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Researchers complete Europe’s first PV soiling loss assessment

PV Magazine — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 11:11:00 GMT

A global team of researchers has completed Europe's first continent-wide techno-economic analysis of PV soiling losses.

The researchers developed soiling maps by interpolating analytical data and calibrating it with ground-measured losses from sensors across Europe. They evaluated the cleaning effect of rain under two scenarios: one assuming it fully cleaned panels and another where it removed only 10% of the soiling.

“The key objectives of the present research are twofold: first, to map both energy and economic losses in PV systems due to soiling patterns, and second, to share with the community a modified version of a soiling model that allows to customize the cleaning effectiveness of rain, which could be reapplied in additional studies,” the scientists said. “The maps and the models not only offer insights into the spatial distribution of soiling but also provide a valuable resource for stakeholders involved in decision-making processes related to maintenance planning, resource optimization, and environmental impact assessments.”

Researchers used the soiling model proposed by Coello and Boyle, which estimates deposition rates from particulate matter (PM) concentrations. The model quantifies these rates using PM10 and PM2.5 indicators, measuring the mass of airborne particles with diameters up to 10 μm and 2.5 μm, respectively. It applied reanalyzed PM data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, covering the 2005–19 period.

Researchers recalibrated the model using field measurements from nine European PV sites. They conducted tests at three locations in Denmark, three in Spain, two in France, and one in Norway. They recalibrated the model using a PV site near a railway station in Switzerland, where significant soiling losses occurred despite regular precipitation, which cleaned only 10% of the soil.

“The novel model is tested using data from a case study of a system located in a rainy location (>1,000 mm year-1) with a uniform precipitation distribution in Switzerland, where losses of up to 10% due to soiling were identified after artificially cleaning the system,” they said. “The losses due to soiling are derived by comparing the performance ratio (PR) of the system, which represents the ratio of the actual and theoretical power outputs, after and before a manual cleaning by means of an equation.'”

The researchers calibrated the model for both scenarios and applied it across Europe. When assuming rain perfectly cleans panels, the average annual soiling loss in electricity reaches 0.9%, with Greece showing the highest loss at 4.3% and Norway the lowest at 0.2%. In the scenario where rain cleans only 10% of the soiling, average losses increase to 5.3%, peaking at 14% in Spain and dropping to 1.2% in Norway.

On economic metrics, perfect rain clean-up leads to an average 1% increase in the LCOE, peaking at 4.6% in Turkey. The average net present value (NPV) reduction is €9.10 ($9.56)/kW, with Turkey experiencing the highest decrease at €69.30/kW. When rain cleans just 10% of soiling, the average LCOE rise reaches 5.8%, hitting 16.3% in Spain. The average NPV reduction is €45/kW, with Turkey showing the largest drop at €230.40/kW.

“The regions with the highest losses are typically also those with the highest seasonality because of the long and arid summers with usually only a few precipitation events, which can contribute in some cases to the natural cleaning of the solar collectors,” said the researchers.

They presented their results in “Photovoltaic soiling loss in Europe: Geographical distribution and cleaning recommendations,” published in Renewable Energy. Researchers from the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Centre for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT), the University of Jaén, Denmark's European Energy, Norway's Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), and Italy's Sapienza University of Rome collaborated on the study.

Fire risk for home energy storage systems

PV Magazine — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 15:29:00 GMT

Researchers at Germany’s RWTH Aachen University have published a study investigating the probability of fire risk in residential battery energy storage systems. The group found the risk is 0.0049% per year.

They published the study titled “Quantitative Fire Risk Assessment of Battery Home Storage Systems in Comparison to General House Fires in Germany and Other Battery Related Fires” in October 2024, and recently presented their findings to the public for the first time at an event organized by the Federal Energy Storage Systems (BVES) in Berlin.

The scientists evaluated media reports of fires to help them create a database of incidents. As of the end of November 2023, they recorded a total of 36 cases for the past year. For this year, their monitoring showed 56 cases in the same period. However, there has since been a significant increase in the amount of PV home storage systems installed in Germany. The total number is approximately 1.6 million systems.

For their study, the scientists have only taken into account cases in which the fire in the house was really triggered by the battery storage system itself, but not, for example, by the battery management system or human error.

The researchers also documented the distribution of fire incidents over individual months. They found that the fires are increasingly taking place in the spring. This is most likely a reaction that occurs when the storage systems are starting to be used again after the winter and the battery cells are awakened out of their “highway sleep”, so to speak. The time distribution also indicates this, with most of the fires occurring between noon and 4pm when the memory is fully loaded.

To classify the likelihood of fire of 0.049%, the researchers also compared the figures for energy storage systems with other household appliances and technologies such as photovoltaic systems or electric vehicles. At 0.0014% per year, the photovoltaic systems still have a low risk of causing fires.

Due to their higher capacities, large battery storage systems also have a low chance of 0.015% per installed megawatt hour per year and year when it comes to catching fire. If this probability of fire is recalculated for the installed capacity for home storage, the result is 0.56%, as shown in the study. Looking at the batteries in electric cars, the value is 0.59% per megawatt hour and year. When comparing with electric vehicles, the home storage systems also perform better if the fires are calculated to the number of systems. The likelihood of electric cars is 0.024%, but they perform better than vehicles with internal combustion engines, which according to the study carry a risk of 0.089%.

For other household appliances, the probability of fire compared with photovoltaic home storage is not much different. RWTH Aachen researchers identified a fire risk of 0.0037% for tumble dryers and 0.0012% for refrigerators.

The study by RWTH Aachen is intended to create a reliable basis for classifying the actual fire risk of battery storage systems and addressing uncertainties among consumers and regulatory authorities, as its authors emphasized.

The industry is becoming more proactive and willing to heed fire safety warnings, with many manufacturers increasingly reliant on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which are considered to be safe. Targeted recall and exchange programs have also launched in response to reports of home storage systems catching fire. “Our study shows that battery storage systems are a safe technology that does not measurably increase the overall fire risk in households,” said the study head, Mark Junker.

However, it is important that there are standardized reporting mechanisms and long-term data collection in order to further clarify the risk assessment. “Media reports on individual incidents should always be considered in the context of the extremely low overall probability,” the researchers continued in their study. This is also a concern for the BVES. “The study makes an important contribution to the objectification of the discussion about the safety of household storage systems,” said the organization’s association managing director Urban Windelen.

Huawei FusionSolar’s Leading Safety Technologies for Residential PV

PV Magazine — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 13:20:00 GMT

Analysis of previous residential PV fire accidents reveals that, regardless of the causes, DC high voltage is a direct threat, whether in construction, operation and maintenance, or even rescue efforts. In 2019, a house in Schwerinsdorf, Germany caught fire. Although more than 70 firefighters from six fire departments arrived at the scene, due to the high voltage on the roof, they had to let the house burn in a controlled manner until the solar panels were completely burnt out.

