IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v18y2025i3p585-d1577564.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Hybrid Variable Renewable Power Plants: A Case Study of ROR Hydro Arbitrage

Author

Listed:
  • Isabel Catarino

    (LIBPhys-UNL, Department of Physics, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal)

  • Inês Romão

    (LIBPhys-UNL, Department of Physics, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal)

  • Ana Estanqueiro

    (LNEG—Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia, 1649-038 Lisboa, Portugal)

Abstract

Wind and solar energy sources, while sustainable, are inherently variable in their power generation, posing challenges to grid stability due to their non-dispatchable nature. To address this issue, this study explores the synergistic optimization of wind and solar photovoltaic resources to mitigate power output variability, reducing the strain on local grids and lessening the reliance on balancing power in high-penetration renewable energy systems. This critical role of providing stability can be effectively fulfilled by run-of-river hydropower plants, which can complement fluctuations without compromising their standard operational capabilities. In this research, we employ a straightforward energy balance model to analyze the feasibility of a 100 MW virtual hybrid power plant, focusing on the northern region of Portugal as a case study. Leveraging actual consumption and conceptual production data, our investigation identifies a specific run-of-river plant that aligns with the proposed strategy, demonstrating the practical applicability of this approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Isabel Catarino & Inês Romão & Ana Estanqueiro, 2025. "Hybrid Variable Renewable Power Plants: A Case Study of ROR Hydro Arbitrage," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-12, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:3:p:585-:d:1577564
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/3/585/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/3/585/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Barnham, Keith & Knorr, Kaspar & Mazzer, Massimo, 2013. "Benefits of photovoltaic power in supplying national electricity demand," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 385-390.
    2. Javed, Muhammad Shahzad & Ma, Tao & Jurasz, Jakub & Amin, Muhammad Yasir, 2020. "Solar and wind power generation systems with pumped hydro storage: Review and future perspectives," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 176-192.
    3. Hase, Bastian & Seidel, Christian, 2021. "Balancing services by run-of-river-hydropower at low reservoir amplitudes: Potentials, revenues and emission impacts," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    4. Silva, Ana R. & Pousinho, H.M.I. & Estanqueiro, Ana, 2022. "A multistage stochastic approach for the optimal bidding of variable renewable energy in the day-ahead, intraday and balancing markets," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    5. Dujardin, Jérôme & Kahl, Annelen & Kruyt, Bert & Bartlett, Stuart & Lehning, Michael, 2017. "Interplay between photovoltaic, wind energy and storage hydropower in a fully renewable Switzerland," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 513-525.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhang, Yusheng & Zhao, Xuehua & Wang, Xin & Li, Aiyun & Wu, Xinhao, 2023. "Multi-objective optimization design of a grid-connected hybrid hydro-photovoltaic system considering power transmission capacity," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    2. Makhdoomi, Sina & Askarzadeh, Alireza, 2020. "Daily performance optimization of a grid-connected hybrid system composed of photovoltaic and pumped hydro storage (PV/PHS)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 272-285.
    3. Nguyen, Hai Tra & Safder, Usman & Nhu Nguyen, X.Q. & Yoo, ChangKyoo, 2020. "Multi-objective decision-making and optimal sizing of a hybrid renewable energy system to meet the dynamic energy demands of a wastewater treatment plant," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    4. Mark Howells & Brent Boehlert & Pablo César Benitez, 2021. "Potential Climate Change Risks to Meeting Zimbabwe’s NDC Goals and How to Become Resilient," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-26, September.
    5. Toufani, Parinaz & Nadar, Emre & Kocaman, Ayse Selin, 2022. "Short-term assessment of pumped hydro energy storage configurations: Up, down, or closed?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(P1), pages 1086-1095.
    6. Ramadan, Mohamad & Murr, Rabih & Khaled, Mahmoud & Olabi, Abdul Ghani, 2018. "Mixed numerical - Experimental approach to enhance the heat pump performance by drain water heat recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 1010-1021.
    7. Loris Di Natale & Luca Funk & Martin Rüdisüli & Bratislav Svetozarevic & Giacomo Pareschi & Philipp Heer & Giovanni Sansavini, 2021. "The Potential of Vehicle-to-Grid to Support the Energy Transition: A Case Study on Switzerland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-24, August.
    8. Wang, Zizhao & Wu, Feng & Li, Yang & Li, Jingyan & Liu, Ying & Liu, Wenge, 2023. "Day-ahead dispatch approach for cascaded hydropower-photovoltaic complementary system based on two-stage robust optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    9. Newbery, David, 2021. "National Energy and Climate Plans for the island of Ireland: wind curtailment, interconnectors and storage," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    10. Iwona Bąk & Anna Spoz & Magdalena Zioło & Marek Dylewski, 2021. "Dynamic Analysis of the Similarity of Objects in Research on the Use of Renewable Energy Resources in European Union Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-24, July.
    11. Müller, Jonas & Trutnevyte, Evelina, 2020. "Spatial projections of solar PV installations at subnational level: Accuracy testing of regression models," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    12. Kheshti, Mostafa & Zhao, Xiaowei & Liang, Ting & Nie, Binjian & Ding, Yulong & Greaves, Deborah, 2022. "Liquid air energy storage for ancillary services in an integrated hybrid renewable system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 298-307.
    13. Bartlett, Stuart & Dujardin, Jérôme & Kahl, Annelen & Kruyt, Bert & Manso, Pedro & Lehning, Michael, 2018. "Charting the course: A possible route to a fully renewable Swiss power system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 942-955.
    14. Li, Xiao & Liu, Pan & Cheng, Lei & Cheng, Qian & Zhang, Wei & Xu, Shitian & Zheng, Yalian, 2023. "Strategic bidding for a hydro-wind-photovoltaic hybrid system considering the profit beyond forecast time," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 277-289.
    15. Hou, Langbo & Tong, Xi & Chen, Heng & Fan, Lanxin & Liu, Tao & Liu, Wenyi & Liu, Tong, 2024. "Optimized scheduling of smart community energy systems considering demand response and shared energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 295(C).
    16. Lu Gan & Dirong Xu & Xiuyun Chen & Pengyan Jiang & Benjamin Lev & Zongmin Li, 2023. "Sustainable portfolio re-equilibrium on wind-solar-hydro system: An integrated optimization with combined meta-heuristic," Energy & Environment, , vol. 34(5), pages 1383-1408, August.
    17. Visser, L.R. & AlSkaif, T.A. & Khurram, A. & Kleissl, J. & van Sark, W.G.H.J.M., 2024. "Probabilistic solar power forecasting: An economic and technical evaluation of an optimal market bidding strategy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 370(C).
    18. Wesseh, Presley K. & Benjamin, Nelson I. & Lin, Boqiang, 2022. "The coordination of pumped hydro storage, electric vehicles, and climate policy in imperfect electricity markets: Insights from China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    19. Handong Liu & Jialiang Wang & Huaichang Yu & Yiying Zhang, 2023. "The Influence of Cyclic Load Amplitude on Mechanical Response and Acoustic Emission Characteristics of Granite," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-15, June.
    20. Dujardin, Jérôme & Schillinger, Moritz & Kahl, Annelen & Savelsberg, Jonas & Schlecht, Ingmar & Lordan-Perret, Rebecca, 2022. "Optimized market value of alpine solar photovoltaic installations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 878-888.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:3:p:585-:d:1577564. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.