The hybrid demonstrator is a combination of an existing Vestas V112-3.0 MW turbine and 372 kW of a new solar photovoltaic. The PV power is fed to the turbine as direct current, which is then converted and transformed by the turbine’s ad-hoc modified power conversion system in order to export the power to the grid. According to the companies, by combining wind and PV, the demonstrator offers increased capacity factor and annual energy production.
Bo Svoldgaard, Vestas’ Senior Vice President, Innovation and Concepts stated, “This project demonstrates the mutual benefits of collaboration between Vestas and EDPR and how wind and solar through their complementarity bring cost of energy further down and can deliver stable energy production.”
The demonstrator is the result of a collaboration between Vestas and EDPR with EDPR owning both turbine and PV array .For the project, Vestas has upgraded the technical specifications of the turbine’s controllers, converters and design as well as installed new hardware. By connecting wind and solar through the turbine’s power electronics and utilizing its full-scale converter, the number of converters is reduced, contributing to lower equipment costs and thus cost of energy.
“The development and running of this demonstrator is an interesting opportunity to test some of our hypotheses on the hybrid power plants of the future. Furthermore, it gives us an opportunity to explore wind and solar technology synergies in close collaboration with Vestas”, concluded Bautista Rodriguez, Technical Director at EDPR.