User concerns are our priority. Let's look at how Huawei FusionSolar residential PV delivers superior quality and supports firefighting safety.

Huawei FusionSolar has upgraded its optimizer to allow a rapid voltage shutdown for the safety of firefighters and maintenance personnel.

Even if the inverter is shut down, PV modules keep generating electricity as long as there is sunshine. To tackle this safety issue, Huawei FusionSolar optimizers are equipped with a module rapid shutdown function. Every module is connected to an optimizer to monitor its output. In the event of a fire, the PV rapid shutdown function can be automatically triggered by the disconnection of the inverter from the grid, interruption of communication with the remote emergency switch, or manually actuated by turning off the DC switches. As a result, firefighting measures can be taken immediately to minimize losses.

Huawei FusionSolar's safety shutdown function has been verified in a rooftop PV project on a commercial building. Two triggers were used: disconnecting the DC switch and disconnecting the AC switch. The MPPT voltage at the input of the inverter dropped to 0 V, and the shutdown time was 25s and 11s respectively, which met the requirements of the NEC 2020 690.12 standard. The safety shutdown function provides the highest level of personal safety in the industry for homeowners, installation and maintenance personnel, and firefighters.

Automatic cut-off within 0.5s in case of a fire

In a typical small distributed PV system structure, electrical fires are mainly caused by DC arc. It is necessary to take comprehensive measures such as rapid shutdown technology and intelligent arc fault detection to improve the safety of distributed PV.

Huawei FusionSolar launched the Smart Energy Controller (inverter) many years ago. Unlike conventional inverters, which are unable to accurately detect and extinguish the arc, Huawei's FusionSolar Smart Energy Controller have the following advantages:

· Through accurate and wide-range detection, Huawei's FusionSolar inverters can achieve 0.5s automatic shutdown.

· The DC voltage on the roof can be automatically and quickly shut down to a safe level in case of a fire to protect the safety of firefighters, maintenance personnel, and properties.

· The EMC compliance of inverters ensures immunity to electromagnetic interference.

· The reliable design, production, and tests guarantee 25 years of service life with an annual failure rate < 0.5%. “Huawei FusionSolar inverters are very reliable, nearly maintenance-free. If there is a fire, I'm confident that the firefighters can put it out safely.” said an installer.

· Modular+ safety and 4-layer protection certified to Germany's VDE AR-E 2510-50

VDE AR-E 2510-50 is regarded as the strictest safety standard in the residential storage industry. Huawei's FusionSolar LUNA2000 Smart String ESS has passed the certification.

This is because Huawei's FusionSolar battery cells are provided by leading battery suppliers, and the battery, LiFePO4 (LFP), is the most stable. Moreover, each battery has 16 LFP cells and 8 sensors, meaning that each sensor monitors only 2 cells. In addition, the voltage on battery ports is 0 V, and the internal electrical components are isolated, posing no risks to users. Last but not the least, each battery pack has a built-in fire suppression kit that meets the fire protection certification of many countries.

Nothing is more important than safety. Only when users have confidence in its safety will the residential PV industry develop at a faster pace and more sustainably to noticeably contribute to a greener planet.

Bigger modules, bigger headaches?

PV Magazine — Fri, 07 Apr 2023 03:56:00 GMT

The year 2020 saw the launch of solar modules exceeding 500 W of rated power generation capacity, in a leap from the previous standard of between 400 W and 450 W.

The solar market experienced an unprecedented power-per-unit boost in comparison to the then-steady 10 W to 15 W, year-to-year, average power growth trend driven by cell efficiency improvements.

Manufacturers said the motivation behind this disruptive product innovation was economic and aimed at adjusting the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) from solar by using fewer modules per megawatt-peak of generation capacity, as well as optimizing balance of systems (BOS) expenditure and other construction and operations and maintenance costs.

At module design level, just as mainstream passivated emitter, rear contact (PERC) cell efficiency was reaching its practical maximum, two key features defined the development of the new PV module technology paradigm.

The first was a transition from regular, 156.75 mm “M2,” 158.75 mm “M3,” and 166 mm “M6” silicon wafer cells to 182 mm “M10,” and 210 mm “M12” sizes, all presented in cut-like forms with multi-busbar connections.

Secondly, module-surface non-active regions were reduced via high-density cell layouts, implementing novel cell interconnection approaches such as cell paving and tiling or shingling.

Today, modules with 550 W-plus nominal power – based on 182 mm wafers – and 210 mm-based, 650 W-plus products, are mainstream options for utility scale sites, typically with bifacial cells. Such panels require more, and larger cells, meaning larger, heavier modules, higher currents and lower voltage values. That has resulted in the most pluralized range of cell-to-module options ever seen.

Like any new PV technology, large-format modules come with hotly debated benefits and downsides. Despite impressive performance, larger modules are still not clear of challenges in terms of controlled and reliable use.

Developers and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) companies must consider the implications when deploying larger modules, including product quality and panel manufacturing processes, packaging and transportation, and tracker and inverter compatibility. These aspects must be taken into account before project design and procurement, to safeguard bankability.

Factory issues

In the factory, a key, still unsettled issue to tackle during the manufacturing of larger modules is the so-called “cross-crack defect,” which is detectable by electroluminescence testing. As mentioned before, larger solar modules are based on new PV cell interconnections which can enable the reduction of non-active areas between solar cells to up to just a few millimeters, which partially mitigates product enlargement.

Still, these novel welding processes might lead to tiny, cross-shaped cracks in the vicinity of cell edges, seldom reported by manufacturers as a formal product defect despite their widespread occurrence. Unless it is duly negotiated and improved during the supply-agreement negotiation phase, this subtle defect may imply major on-site micro-crack propagation risks. Stress arising during cell soldering and lamination, plus the potential presence of chips at the wafer’s cut edges, facilitate the formation of such small cracks which can harmfully propagate upon mechanical loading application.

Larger modules are intrinsically prone to significant body deflections and torsions, free from any International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) or Underwriters Laboratories (UL) standards. This stems from big surface areas – often exceeding 3 m² – with the use of aluminum frames thinner than the typical 35 mm used in 400 W designs, driven by the need to optimize module weight of up to 40 kg. Weight reduction compels 3.2 mm glass substrates to be switched to the current 2 mm-plus-2 mm, dual glass architecture. Merging variables including higher area, shorter frame width, and thinner but heavier glass means a weaker module.

