Last year, "hybrid" power plants across the U.S. reaped a lot, thanks to falling battery prices and growth in power generation from a variety of renewable sources, according to a new report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Hybrid power plants are power plants that combine several different types of power generation, such as wind and solar, or combine power generation and storage.
By the end of 2021, there are nearly 300 hybrid plants in operation across the U.S., with a combined generation capacity of nearly 36GW and storage capacity of 8.1GWh, the lab said. Compared to last year, the U.S. added 74 new hybrid power plants, 67 of which combine photovoltaics and energy storage. At the end of 2021, the total U.S. generating capacity is 1,143GW, 3% of which will come from hybrid power plants. The report tracks operating and proposed hybrid power plants in conjunction with comprehensive data on power purchase agreements (PPAs). The report excludes "virtual" hybrid power plants that are not co-located, as well as small power plants with a capacity of less than 1 MW.
"Photovoltaic+storage" is the classic configuration of hybrid power plants last year: "PV+storage" power plants have twice the battery capacity (7GWh) of stand-alone energy storage plants (3.5GWh). This type of hybrid power plant can be found all over the United States, but the larger plants are mainly located in sunnier regions such as the US West Coast (especially California), Texas and Florida.
While the "PV+storage" configuration has performed well, nearly 20 other configurations of hybrid power plants have made a splash, including some that combine fossil fuel components. Interestingly, in a generator-storage hybrid power generation system, “PV+storage” dominates in terms of the number of power plants, energy storage capacity, energy storage to generator capacity ratio, and energy storage duration.
This shows that "PV + energy storage" power plants can provide both sufficient energy (maintaining stable power supply during intermittent periods when renewable energy cannot generate electricity) and sufficient power for energy arbitrage (buying electricity during off-peak hours, and make a profit by providing electricity when electricity is tight and expensive).
Data from power plants under development suggest that the boom in hybrid plants is likely to continue: The report states that by the end of 2021, more than 670 GW of energy in the U.S. will come from solar plants, 42 percent of which will come from hybrid plants. In terms of wind power generation, it ranks second with 247GW of power generation capacity, of which only 8% comes from hybrid power generation, and most of it comes from "wind power + energy storage" power generation. It is worth noting, however, that many of the proposed hybrid power plants are not yet in commercial operation.
In addition, the report also pointed out that although the cost of "PV + storage" power purchase agreements is falling over time, the levelized cost of electricity has increased recently, which may reflect the increase in the ratio of battery to photovoltaic capacity. And the growing crisis in the global supply chain.
Although Australia lags behind in hybrid power plants, its capacity continues to grow: in April, the country's largest hybrid power plant (the Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park) officially started production, while Asian Renewable Energy The Centre Project (AREH), still in the planning stages, is a proposed giant power plant to provide about 40 per cent of Australia's total electricity generation, with fossil fuel giant BP holding a 40.5 per cent stake in the project.