Performance Assessment of PV Technologies and Complementarity of Utility-Scale PV and Wind Power Plants in Brazil

Utility-scale PV power plants are finally gaining momentum in Brazil, and most of the installed and planned generators make use of the excellent solar resources available in the Brazilian Northeast (annual irradiation levels in the 2000 to 2300 kWh/m2 range). These same sites also enjoy the best wind resources in the country, allowing both solar and wind power plants to share not only the same land, but also the same electrical infrastructure in many cases. In this paper we present results on the performance assessment of five commercially-available PV technologies installed at an evaluation site next to a 95 MW wind farm. We discuss PV performance issues related to each of the PV technologies and the complementary nature of the solar and wind resource availability at the site.