'GORONA DEL VIENTO'. EL HIERRO HYDRO-WIND PLANT: MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF BECOMING AN ENERGY SELF-SUFFICIENT ISLAND

摘要

Energy storage systems can help to mitigate the disadvantages of power variability and generation predictability of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. This presentation details the advantages of a synergistic integration of wind energy and hydroelectric pumped storage. Pump storage has significant advantages for utility and grid operators by providing reserve power with fast response speed to meet the fluctuation of power generation by renewable sources and the variability of power usage. The island of El Hierro, a part of the Canary Islands Chain has accepted this challenge and is implementing a hybrid wind and hydroelectric solution to meet its energy supply with 100% renewable sources. The main element of this plan is a hydro-wind plant that integrates a wind farm of 11.5 MW’s with a reversible hydroelectric plant with 11.32 MW’s of power generation and 6 MW’s of pumping power. When combined and integrated they create reliable, efficient and stable power for the 10,960 persons residing on the island of El Hierro and their peak power demand of 7.56 MW’s. The paper will describe the details of the project and how the major challenges encountered during its development have been solved.