Glass quality is indeed a current challenge to consider, underscoring the need for bill-of-materials evaluation and approval prior to module production. Most suppliers declare in their constructional data forms and other documents that both front and rear glass are tempered, even though a simple audit check reveals quite the opposite on many occasions. Datasheets are confusing about the type of thermal treatment used in glass manufacturing, if any was used at all. As a result, sudden and unusually regular glass breakage incidences on mounted modules, mostly affecting the rear glass substrates, are being reported in many PV plants worldwide.

The flash test measurement of bifacial larger modules deserves further consideration when defining supply power bin distributions. The common 5 W datasheet’s interval, within the same module series, remains unchanged since early PV industry times, when around three-times-lower-powered panels were used. This may lead to less controlled nameplate power and module class sorting distribution, especially if several nameplate values are involved in the supply agreement – questioning whether more than one nameplate power is actually needed – and often triggering eventual changes in the total quantity of panels to comply with the total purchased power.

Also, the virtually, not-so-properly-established plus or minus 3% flash test uncertainty standard – amounting to a 16.5 W difference in a 550 W module – can lead to greater difficulties in filing power warranty claims and in rejecting lower-power, pre-shipment, laboratory inspection results, limiting the success ratio if test conditions and acceptance criteria are not duly settled in the supply agreement.

Finally, when measuring a larger module, the spatial uniformity of solar simulators should be a basic checkpoint to report during factory inspections, to avoid systematic errors potentially affecting the whole power output under purchase. Likewise, the use of more and larger cells per module may tend to a certain bifacial coefficient scattered distribution, which could play a role in determining PV plant design. Fortunately, as per our extensive experience of auditing factories and inspecting larger modules, manufacturers are making efforts to control these aspects properly, especially in brand-new production workshops and lines that do not require flash test system retrofits.

Logistical concerns

Larger modules are defined by increased area and weight. Consequently, logistics are affected one way or another. For instance, turning from a 400 W, M6-based module to an M12’s 650 W-plus implies an extra 30% surface area and load to pack and transport by sea and road. Despite cargo costs gradually decreasing since the container crisis hit worldwide markets in recent years, module manufacturers have built up innovative box packaging designs to optimize the kilowatts-peak of generation capacity shipped to sites.

Two main features were considered. The placement of modules in a portrait disposition within the box, implying new handling and safety guidelines to consider; and the use of thinner aluminum frames, even if module areas beyond 3 m² were involved. Weight excess is also relevant in some locations, including some US states, because of regulated restrictions for road transportation, leading to potential situations in which container filling is limited, leaving empty spaces inside that must be properly managed in advance, outside the factory.

Problematic situations

Besides the aforementioned considerations and challenges ultimately impacting site activity and performance, a core concern was fast highlighted right after larger modules showed up on the market. That is, to what extent are solar trackers and inverters prepared for these devices?

The overall management of considerably bigger and heavier modules, based on lower voltages and greater currents, did bring about an intricate recipe to cook. At first, larger modules led to problematic situations requiring major re-engineering tasks, as the 400 W-based versions used at development stages were no longer available a couple of years later when construction activity was set to commence.

Fortunately, this is no longer a major issue to address unless the context is associated with revamping or repowering activity, which requires a change from much older module designs to larger solar PV panels.

For DC/AC inverters, one can arguably say that most inverter manufacturers have become well adapted to the management of high current values. High currents do not imply significant challenges any more, beyond paying attention to the proper match between a maximum admissible current per input or maximum power point tracker in a string inverter and the maximum current of module output, including bifacial gains.

The same cannot be said about solar trackers, a problem caused by the still-suboptimal collaboration between modules which come in a range of dimensions, and tracker manufacturers. EPC contractors complete the trio as they juggle to optimize risk-cost ratios in a context of increased structure height and wind-exposed area, regardless of the use of 1P or 2P orientation configurations.

Tracker suppliers must reconsider several variables to enhance structural stiffness and reduce mechanical aeroelastic effects. Structural stiffness can be enhanced by using thicker hardware and reinforcements, at a cost. Mechanical aeroelastic effects such as torsional galloping at particular tilt angles, at even moderate wind speeds, can also be improved. Wind tunnel testing is not always available and not all laboratories are ready to test larger modules. And the occurrence of abnormally frequent windstorm events related to climate change, even in historically calm locations, makes tracker design tougher than ever.

Additionally, the module’s cantilever and deflection effects remain uncontrolled and unregulated by IEC/UL standards and manufacturer installation guidelines, regardless of the use of panel rails, clamps, or bolts in a structure.

Finally, the well-known unique current-voltage characteristics of larger modules makes possible the arrangement of longer module strings, potentially optimizing project costs. Yet, in some cases, this feature may lead to design issues when trying to match the use of complete strings – based on 35 modules, for example – with tracker unit length.

Larger modules are here to stay as standard solar devices. Though all developers, EPC contractors, and technical advisors have been learning how to overcome the challenges stemming from the use of these big panels, there is an industry sentiment that module-area growth should cease at some point, and that PV module makers should eventually reach a standard product series that can be effortlessly adapted to any BOS equipment. The upcoming era of negatively-doped, n-type cells should pave the way to high-power modules based on device efficiency, rather than size.

Residential heat pump subsidies across Europe

PV Magazine — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 05:43:00 GMT

“Since the investment costs for low-carbon heating and cooling systems such as heat pumps are still higher than for fossil fuel-based heating devices, financial support schemes are still necessary to remove the barriers to investment,” the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) says in a new report on subsidies for residential heat pumps in Europe.

The overview covers air– and ground-source residential heat pumps, as well as hybrid and domestic hot water heat pumps. The EHPA collected data for the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, and some EU member states. It excluded Bulgaria, Estonia, Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Malta, Slovenia, Luxembourg, and Latvia, which were left out because “they have a small market, or their current programs are suspended,” said the association.

The following subsidies are for single-family homes, unless otherwise stated.

Austria offers a grant for air- and ground-source heat pumps installed in new buildings of up to 20% of their price. The grant has a maximum value of €7,500 ($8,075) if the global warming potential (GWP) of the heat pump is between 1,500 and 2,000. For retrofit installations, the grant covers up to 35% of the cost to a maximum of 5,000. The subsidy is in place from Jan. 3, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2024.

In Belgium, grants are only available for retrofit installations and values vary greatly across the country’s regions as well as heat pump technology. In Flanders, ground-source heat pumps are subsidized between €4,000 and €6,400, while in Brussels air-source heat pumps are eligible for up to €4,750.

Croatia gives out grants for retrofit projects once to twice a year, of a maximum of €4,250 and up to 40% of the cost for domestic hot water heat pumps as well as air- and ground-source. The subsidy is higher in poorer regions, and installation and auxiliary components costs are eligible for support.

