Study Cites Advantages of Combining Wind and Solar

Solar and wind power plants complement each other better than previously thought. This is the conclusion of a study conducted in Germany by the Reiner Lemoine Institute and Solarpraxis AG. Combining wind turbines and photovoltaic systems results in up to twice the amount of electricity being generated across the same surface area, while shading losses caused by wind turbines amount to a mere one to two percent. As an additional benefit, the construction of hybrid power plants does not require grid expansion because these plants generate wind and solar power at different times, meaning that the level of energy fed into the grid is more steady than that of wind or photovoltaic power plants alone. Read more