Hydro-Solar Hybrid Power: The Alqueva Case for 24/7 Renewable Energy Supply

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Recording of Wednesday, June 19, 2024 | The smarter E Europe | Conference Program | Language: English | Duration: 9:44 .

EDP Produção Explores Hybrid Hydro-Solar Energy Solutions at Alqueva Dam to Maximize Renewable Integration and Efficiency

Pedro Oliveira, Head of Innovation at EDP Produção, discusses the innovative energy project at Alqueva in southeast Portugal. The Alqueva dam forms Europe's largest artificial lake and includes a hydropower plant with a reversible turbine, functioning as a large-scale battery with 10 gigawatt-hours of storage capacity. Due to water scarcity and constraints on net electricity production, integrating renewable sources like solar power is vital. EDP focuses on hybridization to expedite renewable deployment by combining hydro and solar technologies, which conserves capital expenditures (capex) and operational expenditures (opex), eases permitting processes, and enhances project business cases. They tested this concept through a floating solar project with five megawatts of DC power capacity paired with lithium batteries. Challenges included adapting non-variable speed turbines for efficient grid charging during pumping mode. Participation in the European XFlex Hydro project enabled testing low-capacity solutions such as extending operation ranges from 0-100% in turbine mode without significant issues using hydraulic short circuits or advanced control systems that improved efficiency by 2.9%. Next steps involve scaling up to a 250-megawatt onshore PV hybrid system near the dam while developing new dispatch strategies based on virtual power plants for better market integration.

Automated summarization by AI Conver

Pedro Oliveira
Head of Innovation
EDP Produção
Portugal

24/7 renewable power supply is a fairly new concept that ensures that the amount of green electricity companies require is met every hour of the day. 24/7 renewable power supply leads to increased transparency and trust in energy procurement, and it promotes the installation of new renewable power plants. Some world-leading IT companies have already opted for 24/7 green energy matching.

This session will discuss:

  • The concept of 24/7 renewable energy supply and energy matching
  • 24/7 green power demand trends
  • Real-time renewable 24/7 power production and consumption case studies
  • The potential of 24/7 RES matching (executive panel discussion)

Further Talks of this session:

Speaker

Bruce Douglas
CEO
Global Renewables Alliance
Belgium

To Talk

To Talk

Speaker

Juan Pablo Cerda
CEO
Renewabl
United Kingdom

To Talk

Speaker

Giovanni Scomparin
Advisor, Corporate Energy Sourcing
Eurelectric
Belgium

To Talk

Speaker

Zivile Vens
Energy Markets Development Lead, EMEA
Google
United States of America

To Talk

To Talk

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The smarter E Europe Conferences 2026 | Conference Program

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Despite strong research capabilities and the presence of leading production equipment suppliers, Europe has been struggling to rebuild competitive wafer-to-module manufacturing, while the USA and India have enabled a local renaissance in solar manufacturing. In Europe, even long-established inverter manufacturers have been losing considerable ground. With the EU's Net Zero Industry Act yet to deliver momentum, attention is turning to the upcoming Industry Accelerator Act. This session examines how policy, investment and value-chain strategies can strengthen domestic manufacturing and increase internal value creation.Key topics:Overview of EU and national policy frameworks to support local manufacturingStatus of Europe's solar manufacturing value chainInvestment gaps and competitiveness challenges Strategies for triggering a sustainable solar manufacturing revival 

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Panel Discussion of the Session: Off-Grid: PV-Based Hydrogen Microgrid Projects Around the World

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Discover how green hydrogen and fuel cell technologies are transforming decentralized energy systems worldwide. This session will be presenting hands-on experience from pioneering projects in Thailand, Ghana, Namibia and South Africa. Find out how solar-powered hydrogen microgrids can replace diesel generators, strengthen energy resilience and enable short- to long-term storage, while supporting environmental and climate goals. Project partners including German SMEs and research institutes, share insights on lessons learned, local benefits and the replication potential of these systems. Selected projects were implemented with the support from the Export Initiative Environmental Protection, a funding programme of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. 

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