The Czech Republic restarted its “New Green Savings” program as of February 2023, with grants for retrofit installations of up to €5,701.

Denmark’s incentive scheme is in place between 2020 and 2026 and offers grants for both new buildings and renovation projects. The subsidy for air-source heat pumps is up to €3,338 and up to €4,772.9 for ground-source pumps.

Finland offers both grants and tax deductions across heat pump technologies and installation types. The grant is up to €4,000 and 40% to 60% of costs are also tax deductible.

In France, those who purchase ground-source heat pumps for existing properties can get a grant of up to €15,000 and up to €9,000 for air-source heat pumps. The scheme is in place from 2020 to 2024.

In Germany, air-source heat pumps for retrofit installations are eligible for up to €15,000 and up to €18,000 until 2030.

In Hungary, heat pumps are covered under a general subsidy scheme that covers 50% or up to €7,300 of renovation costs.

Since 2021, Ireland has granted €3,500 for air-to-air heat pumps for all house types, and €4,500 for air-to-water and ground-source heat pumps in apartments. The subsidy for both solutions in all other house types is €6,500.

Italy has three tax benefits programs in place for renovation projects, covering between 50% to 110% of heat pump costs.

Lithuania gives grants of up to €14,500 for heat pumps in both new buildings and renovations.

The Netherlands offers grants for retrofit installations, of up to €3,750 for air-source heat pumps, €5,100 for ground-source, and €3,000 for hybrid heat pumps. In 2023, the subsidies have been extended beyond systems with 70 kW heating capacity to a maximum of 400 kW.

Norway only gives grants for ground-source heat pumps, of up to €1,000 for both new buildings and renovations.

Poland, which tops the list for most heat pumps sold in Europe in 2022, has four different incentive programs for heat pumps. The “My Electricity” scheme offers grants of up to €1,060 for air-source heat and domestic hot water heat pumps when combined with a PV system and storage.

In Portugal, a scheme in place since 2022 reimburses up to 85% of the cost of heat pump installations in new buildings and renovations, up to a maximum of €2,500 excluding VAT.

Slovakia offers up to €3,400 in grants for heat pumps installed in new buildings, and up to €11,400 in renovation projects.

Spain’s incentive programs include grants for buildings connected to district heating exclusively using heat pumps at the energy center. The subsidy is €2,070/kW and up to 70% of the investment for new buildings in not-for-profit energy communities.

Sweden offers 30% tax rebates on labor costs of retrofit installations, up to €5,000 a year.

Five Swiss counties have varied incentive schemes, from subsidies up to €22,320 for replacing an electric heater with a ground-source heat pump in a renovation project in Vaud, to up to €3,043 for an air-source heat pump in a new single-family house in Geneva.

The United Kingdom offers grants of GBP 5,000 (€5,804) for air-source heat pumps and of GBP 6,000 for ground-source heat pumps, for both new buildings and retrofits.

Study shows symbiotic effect of heat pumps and residential solar

PV Magazine — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 04:49:00 GMT

It pays off to install heat pumps with PV in residential homes in Germany, Spain, and Italy, rather than either technology on its own, SolarPower Europe says in a new report.

“A solar PV installation complements a household’s heat pumps and fulfills a significant extent of its electricity needs. The savings for the two technologies together are then higher than for each individual technology,” the report says.

The industry body modeled three scenarios for medium-sized households in Germany, Spain, and Italy during the energy crisis in 2022. A “PV-only” scenario, a “heat pump-only” scenario, and a “PV plus heat pump” combo scenario, which also includes a buffer – a warm water storage tank. The savings are compared to the price that the average family household would pay by sourcing all its electricity from the grid and using a gas boiler for heating.

The PV system was assumed to have capacities of 8 kW in Germany and 7 kW in Spain and Italy. An air-source heat pump with 7 kW, 3 kW, and 4 kW output was modeled for the three countries, respectively. In Germany, the capacity of the storage tank was set to 800 liters, and to 400 liters in both Spain and Italy.

The thermal demand for space and water heating was modeled at 12,000 kWh to 20,000 kWh, for existing building stocks and using a gas boiler with 85% efficiency. The annual electricity demand for an average family home was assumed at 4,000 KWh to 4,500 kWh, and the gas and electricity prices for 2022 were set according to the Household Energy Price Index.

“All relevant support measures applying to average family homes are included,” SolarPower Europe said, noting that this includes VAT cuts on gas in all three countries. For PV electricity generation, savings from feeding electricity back to the grid are also included.

The results show that Italian households saved the most by using a PV-heat pump combo at €3,766 ($3,984), reportedly due to high electricity prices in Italy. Germany followed with savings of €3,614, and Spain at €2,831.

“Reduced savings in Spain reflect the measures taken by the Iberian market to lower wholesale electricity prices,” said SolarPower Europe.

The combination of both technologies reduced the energy bill by 62% in Germany, 83% in Italy, and 84% in Spain, in comparison with the scenario where households sourced all electricity from the grid and used gas for heating.

In the “heat pump-only” scenario, savings for Germany stood at €1,884, €958 for Spain, and €506 for Italy. In the “PV-only scenario”, Italy had savings of €2,935, Spain of €1,352, and Germany of €1,263.

The study also shows that solar PV and heat pumps work effectively together throughout the year if the buffer storage tank is also installed. In Germany, solar power can cover 36% of total heat pump electricity demand in a cold year with low PV output, according to SPE. Spain and Italy, showered with sun, present the best results. Even in a cold year with low PV input, solar covers 59% of the heat pump demand in Spain, and 50% in Italy.

SPE concludes the report with five policy recommendations for lowering the payback period of the PV-heat pump combo from purportedly around 20 years at present to a much more attractive 10 years. These include increasing Capex support for combined investments, offering loans at a low-interest rate, and promoting collective self-consumption.

“The best time to install solar PV + heat pumps was yesterday,” said Dries Acke, policy director of SolarPower Europe. “The next best time is now. European policymakers need to bring the benefits of gas-free homes to the wider population.”

Guide to understanding solar production losses

PV Magazine — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 13:36:00 GMT

When investing in solar, maximizing production is a common goal. Aurora Solar, a leading solar design and performance software provider, released a guide for understanding the leading causes of energy loss in PV systems, and how to avoid them.

KWh Analytics, a climate insurance and renewable energy risk management firm, released its 2022 Solar Generation Index and reports that solar assets are broadly performing below expectations. Systems installed since 2015 have broadly underperformed expectations by 7% to 15%, with some regional difference. How can this underperformance be avoided?

