Guía Metodológica para la Evaluación de la Viabilidad de Proyectos de Hibridación Eólico-Fotovoltaica

Abstract

Spain's energy transition (PNIEC 2023-2030: 81% renewable electricity generation, 76 GW solar and 62 GW wind) faces challenges such as grid connection point saturation and scarcity of suitable land for new installations. Wind-photovoltaic hybridization of existing (brownfield) wind farms, which leverages already-built grid evacuation infrastructure, emerges as a strategy to increase the capacity factor without expanding the grid. This work develops a practical methodological guide to assess the technical, regulatory, and economic feasibility of hybridization in existing wind farms in Spain, structured in four phases (energy resource, technical feasibility, regulatory feasibility, and economic feasibility), and applies it to the case of the Torozos II wind farm (Naturgy, 35.2 MW), evaluating five photovoltaic scenarios (8.8 to 52.8 MWp). The site's seasonal complementarity (correlation coefficient of −0.634) confirms strong hybridization potential. Scenarios E1 through E4 prove profitable at an energy sale price ≥35 €/MWh and curtailment ≤8%; the optimal scenario (E4, 21.12 MWp) achieves an IRR of 8.6-9.2%, an NPV of €1.63-2.33 M, and an LCOE of 30.15-31.46 €/MWh, while E5 is not viable as it exceeds the available evacuation capacity. Since curtailment was estimated by literature due to the absence of real hourly production data, definitive validation of the optimal size would require field data.