An Image Processing-Based Method to Assess the Monthly Energetic Complementarity of Solar and Wind Energy in Colombia

Abstract

Solar and wind energy systems, without storage, cannot satisfy variable load demands, but their combined use can help to solve the problem of the balance between generation and consumption. Energetic complementarity studies are useful to evaluate the viability of the use of two or more renewable energy sources with high variability in a specific interval of time in a determined region. In this paper, the monthly energetic complementarity study of solar and wind resources of Colombia is carried out. A novel approach to conduct the study is proposed. A dataset with the average monthly solar radiation and wind speed values is obtained from high-resolution images of renewable resources maps, using image processing algorithms. Then, the dataset is used to calculate the energetic complementarity of the sources employing the negative of the Pearson correlation coefficient. The obtained values are transformed to energetic complementarity maps, previously eliminating the protected areas. The obtained results show that there is a good energetic complementarity in the north and northeastern regions of the country throughout the year. The results indicate that projects related to the joint use of solar and wind generation systems could be developed in these regions.

Financing of Residential Rooftop Photovoltaic Projects Under a Net Metering Policy Framework: The Case of the Colombian Caribbean Region

“…According to the Mining and Energy Planning Unit (UPME), Colombia has an average monthly solar irradiance that varies between 4.0 and 6.0 kWh/m 2 /day (Muñoz et al, 2014;Peña-Gallardo et al, 2020); being the departments of the Caribbean Region where the highest average irradiance values are presented, between 5.2 to 6.8 kWh/m 2 , which exceeds the world average value of 3.9 kWh/m 2 (Chamorro et al, 2017). This region has between 5.0 and 6.5 sun hours daily on average (Ramírez-Cerpa et al, 2017).…”

A Hybrid Energy Solution for the Sustainable Electricity Supply of an Irrigation System in a Rural Area of Zona Bananera, Colombia

“…For the implementation of hybrid systems, it is necessary to consider technical aspects such as the load, meteorological variations and geographical location, which defines the energy potential that can be used (Lian et al, 2019). The implementation of these systems allows improving the quality of life in rural areas, through the promotion of sustainable development policies, energy efficiency programs and the possibility of attracting foreign investment for national projects (Gallardo et al, 2020;Castro et al, 2019).…”

Combining Re-Analyzed Climate Data and Landcover Products to Assess the Temporal Complementarity of Wind and Solar Resources in Iraq

“…In recent years, the complementarity between wind and solar energy has been investigated in China [2,7,8], United States [9,10], Colombia [3,11], Australia [12], Mexico [5], Lesotho [13], Germany [1], Algeria [14], Poland [15], and France [16]. Numerous related publications have also been comprehensively discussed in the review studies by [6,17].…”

“…In both studies, the authors reported that wind-solar complementarity in hybrid systems is superior to that between wind or solar energy plants in different regions. [11] applied a novel approach based on image processing to conduct a monthly energetic complementarity study of wind and solar energy resources in Colombia. The results, which have translated into energetic complementarity maps, indicate that projects involving the combined use of wind and solar systems could be developed in the northern and northeastern regions of the country.…”