Aurora Solar’s Ultimate Guide to PV System Losses includes basic solar performance concepts like the effect of tilt, orientation, and shade on production metrics. The guide walks through how mismatched equipment can cause losses and surveys the effects of incident angle modifiers, and module nameplate rating losses.

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Tilt and orientation

The angle of panels affects the amount of solar irradiance the system receives over the course of a year. Tilting the array towards the equator will maximize incident irradiance, boosting production, the Aurora report notes.

Making the most of the solar incidence angle is important for production, too. Incidence angle refers to the angle of the panel’s surface compared to the sun’s rays. Incidence angles affect the amount of sunlight that gets through the glass on the front of the panel.

Aurora said that these losses, measured as the incident angle modifier, typically range between 3% to 4.5%. The DeSoto model is used to understand incidence angle modifier effects.

Soiling, or the buildup of dust and other debris on the surface of the panel, is a leading cause of energy loss in some regions. In areas with long dry seasons, it can lead to 5% losses. In regions with frequent dust deposits, it can add 1% to 2% to that figure, and locations near major traffic areas typically have another 1% in losses. In regions with year-round rain, soiling losses typically hover around 2%, Aurora said.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) performance parameters suggests a 5% typical soiling loss in the United States is common. An NREL model found that having one annual cleaning on a system with 1.9% soiling loss would decrease the loss to around 1.5%. Two cleanings per year could drop the average loss to 1.3%, and three cleanings per year would reduce it further to a 1.2% average annual loss. An NREL locational analysis on soiling effects can be found here & from PI Photovoltaik-Institut Berlin here

Birds and bird droppings are another production concern. Bird droppings substantially block one or two cells and may not wash away with rain. In modules without bypass diodes, one or two cells being entirely blocked could lead to the entire module losing operation. Aurora advises quick manual cleaning of bird droppings.

Snow loads are another mitigating factor. An NREL study calculated losses ranging from 10-30% for fixed-tilt systems. Snow factors can be difficult to model accurately on an annualized basis, so Aurora recommends measuring on a monthly format.

Shading is another critically important aspect of system performance. Aurora likens a shaded solar cell to a clog in a pipe. When a cell is shaded, the current through the entire string of cells is reduced. Panels integrate bypass diodes, which allow the array to “skip over” the shaded cell, but at the expense of foregoing any production that could have been harvested from that cell. A Stanford University analysis of shading effects can be found here.

Aurora suggests using module-level power electronics (MLPE) or microinverters to avoid losses from shading.

Environmental losses

Temperature coefficients are another factor to consider in performance. A temperature coefficient is measured as the percentage energy output decreases for every 1-degree Celsius increase above the reference point of 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit).

Certain roofing materials will absorb more heat than others, affecting performance. Panel angles can alter temperature, and Aurora said flat mounted panels typically get hotter. Panel type makes a difference, too. Thin-film panels typically have a lower temperature coefficient than monocrystalline or polycrystalline solar panels.

Modules on systems with mismatched or long strings can lose another 0.01% to 3% of total production. Aurora uses an assumption of 2% in its modeling for this loss category. Mismatched modules with tight wattage tolerances can lead to another 1% system loss.

Light-induced degradation occurs when the electrical characteristics of crystalline silicon solar cells change when they’re exposed to light. Losses range from 0.5% to 1.5% and happen within the first few hours of the new panel’s exposure.

Module nameplate rating losses represent the loss due to the difference in the stated power of the module compared with how it actually performs at standard test conditions. Aurora suggests no loss occurs in this category for modern modules, as most accurately reflect standard test results.

However, some providers may list a performance range, referred to as “power tolerance”. It is typically expressed as a plus-or-minus percentage. For example, a 250 W panel with a listed +/- 5% power tolerance may produce between 237.5 W to 262.5 W.

Cable concerns

Wiring losses typically contribute to another 2% in system losses. If the project uses thicker wires on short runs, those losses may be closer to 1%.

“Several components can cause a voltage drop in circuits, including connections, fuses, and resistors. Differences in cable length or size among the parallel strings can also introduce a voltage drop,” according to Aurora.

An NREL study modeled connection losses can contribute to another 0.5% loss. Wiring connectors and bypass diodes have physical imperfections that cause resistance, leading to small voltage drops.

Inverter efficiency measures how efficiently DC energy is converted to AC energy. Inverter manufacturers provide both a maximum efficiency rating for performance in ideal conditions, and a weighted efficiency rating for its performance over a range of conditions.

“It’s important to look at the weighted efficiency because an inverter’s efficiency will change based on the capacity it’s carrying. Most inverters peak around 20% load and fall slightly as the load reaches the maximum input rating,” said the Aurora report.

Inverter clipping often occurs in systems at the height of sunny days. When DC output from the panels is greater than the amount of DC power the inverter can convert, clipping loss occurs. Aurora’s NEC Validation Report can help properly size inverters.

Publicly available system performance model PVWatts uses a default value of a 3% system availability loss. Aurora said that systems with operations and maintenance or fault alert systems set up may experience availability losses of only 0.5%. Availability includes inverter shutdowns or failures, grid outages, and other events that disconnect the PV system.

Thermal expansion and contraction, UV light, and damage from windblown particles will reduce production over time. Solar panel manufacturer production guarantees provide conservative estimate for production under panel degradation over time.

For N-type Bifacial Technology, Dual Glass Structure is Preferred

Jinko — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 04:44:00 GMT

Bifacial solar cells can be encapsulated in modules with either a glass/glass or a glass/ transparent backsheet structure. A glass/backsheet structure works well with conventional PERC modules due to its lightweight, whereas a glass/glass structure has the potential to generate additional energy for N-type modules under outdoor application conditions.

Dual glass is the preferred structure for the rear side cover of the N-type modules because the glass-glass version can maximize the advantages of the N-type. Compared to a transparent backsheet, the glass layer has better light transmittance (dual glass around 94% while transparent 89%), which means more add-on value to a higher bifacial factor of N-type technology that can absorb and transmit as much as possible sunlight from the rear sides of the module.

The reflectance and transmittance of n-type modules with glass/glass structures can maximize the higher bifacial Factor advantage of n-type TOPCon cell, providing approximately 10W more, as compared with glass/transparent backsheet modules using the same n-type TOPCon bifacial solar cells.

