GE Renewable Energy has been chosen to supply the USA’s first commercial integrated solar-wind hybrid power generation system for a small community-based plant in rural Minnesota.
GE has partnered with clean power company Juhl Energy to develop the 4.6 MW Red Lake Falls project. The facility will utilise two 2.3-116 wind turbines from GE Renewable Energy’s Onshore Wind business, in combination with one-megawatt of solar power equipment provided by GE’s Current business.
The hybrid project will be driven by GE’s Wind Integrated Solar Energy (WiSE) technology, software that links solar panels directly to a wind turbine’s converter, enabling the two to share the same balance of plant. The technology allows the system to adapt to conditions and seasons; drawing on solar primarily during the summer months for peak energy, and wind power during winter.
“Most energy experts agree that distributed generation will play a major role in the implementation of renewable energy in the US electrical market in the years to come. Juhl Energy’s package design, with the GE hybrid technology, can economically blend clean, renewable energy into the grid at lower cost, plus add reliability to the system,” said Dan Juhl, CEO of Juhl Energy.
GE says its WiSE platform can boost the net capacity of hybrid wind and solar power systems like Red Lake Falls by 3-4 percent, and annual energy production by up to 10 percent.
Pete McCabe, President & CEO, Onshore Wind, GE Renewable Energy, said, “By leveraging the complementary nature of wind and solar, this unique project shows how GE is driving technology innovation that will help customers deliver more renewable energy in an even more efficient manner.”
The company, which has installed tens of thousands of megawatts of on-and-offshore wind turbines around the world, will be hoping its foray into the U.S. solar/wind hybrid market is successful as it could be quite lucrative.
According to a report from Global Market Insights, Inc., the market for hybrid solar wind projects worldwide could reach USD $1.47 billion by 2024. The same report valued the U.S. hybrid solar and wind market at USD $195 million in 2015, a number tipped to rise to USD $300 million by 2024.
