Review of Data and Data Sources for the Assessment of the Potential of Utility-Scale Hybrid Wind–Solar PV Power Plants Deployment, under a Microgrid Scope

Abstract

Utility-scale hybrid wind–solar PV power plants (which might include some storage as

well) are an attractive option for the transition of conventional grids to incorporate high renewable

energy (RE) shares. Along with lower generation costs, they offer increased dispatch capabilities

and flexible operation. However, when assessing their potential, they present higher needs in terms

of input data, as they are forced to consider both spatial and temporal variations to evaluate their

techno-economic viability, as well as other common inputs such as economic, social or environmental

data. The availability of the different data influences the type of analysis to be implemented. The

microgrid approach of segmenting the information into layers will be adopted for the classification of

data. Three different levels of analysis are sought: long-term energy scenarios, geo-spatial planning,

and production cost estimation. The analysis of necessary data for each planning stage, and the

available data sources for the assessment of utility-scale hybrid power plants, under this microgrid

approach, is the main focus of this review.