MUMBAI : CleanMax Solar, one of the largest distributed solar power producers in India, has forayed into building wind-solar hybrid power plants, allowing its commercial customers to shift a larger portion of their energy usage away from fossil fuels and into clean energy.
A senior executive at Cleanmax Solar said the company plans to build about 300 megawatts (MW) of hybrid capacity over the next three years, encouraged by demand from customers and enabling policies from the Centre and some states.
Solar and wind power generation reach peak levels at different hours of a day and at different seasons—solar during the day and in summers, while wind at night and through the monsoons. The resulting intermittencies in supply impact grid resilience, which has made power utilities and commercial customers reluctant to rely entirely on clean energy sources. A wind-solar hybrid builds both generation capacities at the same location, optimizing use of transmission and evacuation infrastructure and land resources.
