Combine wind and solar power Algeria

Does Algeria have a potential for solar PV and wind energy?

It is found and confirmed that Algeria has a huge potential of solar PV and wind energy, accounted to a maximum annual sum of 2.38 MWh/m2/year and 3.33 MWh/m2/year, respectively. Moderate complementarity levels are observed on the daily timescale in the coastal and highlands regions.

How much solar energy does Algeria have?

This means that the country enjoys from 1700 to 2,263 kWh/m 2 /year of solar energy (Maoued et al. 2015). The south of Algeria has significant wind resources, especially the region of Adrar, where average wind speeds range from 4 to 6 m/s, which makes it very attractive for the deployment of wind farms (Maoued et al. 2015).

Is energy demand increasing in Algeria?

However, the energy sector in Algeria has to overcome other barriers, such as the increase of energy demand. In Fig. 2, the monthly load demand of Algeria is presented during the period from 2000 to 2019, where an increasing energy demand is observed from roughly 2 TWh to 8 TWh.

How can solar photovoltaic & wind energy systems improve energy security?

Judging by the available resources, the integration of solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind energy systems is a key solution to further diversify the energy mix in the country and increase energy security.

Is there complementarity between solar and wind energy resources?

It is clear that there is no complementarity between solar and wind energy resources where the minimum value of the complementarity index is close to zero (-0.003). For most of the regions, the correlation coefficient varies between 0 and 0.2.

How difficult is it to integrate solar and wind in grid-connected systems?

In grid-connected systems, it is even more difficult especially in the case of weak grids that are not able to handle the fluctuation of power generation when the amount of integration of solar or wind is important.