Assessing temporal complementarity of solar, wind and hydrokinetic energy

Abstract

Renewable energy sources (RES) exhibit various characteristics when it comes to their availability in time and space domain. Some are characterised by significant variability and limited predictability. This makes their integration to the power grid a complicated task. Temporal and spatial complementarity of RES is perceived as one of the possible ways to facilitate the process of integration. This paper investigates the concept of temporal complementarity of solar wind and hydrokinetic energy in case of two sites in Poland. Obtained results indicate existence of some beneficial complementarity on inter-Annual and annual time scale. Combination of those three RES in one hybrid system makes power source more reliable.