified sites for hybrid stations by superimposing wind and solar resource maps, saying ‘large areas’ of the country have ‘high to moderate potential.’
