GE Renewable Energy has been selected to supply equipment for the new 4.6MW integrated solar-wind hybrid power generation project in Minnesota, US.
Located in Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, the integrated solar-wind hybrid being developed by Juhl Energy will feature two 2.3-116 wind turbines from GE Renewable Energy’s Onshore Wind business.
The facility, which is scheduled to be commissioned in August 2017, will also feature a 1MW of solar power conversion equipment, which will be provided by GE’s Current business.
Said to be the first integrated solar-wind plant operating commercially in the US, the project will use GE’s wind integrated solar energy technology platform, which will integrate the solar panels through the wind turbine’s converter directly.
The design will not only allow both wind and solar share all the same balance of plant but increase the net capacity by 3-4% and annual energy production by up to 10%, GE said.
GE Renewable Energy onshore wind president and CEO Pete McCabe 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.”
GE said that the project’s hybrid design allows for power generation at peak time, as the solar provides summer peak energy and the wind provides winter peak energy. It will also allow the project to produce power when it is most needed.
Juhl Energy CEO Dan Juhl said: “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.”
According to Global Market Insights’ report, the market for hybrid solar wind projects is estimated to reach $1.47bn by 2024.
Image: A GE-built 2MW wind turbine. Photo: courtesy of General Electric.