Assessing the Complementarities of Colombia’s Renewable Power Plants

Comprehending the complementarities between a country’s renewable power plants can help strategically plan for the future of its power system. Furthermore, complementarity can reduce the system’s vulnerabilities and its dependency on a single energy source. The Colombian power system significantly d...

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Main Authors: Laura Parra, Sara Gómez, Carolina Montoya, Felipe Henao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-11-01
Series:Frontiers in Energy Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2020.575240/full
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author Laura Parra
Sara Gómez
Carolina Montoya
Felipe Henao
author_facet Laura Parra
Sara Gómez
Carolina Montoya
Felipe Henao
author_sort Laura Parra
collection DOAJ
description Comprehending the complementarities between a country’s renewable power plants can help strategically plan for the future of its power system. Furthermore, complementarity can reduce the system’s vulnerabilities and its dependency on a single energy source. The Colombian power system significantly depends on hydroelectricity, which meets approximately 65% of the country’s electricity demand, making it vulnerable to droughts, particularly those caused by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Using either gas or coal power plants during a drought to back up the power system is expensive and polluting. This paper assesses the complementarities of Colombia’s hydro, wind, and solar power plants, with the purpose of identifying the weaknesses and strengths of the system and suggest a way for redressal. Complementarity is assessed via Pearson’s correlation analysis and Beluco et al. (2019) complementarity dimensionless indexes. The results suggest that the Colombian power system lacks complementarity, but it can be enhanced by investing in solar and wind power plants.
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spelling doaj.art-ec5ca206ad6e4ae6b45eb7722e07f08c2022-12-21T23:40:04ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Energy Research2296-598X2020-11-01810.3389/fenrg.2020.575240575240Assessing the Complementarities of Colombia’s Renewable Power PlantsLaura ParraSara GómezCarolina MontoyaFelipe HenaoComprehending the complementarities between a country’s renewable power plants can help strategically plan for the future of its power system. Furthermore, complementarity can reduce the system’s vulnerabilities and its dependency on a single energy source. The Colombian power system significantly depends on hydroelectricity, which meets approximately 65% of the country’s electricity demand, making it vulnerable to droughts, particularly those caused by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Using either gas or coal power plants during a drought to back up the power system is expensive and polluting. This paper assesses the complementarities of Colombia’s hydro, wind, and solar power plants, with the purpose of identifying the weaknesses and strengths of the system and suggest a way for redressal. Complementarity is assessed via Pearson’s correlation analysis and Beluco et al. (2019) complementarity dimensionless indexes. The results suggest that the Colombian power system lacks complementarity, but it can be enhanced by investing in solar and wind power plants.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2020.575240/fullcomplementarityColombiarenewable power plantshydropowerwind powersolar power
spellingShingle Laura Parra
Sara Gómez
Carolina Montoya
Felipe Henao
Assessing the Complementarities of Colombia’s Renewable Power Plants
Frontiers in Energy Research
complementarity
Colombia
renewable power plants
hydropower
wind power
solar power
title Assessing the Complementarities of Colombia’s Renewable Power Plants
title_full Assessing the Complementarities of Colombia’s Renewable Power Plants
title_fullStr Assessing the Complementarities of Colombia’s Renewable Power Plants
title_full_unstemmed Assessing the Complementarities of Colombia’s Renewable Power Plants
title_short Assessing the Complementarities of Colombia’s Renewable Power Plants
title_sort assessing the complementarities of colombia s renewable power plants
topic complementarity
Colombia
renewable power plants
hydropower
wind power
solar power
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2020.575240/full
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