SOCAR Green: Hybrid renewables key to securing future power grids

Hybrid systems combining renewable energy sources are becoming a decisive factor in maintaining the reliability and flexibility of power grids as countries accelerate the deployment of renewable energy, Elchin Targuluyev, Director of the Technology and Innovation Department at SOCAR Green, said during a panel discussion at the 31st International Oil and Gas Exhibition in Baku.

Targuluyev noted that the rapid integration of renewable energy into national power systems is shifting the focus of the energy transition, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

“With the growing integration of renewable energy sources into the energy system, the very nature of the task we face is changing. The question is no longer how to increase the share of RES, but how to do so without compromising the flexibility and reliability of the energy system. It is precisely in this context that hybrid renewable systems become one of the key tools ensuring grid security in large-scale deployment of RES,” he said.

Targuluyev explained that solar and wind power generation each depend heavily on weather conditions and have distinct production profiles. However, when used together, they can help reduce fluctuations in energy output.

“Solar generation requires clear and windless weather, whereas wind energy, on the contrary, requires more dynamic and changeable atmospheric conditions. Thus, these two sources to some extent compensate for each other. And the integration of both technologies with energy storage systems allows achieving a more uniform and reliable energy output,” he stated.

According to Targuluyev, these factors suggest that the future expansion of renewable energy will increasingly rely on hybrid solutions that combine multiple technologies.

At the same time, he cautioned that hybridization presents significant challenges, including the need to identify sites with suitable conditions for both solar and wind generation or other combined technologies.

Commenting on the role of hydrogen in the energy transition, Targuluyev said it is likely to become a key component of global decarbonization efforts in the coming decade.

“As for hydrogen, in my view, it will become an integral element of the energy transformation in the coming decade, especially in the pursuit of carbon neutrality,” he said.

He added that sectors such as heavy industry, where emissions are difficult to reduce through electrification alone, will require intermediate energy carriers capable of converting renewable energy into usable fuel.

“Hydrogen is quite capable of fulfilling this function,” Targuluyev concluded.

By Vafa Guliyeva