The life cycle of PV modules in general is primarily dependent on the cell degradation rate and encapsulation material used. Lower degradation of N-type versus p-type makes it can work well enough and reserve 87% power after 30 years. So N-type modules call for a more durable encapsulating configuration to match its slower degradation advantage. Besides， glass-glass bifacial modules could provide a minimum of 30 years thanks to the better resistance to corrosion, abrasion, extreme weather, shock, and vibration that ensures N-type module safety during production, transport, installation and long-term power generation and prevents new invisible cell cracking

In addition, the better resistance to vapor and heat penetration, as well as strengthened resistance to salt spray, acids, and alkalis corrosion of dual-glass configuration, avoid the potential concern of N-type that is PID and cells damage caused by long-term moisture penetration. Since glass has close to zero moisture penetration risk, so glass/glass version can better protect N-type cells which may be vulnerable to moisture, and extend their life expectancy. Furthermore, glass-glass structure design overcomes problems such as outdoor degradation-induced material aging and the power attenuation that frequently affects backsheets.

The distinctive weak point in dual glass modules is heavier weight compared to transparent backsheet. However, Thanks to improvements in module stiffness and the better support of dual-glass design, N-type TOPCon dual glass modules would have more excellent mechanical load level than transparent ones, what’s more, for example, Jinkosolar can provide the option of hail resistant solution with dual glass module to cater to special requirements from hail heavy-attacked regions.

From the long-term aspects, glass/glass version has better compatibility with 2000V modules, which will be an inevitable trend in the near future. Given that 2000V modules have higher requirements for reliability, the thicker transparent backsheet is necessary to guarantee the module quality, which will also inevitable bring the material cost increased.

Soiling – a multibillion-dollar issue

PV Magazine — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 10:13:00 GMT

Soiling – where PV modules become coated with dust, dirt, sand or snow and thus receive less sunlight – is still an underestimated problem for solar power systems. Specialized solutions are now available in the form of anti-soiling glass coatings, automated and manual cleaning products, and models to predict the ways to use them most economically. But our understanding of the issue is still evolving, particularly as PV systems move into new regions with different environmental conditions, and the technology itself continues to change and improve.

A new report by IEA-PVPS Task 13 seeks to push understanding of soiling a step further, taking a detailed look at the mechanisms causing soiling right down to the size and shape of the individual particles that build up on module’s surface, and the surrounding conditions that lessen or worsen its impacts.

The report estimates that in 2018, soiling caused at least a 3% to 4% loss to global annual energy production from PV – amounting to lost revenue of €3-5 billion. And this is expected to increase to around 4% to 5%, and €4 billion to €7 billion this year, thanks to an increase in PV installations in regions highly prone to soiling, economic pressures, and the fact that more efficient PV modules will suffer larger losses to their output due to soiling.

The report shows that soiling is a highly site-specific issue, and that even different areas within a single site can see quite different conditions. This leads the authors to place emphasis on accurate monitoring of these as a key part of the solution.

“An ideal solution should be installable with as little maintenance as possible and be able to detect heterogeneous soiling at both module and site level with high accuracy,” the scientists said.

Meanwhile, additional work is needed to develop accurate models to predict soiling rates at a given site, with current efforts either limited to a very small area, or based only on satellite data that is too generalized to give an accurate portrayal of site conditions.

They note encouraging progress in soiling reduction – with both preventive and corrective solutions now widely available – including anti-soiling coatings and design aspects such as optimized tilt angle, as well as cleaning solutions carefully designed not to damage modules or remove the aforementioned coatings. However, the best solution for any project will depend on the site conditions, and can be a delicate economic calculation placing emphasis on accurate monitoring and measurement.

The authors also note encouraging progress in both models and technologies to deal with snow loading on modules – as solar installations move into more regions affected by snowy conditions. Here they note that further work is needed on specialized components and designs for snowy conditions, with frameless modules, steeper tilt angles, snow-shedding coatings, bifacial modules, and attention to array heights to minimize snow accumulation on the bottom edges of modules all promising approaches.

The report does not address “anthropogenic, zoological or biological sources” of soiling – such as pollution, bird droppings or moss growth. The conclusion for all though is similar, as noted in the report.

“PV soiling will continue to be a global issue, which is expected to be exacerbated by climate change with rising global temperatures and subsequent droughts,” the researchers said. “Further advancements in soiling modelling, adaptation and mitigation are critically necessary.”

Download the IEA Report " Soiling Losses – Impact on the Performance of Photovoltaic Power Plants" 2022

Germany slashes VAT for residential PV to 0%

PV Magazine — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 14:13:00 GMT

The German parliament debates an annual tax law at the end of every year, in order to pass new rules for the 12 months ahead. The 2022 annual tax law, which the Bundestag approved last week, includes a comprehensive change in the tax treatment of PV systems for the first time.

The new rules will resolve some key problems for small PV systems and will eliminate some bureaucratic requirements. The legislative package contains two important changes for photovoltaics. The first measure will slash the VAT to 0% for residential PV systems up to 30 kW in size. The second measure will provide tax exemptions to operators of small PV systems.

The new 0% VAT rate for PV systems has been made possible by a new regulation in the European VAT Directive, and Germany is now a pioneer in its application. Formally, it is not a VAT exemption on the sale of a PV system, but the supplier or installer bills the customer for the net price, “plus 0% VAT.”

The zero rate of VAT will be applied to the supply and installation of PV systems with the necessary accessories. It will also apply to storage systems in residential buildings, public buildings, and buildings used for public utility activities. There are no limits for the size of the storage systems.

The income tax exemption will be applied to income from the operation of PV systems up to 30 kW in size for single-family homes and other buildings. In the case of multi-family homes, the size limit will be set at 15 kW per residential and commercial unit and 100 kW per multi-family home.

Netherlands to slash VAT for residential PV to 0%

PV Magazine — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 14:46:00 GMT

The Dutch government is planning to reduce the value-added tax (VAT) applied to PV systems used in residential applications from 21 to 0%.

“The measure will be part of the Tax Plan 2023 package and still needs final parliamentary approval,” Dutch solar analyst Peter Segaar told pv magazine. “As the Netherlands has been a firm proponent of the decision of the European Commission to enable this type of tax exemption, it is expected that this measure will be introduced by the end of this year.”

Building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems were not included in the proposal. “But part of the VAT paid for those installations can still be requested by homeowners. The majority of residential dwellings has, however, conventional PV systems mounted on roof tiles, or on flat roofs with mounting systems,” Segaar explained.

According to him, around 1.58 million Dutch households were equipped with a residential PV systems at the end of 2021. “These systems have a combined capacity of 5.6 GW,” he also stated.

The country is currently supporting rooftop PV through a net metering scheme. The prospect of reduced net-metering returns may prompt Dutch homeowners to instead focus on raising the self-consumption rate of home solar systems, for instance by adding behind-the-meter battery storage.

