The Intersection of Technology and Regulation in Renewable Energy Sector

The intersection between technological evolution and regulatory changes opens the door to solutions that have been considered for years in the renewable sector. This is the case in countries such as Spain, one of the first to combine the potential of wind and solar energy to optimize the capacity of the electricity grid. This is known as the hybridization of installations.

What does it consist of? Basically, it involves wind farms and photovoltaic plants operating in a coordinated manner at the same location. Thus, the contribution of green power at the same point of connection to the electricity system will not be so conditioned by whether the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. And not only that, synergies reduce the environmental footprint of infrastructures and optimize the use of power grids.

Making the Most of Renewable Infrastructure

Maximizing connection capacity has been a longstanding goal for renewable facility operators, especially for wind farms. By integrating complementary solar plants alongside wind installations, operators can significantly boost energy delivery without costly upgrades or grid saturation risks. Power grids are costly infrastructures, so trying to make the most of them makes sense.

A Regulatory Push for Hybridization

Technological capacity alone is insufficient without strong legislative support, but substantial progress is being made on that front too. Spain took a pioneering step in 2020 by enacting a law (RD 1183/2020) that explicitly allows for hybridization projects of existing generation facilities using the same connection point and access capacity already granted.

This legal framework provides the necessary coverage for hybridization and streamlines the administrative procedures for such projects. The regulation introduces an abbreviated process for hybridizing installations with existing facilities with authorized grid connections, cutting processing times in half.

Main Advantages of Hybridization

As can be seen, the hybridization of renewable installations has several advantages, which can be summarized in the following points:

• It favors the construction of new renewable facilities and, consequently, compliance with international commitments to decarbonize the electricity system.
• Increases the penetration of renewables in the system by making better use of the grid’s capacity to absorb the energy generated in these facilities.
• It takes advantage of existing infrastructures, such as substations, power lines, accesses, etc., which reduces the environmental footprint and investment costs.
• By using complementary sources, electricity generation is more constant in a hybridized facility, which is positive for the balance of the power system. It also increases the capacity factor – the time in which a facility generates power – relative to the previous non-hybridized facility.
• Connection and start-up times are accelerated by speeding up the authorization procedure for new installations that hybridize with pre-existing ones.