Energy and Power Engineering, 2013, 5, 89-91
doi:10.4236/epe.2013.54B017 Published Online July 2013 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/epe)
Feasibility Analysis of Constructing Solar Power Plant by
Combining Large Scale Wind Farm*
Mingzhi Zhao1, Yanling Zhang2, Shijin Song1, Xiaoming Z hang1
1College of Energy and Dynamic Engineering,Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, China
2Department of industrial engineering,Shandong dongying vocational college, Dongying, Shandong
Received January, 2013
ABSTRACT
Hybrid utilization of renewable energy is one of effective method which can solve the problem that unstable of renew-
able energy so as not to substitute tradition al fossil energy. As the typical renewable energy, solar energy an d wind en-
ergy are in the van of renewable energy utilization. With the large scale utilization of solar and wind energy in the
world, constructing large scale solar power plant in the large scale wind farm can make the most of ground resource
combining the wind energy with so lar energy. Feasibility of constructing large scale solar power plant in the large scale
wind farm was analyzed in this paper, and come to a conclusion that constructing large scale solar power plant in the
large scale wind farm can not also achieved the goal of mutual support of resource advantages and economizing money
but also improved significantly the seasonal mismatch by combining solar with wind.
Keywords: Hybrid Utilization; Solar Power Plant; Wind Farm
1. Introduction
With the emergency of the energy shortage and necessity
of environmental protection, development and utilization
of renewable energy has been paid more attention by
most countries from the world. In Figure 1,Status Report
of renewable energy in the world in 2012 from World
watch Institute show that the best p art of generating elec-
tricity by renewable energy is wind power which in-
stalled capacity reach ed 238GW b y 2011 , the grow th r ate
is 20% in 2011, the fastest developing renewable energy
technology is grid-connected solar photovoltaic which
growth rate is 74% in 2011, installed capacity reached 70
GW by 2011. As the excellent renewable energy, in-
stalled capacity of wind and solar power is growing fast
in the coming years. Grid-connected wind power and
solar power have intermittent fault which will influence
the electrical grid stability because of the limits of time,
location. With the large scale development of wind and
solar energy it is the major trend that stability of renew-
able energy generating electricity is improved by utiliz-
ing the advantage of resources complementary in the
future.
2. Objective of Constructing Solar Power
Plant by Combining Large Scale Wind
Farm
2.1. Complementary Utilization of Wind and
Solar Energy
The wind energy is transformation from solar energy
because the sun shines the earth, capacity variance of
wind and solar energy is tremendous because of the vari-
ety of weather condition[1]. Wind energy and solar en-
ergy can be utilized complementary in most area (about
two- thirds of total area) in China. The trend of energy
change in one year is opposite, which can provide the
condition for the complementary utilization of wind and
solar energy.
2.2. The Ground Resources to be More
Efficiently Utilized
Constructing the large scale wind farm and large scale
solar power plant also need large areas of lan d to be util-
ized especially large scale wind farm. Considering the
technology the row spacing between wind turbines is far
238
70
20
74
0
50
100
150
200
250
windsola r
（GW）Total installed capacity by
the end o f 2011
Growing ratio c omparing
with 2010
*The School Fund of Inner Mongolia University of Technology
(ZD201113). Figure 1. Utilization scale of wind and solar energy.

M. Z. ZHAO ET AL.
90
Figure 2. Resource of wind and solar energy in China.
when the large scale wind turbine were placed, which
can weaken the influence of wake flow among wind tur-
bine in the wind farm. In general the distance of row
from left to right is 5 - 9 times of wind rotor diameter,
the distance of row from front to back is 3 - 5 times of
wind rotor diameter. Apart from the foundation of gener-
ating electricity system and supporting facilities will
utilize the land less than ten percent of the whole area,
there are more than ninety percent of the whole area in
the wind farm is still leave unused[2-3]. So constructing
large scale solar power plant in the large scale wind farm
can efficiently utilize the land resource.
2.3. Grid-connected Generating Electricity by
Complementary Utilization of Wind and
Solar Energy Can Improve the Quality of
Electricity and Electrical Grid Stability
Single wind power generating electricity or solar power
generating electricity has the fault of generating electric-
ity unsteadiness, which will influence the electrical grid
stability. In general wind speed is low during the d ay and
high at night, low in summer and high in winter, com-
pared with wind energy radiant intensity of solar is op-
posite. Constructin g the grid-connected so lar power plant
by combining the wind farm will deliver electrical power
continuously which will not be influenced because of
different seasons and different time.
2.4. Cost Reduction
Ground planning and complementary utilization of pub-
lic accommodation and construction of grid-connected
can be carried out in accordance. Compared with the
single wind power plant or solar power plant, construc-
tion of the hybrid power plant will reduce the inv estment
and the processing costs significantly. Considering from
economy the obvious economic benefit can be gained by
constructing the grid-connected solar power plant in the
wind farm.
