Hybridisation & Storage

Firm power through hybrid solutions

In order to achieve around-the-clock decarbonisation of global electricity systems, renewables will need to supply power 24/7, 52 weeks of the year. We have the solution. 

The sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow, but there is a high degree of predictability in their variability.  

Through innovation and diversification, we are  developing renewable project platforms that can reliably match energy supply to user demand, every hour of the day. It’s an approach to ‘firm power’ delivery that we call hybridisation. 

How Hybridisation works

Our solution to variability begins with data. Using solar irradiation and wind measurements, we model the daily and seasonal energy profiles of potential project sites, building a hybrid portfolio of technologies that, when taken together, can deliver consistent generation.  

This portfolio approach allows us to match supply and demand with high levels of certainty that, in the future, will be supported by battery storage.

graph depicting the energy demand compared to the combined generation of wind and solar energy plants through hybridisation

image collage of a wind turbine and solar panels to depict hybridisation of these technologies

Andes Renovables: meeting Chile’s electricity demand with wind and solar 

In 2016, the Chilean government invited bids to supply 16% of country’s electricity needs in an auction judged on price and the capacity to deliver to a 24-hour demand profile. Mainstream won a contract to supply 3.4 terawatt hours of electricity each year, enough to power 1-in-6 of the nation’s homes. 

It was a milestone test of renewable energy as a viable source of firm power, and our strategy for delivery rested on hybridisation. See how our 1.37 GW Andes Renovables wind and solar platform fits the requirements of a complex power purchase structure that’s becoming the norm. 

Watch the video 

How we’re providing “firm” power from wind and solar hybdrisation 

Andes Renovables is one of the world’s first wind and solar platforms to solve the firm power challenge on a national scale. Watch this video to see how we designed-in delivery with the high levels of certainty so vital for the energy transition. 

hybridisation - pink icon depicting consistent energy supply

Reliable energy supply

A well-configured renewables mix beats the firm power argument for fossil fuels

hybridisation - pink icon depicting climbing up a mountain and making inroads

Big inroads on Net Zero 

Scale of deployment represents significant progress towards national decarbonisation goals

hybridisation - pink icon depicting private offtake opportunities

Private offtake opportunities 

Growing interest from the corporate market as an energy cost, security and ESG solution  

hybridisation - pink icon depicting renewable energy expertise

Platform design expertise 

Industry-leading hybrid technical capabilities applied with our Global Development Standards

hybridisation - pink icon depicting timed energy release onto the grid

Energy shifting

Energy can be stored in hours of high generation and released during peak demand, when the network needs it most.

hybridisation - pink icon depicting revenue growth

Additional revenue streams

The addition of battery storage will create more flexibility and new revenues (see below)

And finally… batteries are included

Battery and Energy Storage Systems, or BESS, are becoming an integral part of our hybrid solutions, providing the final enabling piece in the renewable energy model.

They avoid the inefficiencies of wasted energy during periods of oversupply, eliminate costly times of undersupply, and deliver the grid stability that only thermal power plants could provide before. What’s more, they open the door to a range of new revenue-earning services for grid operators, electricity utilities and end users.

See our Nazca plans

Next up

Markets & Projects

Find out more