Germany raises feed-in tariffs for solar up to 750 kW

PV Magazine — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 05:41:00 GMT

Germany's Bundestag has approved today a whole set of new energy regulations, including a new version of the country's renewable energy law, known as the EEG 2023, that will lead to some increases in solar feed-in tariffs.

The new provisions will introduce several changes to the PV sector. One of the most significant is the introduction of two separate feed-in tariffs. Owners of rooftop PV systems can now decide to accept a smaller feed-in-tariff and use some of their rooftop power themselves or receive an additional remuneration on top of the standard feed-in tariff if they feed in 100% of their rooftop power.

The scheme was introduced to incentivize full rooftop utilization for solar PV. Hitherto, the support mechanism motivated homeowners and businesses to scale their PV systems according to their own consumption, leaving vast rooftop areas unused.

For PV systems up to 10 kW, for example, the price will be raised from €0.0693 ($0.0760)/kWh to €0.0860/kWh. Owners deciding not to use any of the electricity themselves will receive the full feed-in bonus of €0.048/kWh. The combined remuneration comes in at €0.134/kWh.

PV systems ranging in size from 10 kW to 40 kW will see their tariff increase from €0.0685/kWh to €0.0750/kWh, while prices for solar arrays between 40 kW and 750 kW will be raised from €0.0536/kWh to €0.0620/kWh.

Following earlier criticism, the government decided to slightly reduce the full feed-in bonus. The tariff for PV systems up to 10 kW will drop from €0.0687/kWh to €0.0480/kWh and the rate for installations ranging in size from 10 kW to 40 kW will decline from €0.0445/kWh to €0.0380/kWh. Furthermore, the government reduced the tariff for solar projects with capacities of between 40 kW and 100 kW from €0.0594/kWh to €0.0510/kWh and for installations ranging from 100 kW to 300 kW from €0.0404/kWh to €0.0320/kWh.

They also introduced the option for individuals and businesses to deploy two different PV systems on a single property. This gives owners the chance to register one system as a partial feed-in system and to use some of that solar power themselves. With a second PV system, they can utilize the entire rooftop space and receive the full feed-in bonus. This measure could be particularly beneficial to farmers that could, for example, register a 15 kW system for self-consumption and a 70 kW full-feed-in system. The prerequisite for this is two separate meters for both systems. The changes to the EEG 2023 also introduce tax simplifications and faster grid connection proceedings.

Furthermore, the new provisions established that the size limit for energy communities will be raised from 1 MW to 6 MW and that grid connection for rooftop PV will be made via a web portal operated by the grid operator.

UK offers households up to $7,500 off heat pump costs

PV Magazine — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 05:05:00 GMT

The UK government has launched a three-year, GBP 450 million ($564 million) incentive program offering discounts of up to GBP 6,000 from the installation cost of replacing fossil fuel boilers with heat pumps.

Households and small businesses in England and Wales can secure GBP 5,000 off the cost of replacing an oil or gas boiler with an air source heat pump or GBP 6,000 for a ground source device.

The GBP 5,000 discount is also available for the cost of installing a biomass boiler, although the government press release issued in May to announce the program added such devices would only be eligible “in limited circumstances,” without adding further details.

Same-cost aim

The government is aiming for price parity with fossil fuel boilers by 2030 and said the grants would help drive down costs between 25% and 50% against conventional boilers by 2025.

Greg Jackson, CEO of utility Octopus Energy, was quoted in the press release. He said: “Heat pumps are up to four times more energy efficient than gas boilers but they need to come down in price. The government’s new scheme will not only reduce the cost – often to the same price as a boiler – but it’ll kick-start an industry so that, sooner or later, we won’t need subsidies.”

The government has already brought in a five-year moratorium on the VAT applied to the cost of installing heat pumps and biomass boilers as part of a package of measures to help households through the current cost-of-living crisis.

Under the scheme, which applies to installations made since April 1, the heat pump installer completes the application and applies the discount.

The program will have a GBP 150 million annual budget until the end of March 2025.

Japan launches rebate program for solar on farmland, water reservoirs, waste sites

PV Magazine — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 06:01:00 GMT

Japan's Ministry of Environment has launched a rebate scheme for solar projects on farmland, water reservoirs, and waste disposal sites.

The program will cover up to 50% of a project's costs, provided that the grant does not exceed JPY 300 million. Selected developers will be able to buy the solar modules, batteries and power electronics equipment.

Projects ranging in size from 10 kW to 50 kW will receive a maximum rebate of JPY 303,500/kW. Projects above 50 kW will be assigned a rebate of JPY 205,900/kW.

The owners of the selected projects will have to consume the generated power on-site and won't be allowed to secure other incentives such as the feed-in tariffs or the feed-in premiums.

Equipment to be subsidized includes solar power generation equipment, stationary storage batteries (for business / industrial use, household use), self-employed lines, energy management systems (EMS), power receiving and transforming equipment, etc.

The power supply destination is a facility on the same site as the power generation facility or a facility that can supply self-employed lines, and it is a condition that power is not sold under the FIT system or FIP system.

EU adopts directive allowing reduced VAT on several goods, including solar panels

PV Magazine — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 10:23:00 GMT

The Council of the European Union has adopted a directive allowing member states to reduce value-added tax (VAT) for certain products and services that are consistent with EU environmental and health policies.

Solar panels for residential use will also benefit from this tax relief, alongside pharmaceutical, contraceptive and hygienic protection products, medical protection products, transport and passenger transport services, books, newspapers and paper publications and digital media, among others.

The directive specifies that member states will have the possibility to promote the use of renewable energy sources by means of reduced VAT rates. “In order to support the transition to the use of renewable energy sources and to promote the Union's self-sufficiency in energy, it is necessary to allow member states to improve access for end consumers to green energy sources,” the document reads. “Member states shall communicate to the VAT Committee the text of the main provisions of national law and conditions for the application of the reduced rates referred to in the first paragraph no later than 7 July 2022.”

The Directive No. 2022/542 was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on April 5. According to the new provisions, member states will be free to apply a VAT rate of 0% to 5%.

Schüco publishes warning due to potentially defective solar module backsheets

PV Magazine — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 08:09:00 GMT

In mid-2012, Schüco said it would discontinue the production of its thin film solar modules in Osterweddingen, Germany. Just under two years later, it sold its PV business to Viessmann.

Now in the spring of 2022, Schüco has had to publish a precautionary “product safety warning.” During the “active and passive product monitoring obligation” it has been determined that solar modules delivered between 2010 and 2012 may be affected by a technical fault, Schüco says. The fault is due to a polyamide backsheet, which could lead to defective solar modules.

