Hybrid power systems can be a nightmare to the Asian sector

Hybrid power systems can be a nightmare to the Asian sector

Are there even enough appropriate incentives for investment?

When Singapore became home to Southeast Asia's first large-scale offshorer
enewable energy system based on hybrid power systems, experts had mixed
reactions.

For its proponents, hybrid power systems are the dream of the future,
integrating traditional power sources with renewable power sources, but
experts warn that it can
turn into a technical nightmare.

"Challenges must be overcome to ensure that present levels of reliability
are not significantly affected when operating a hybrid power system," says
Amit Gupta, chief of electrical capability group-Asia at Rolls-Royce
Singapore.

Big shoes to fill

One key task is to design new market models that allow competitive
participation of intermittent energy sources, and provide appropriate
incentives for investment. There is also a need to design appropriate
demandside management schemes to allow customers to react to the grid needs.

Asian countries like the Philippines also face an uphill battle when it
comes to funding and site availability. Malin Östman manager, project
development at Wärtsilä Finland Oy Singapore reckons there is excellent
potential for PV-engine hybrids in the Philippines due to a good level of
irradiation and widespread diesel use as a generating fuel.

But cost and availability of land remain as major challenges to implement
solar PV and PV-engine hybrids across the islands.

Increasing complexities

The rising complexity of hybrid systems should also keep operators on their
toes."The development of more energy sources or storage technologies will
increase the complexity on hybrid systems," says Fernando Niggli, technical
manager at DEIF Korea, South Korea.

He reckons that individual sources cannot operate if the integration to the
other sources is incomplete. This only causes more problems, especially in
the microgrid level of applications, and puts pressure on the industry to
roll out better systems.

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Link to Original Article:
http://asian-power.com/project/in-focus/hybrid-power-systems-can-be-nightmar
e-asian-sector

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com