3. Condition of Constructing Solar Power
Plant by Combining Large Scale Wind
Farm
3.1. Rapid Growth Trend of Wind and Solar
Energy Development in Inner Mongolia
The installed capacity of wind power in Inner Mongolia
is the first in China. Up to the end of 201 1 the total grid-
connected installed capacity has hit 8750 MW. Accord-
ing to Development Plan of Wind Power in Inner Mon-
golia from Development and Reform Commission of
Inner Mongolia, the total grid-connected installed capac-
ity is 33000 MW will be finished by the end of 2015,
compared with wind energy, total grid-connected in-
stalled capacity of solar power will reach 800 MW by the
end of 2015 although utilization of solar energy is slow
in the last several years.
3.2. Land Resources
A large scale wind farm will cover huge areas ground, in
general a wind farm which installed capacity is 100 MW
will cover 13 - 15 square kilometres land. Take 100 MW
wind farm for instance, about 14 square kilometres land
will be covered. 80 wind turb ines which capacity is 1250
Kw each turbine are installed in the wind farm. The area
of 80 wind turbines foundation, the area of ancillary fa-
cility and road in the wind farm are less than 2 square
kilometres, more than 12 square kilometres land area
leave unused.
On the other hand large scale solar power plant will
also cover huge areas land because of low density of so-
lar energy resource. For example solar photovoltaic cell
per 100 Wp will cover 3.2 square meters, and 100 MW
solar photovoltaic cell will cover 3.2 square kilometres.
So the land areas of 100 MW wind farm are enough to
reach the land demand of 100 MW solar power plant[4].
3.3. Abundant Natural Resource
Terrain and physiognomic of most area in Inner Mongolia

M. Z. ZHAO ET AL. 91
5
5. 5
6
6. 5
7
7. 5
8
8. 5
123456789101112 Month
Wind speed(m/s)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Global H orizontal
Irradiation(kWh/sq.m./d)
Wind Speed Global Horizontal Irradiation
Figure 3. Complementarity of wind and solar energy in
HUITENGXILE wind farm in Inner Mongolia.
is plateau, desert, hungriness. Good stability an d contin u-
ity is the characteristic of wind energy quality in Inner
Mongolia, and no destructive typhoon and hurricane oc-
cur in Inner Mongolia. At the same time the hours of
sunshine in most area of Inner Mongolia will be above
2700 hours, and the annual solar radiation amount is
much, which is good for instructing solar power plant.
Resource of wind and solar energy in China is shown in Fig-
ure 2.
Take HuiTengLiang wind farm for instance, the geog-
raphy position(E:116˚10'N:43˚25') located in XiLin-
GuoLe in Inner Mongolia. A figure was gotten by via of
the data from satellite data of National Aeronautics and
Space Administration Database. As can be seen from the
Figure 3, complementarity of wind and solar energy is
obviously according to the trend of energy change in one
year, it shows that there is abundant complement energy
resource to construct the large scale solar power plant by
combining large scale wind farm.
3.4. Mature Technique
Development and utilization of renewable energy is one
of five techniques in the field of technology in the proc-
ess of world economic development. The technique of
wind energy generating electricity and the technique of
solar energy generating electricity were regarded as a
renewable technique which has good develop prospect in
the future. With the rapid and a large scale development
and utilization of wind and solar energy, techniques of
large scale grid-connected wind farm and solar power
plant get mature day by day. The mature technique will
be support to constructing large scale solar power plant
by combining the wind farm.
4. Problem
4.1. Hybrid Wind and Solar Complement
Controlling Technique
Large scale hybrid grid-connected wind and solar gener-
ating electricity system can provide electricity the same
as conventional thermal power plant. Stability of system
operating and generating electricity by wind and solar
energy should be controlled. So hybrid wind and solar
complement controlling technique should be researched
although the controlling technique of single large scale
grid-connected wind energy generating electricity system
or wind energy generating electricity system is mature.
4.2.
to-
voltaic cell by wind turbine in large scale wind farm.
d
and solar generating electricity will change in essen ce.
Solar
, 1982, pp.
Reasonable Arrange of Solar Energy
Generating Electricity System in Wind Farm
Taking the solar photovoltaic generating electricity for
instance[5], solar photovoltaic cell is to absorb a suffi-
cient amount of sunlight for efficient energy conversion.
Reasonable arrange of solar photovoltaic cell should be
done so that no shadow will influenced solar pho
5. Conclusions
There are sufficient conditions to support the construct-
ing of grid-connected large scale wind and solar generat-
ing electricity system in Inner Mongolia. Constructing
large scale solar power plant by combining wind farm
will enjoy an absolute advantage during the course of
renewable energy’s development and utilization in the
future, which can make the renewable energy access to
the field of electricity power, at last the market of win
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