Hybrid Solar Power Systems

A solar power plant, combining the capabilities of grid connected and autonomous systems, is called a Hybrid Solar Power System. It has a connection to an external grid, but can provide backup power in its failure. In addition, the batteries of the system increase their consumption of free solar energy.

As with on-grid power station, the hybrid power system provides the opportunity to sell the excess energy to the public network in the event of a contract with the power distribution company. This is advantageous in cases where tariffs for sale of electricity to the grid are higher than the purchase price. When the situation is reversed, it is better to store energy in batteries for using it in the evening.

In sunny days there are periods when the keeprs of energy are already fully charged and the generation still exceeds current consumption. In this case, surpluses will be exported to the grid: it is better to sell the energy at any price than not to use it.

Unlike the stand alone solar power plant, the hybrid solution does not require large capacity batteries since dropping the external network are rare and usually not longer than a few hours. For special occasions, for example, with long shutdowns of the external network in dull weather, it is possible to install a diesel generator to quickly charge the batteries to the required level.

In case of pending connections of the sites to the main energy grid but with a current power supply requirement, a hybrid system can be built and used autonomously until a network emerges. Typically, the construction of a solar power plant takes less time than the paperwork process for building an individual transformer and connecting to the grid.

In this way, the hybrid solar power station combines the positive aspects of grid connected and autonomous systems, cost is cheaper compared to the autonomous plant.

The hybrid power plant can use individual inverters for the solar modules and for the rechargeable batteries or a common hybrid inverter that contains all the necessary electronics.

Examples for hybrid power stations