Hybrid Solutions for Power Generation Industry

Abstract The growth of renewable sources and the emergence of new forms of remuneration such as the capacity market draw a scenario in which the traditional fossil fuel power plants on one hand risk to lose competitiveness on the electricity market and on the other they find space to open up new opportunities for profit. The article addresses the growing demand for flexibility and availability of power generation, finding the answer in the hybrid solutions, which combine different power generation sources and storage systems within the same power plant. In particular, the implementation of storage within natural gas combined cycle power plants is addressed, in order to allow an increasingly rapid response to the growing needs of the grid operators. In this context, and generally for all types of hybrid power plants, the importance of the control system is emphasized, assuming a fundamental role for the smart management of increasingly complex systems, both in terms of maximization of the energy efficiency and optimization of the load profile.