"A hybrid car isn't possible. Apart from both producing torque, an electric motor has nothing in common with an internal combustion motor."
Hybrid just means that it uses both approaches. I'm suggesting a solar thermal plant which is generally lightly loaded or unloaded during the day, storing the heat in a large reservoir while a neighboring PV plant much more cheaply covers demand. Then when the PV plant can't generate due to cloud cover or night time, the thermal plant steps up and uses the stored heat to generate power.
It's no different in principle to a hybrid car where a battery electric drive system cheaply covers as much driving as it can, and an internal combustion engine kicks in when required.
Hybrid just means that it uses both approaches. I'm suggesting a solar thermal plant which is generally lightly loaded or unloaded during the day, storing the heat in a large reservoir while a neighboring PV plant much more cheaply covers demand. Then when the PV plant can't generate due to cloud cover or night time, the thermal plant steps up and uses the stored heat to generate power.
It's no different in principle to a hybrid car where a battery electric drive system cheaply covers as much driving as it can, and an internal combustion engine kicks in when required.