“Since ensuring product safety is our top priority, we always take all necessary measures to ensure that neither a buyer nor an uninvolved third party comes to harm when using the products we manufacture,” reads the warning letter.

It continues, “Schüco has determined, as a result of field incidents, that a certain type of polyamide backsheet from a specific manufacturer can develop failure patterns that can result in cracks in the backsheet. As a result, the potential hazard resulting from the failure pattern depends on the material, location and type of installation, as well as other factors.”

Under certain external influences, a danger to life and limb because of electric shock cannot be ruled out, the manufacturer warns. Thus, parts of PV systems potentially affected by the fault should not be touched under any circumstances without protective measures.

So far, there have been no reports of damage, a spokesman told pv magazine. And Schüco naturally wants it to stay that way. The first thing it must do now is to find out how many of the solar modules with possibly defective backsheets are still installed in PV systems worldwide. These should be secured against unauthorized access and replaced in the event of a sustained reduction in performance, the spokesman continued.

PV system operators may locate affected solar modules by means of their serial numbers. Faulty modules will have a “0” in their 11th digit, Schüco said. In the warning, the company also provided further concrete instructions for action if faulty modules are detected.

Under no circumstances should the solar modules, plugs, wiring, or parts of the substructure be touched without protective measures against electric shock. Specialized personnel should be informed about the potential dangers. They should then uninstall the solar modules and dispose of them in accordance with legal requirements.

Belgium extends VAT reduction for residential PV, heat pumps

PV Magazine — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 11:12:00 GMT

The Belgian Minister of Finance, Vincent Van Peteghem, announced this week that the federal government has decided to reduce to 6% the value-added tax (VAT) for PV installations and heat pumps deployed on buildings erected over the past ten years.

This low percentage value was previously applied only to residential solar arrays and heat pumps installed on buildings that were more than ten years old. “The VAT reduction will be extended to homes that are were also built in the past 10 years and will be in place until 31 December 2023,” Van Peteghem said. “Our country has more than 2.9 million very outdated homes that are waiting for an urgent energetic renovation by 2050, which represents a huge challenge for our families.”

The new measure will enter into force on April 1 and will be re-discussed by the Belgian federal government in September. Its further extension will depend on energy prices and Europe's energy crisis conundrum.

Belgium reached a cumulative installed solar power of over 7 GW at the end of 2021. According to recent analysis by Belgian institute EnergyVille, rooftop PV and onshore wind have the technical potential to reach 118 GW of capacity in Belgium. Of the three Belgian macro-regions, Flemish-speaking Flanders is the one with the largest solar potential for rooftop systems, at 67.56 GW, followed by French-speaking Wallonia, with 31.54 GW, and the Brussels metropolitan region, with 4.23 GW.

UK governments slashes VAT for residential PV, heat pumps to 0%

PV Magazine — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 09:36:00 GMT

The UK government announced it will reduce the value-added tax (VAT) applied to heat pumps and solar modules used in residential applications from 5 to 0%.

The new measure will come into force on April 1, 2022. “The zero-rate will be available for a period of 5 years and will then revert to the 5% reduced rate of VAT,” the government said in a statement. “This measure will positively impact individuals through lower prices charged by energy-saving materials (ESMs) installers, subject to the degree to which these businesses pass the VAT savings on to their customers.”

Wind and water turbines were also added back to the list of the ESMs eligible for the VAT reduction.

“Solar Energy UK is delighted to see VAT reduced on solar and other energy saving materials for residential use, after many years of calling for this,” said the association's CEO, Chris Hewett. “It is common sense for the Treasury to be encouraging greater uptake of all zero carbon technologies in the face of an energy security crisis and climate emergency. It will be seen as a real endorsement of solar, as well as improving the pay back for many consumers who may be on the fence.”

Exclusive report: Can utilities turn EVs into a grid asset?

Eurelectric — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 10:27:00 GMT

The result of a collaboration between EY and Eurelectric, this report addresses the anticipated surge in EV sales across Europe, where the number of EVs on the road is expected to jump from just above 3 million today to 130 million by 2035.

To fully understand the impact this many EVs will have on the electricity grid, the report analyses six charging cases and their impact on average and peak load. The report reveals that the grid will be able to support over 100 million EVs without diminishing its reliability. Once EV penetration reaches 50% on an urban distribution network, uncontrolled charging could lead to voltage deviations and affect the quality of power supply. This however can be addressed via both supplier and user managed charging. Ensuring this, DSOs will be the lynchpins of the e-mobility acceleration towards 2030 and beyond.

Key figures

Representing just 1% of the total 326 million vehicle parc in Europe today, the EV share is expected to grow to 65 million vehicles by 2030, and double to 130 million vehicles by 2035.
Today, there are over 360,000 public chargers in Europe. At least 65 million chargers will be needed by 2035.
85% of those chargers are expected to be residential; 6% in the workplace, 4% will be public chargers and 5% at destinations.
€115bn cumulative investment is needed between 2022 and 2035.
EV penetration will see electricity demand in transport grow by 11% per year.

DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT

The panel and the city

PV Magazine — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 09:41:00 GMT

Scientists from Arizona State University in the United States have conducted research to evaluate how urban settings affects the performance of PV systems and, conversely, how PV systems affect their surrounding urban environment.

The researchers explained that solar modules are sources of radiative heat for all structures beneath them and, at the same time, are convective heat sources that can considerably increase the temperature of the ambient air in cities, contributing to the so-called urban heat island (UHI) effect, which occurs when cities absorb and retain heat, due to a high concentration of pavements, buildings, and other surfaces.

Their analysis was based on a review conducted on 116 scientific articles for review, through which seven different types of PV-urban climate interactions were identified. For the impact of the urban environment on the PV system, it considered urban air temperature, urban air pollution, the partial shading of the PV system, and soiling. To evaluate how the solar array affects the urban environment, it took into account urban air temperatures, building heating and cooling loads, and outdoor shade.

Impact of urban environment

The scientists found that all analyzed parameters have a “non-trivial role” in affecting PV power generation, although the impact of the elevated temperatures caused by the UHI is difficult to quantify, as it varies seasonally and diurnally.

Air pollution was described as one of the main factors reducing PV performance in urban environments, with power yield spanning from 5 to 15%. “Particle deposition on PV panels results in absorption and backscattering of insolation, reducing the transmittance of the panel surface,” the academics explained. “While this effect is most notable in highly polluted urban environs, it can also manifest itself in rural installations downwind of urban and industrial pollution sources.”

As for the effect of soiling, the scientists said that cities often have impervious surfaces such as roads, parking lots, and buildings, which are not detrimental to PV power generation, as these are less prone to high atmospheric loading of particulates from soils. “Nevertheless, other sources of soiling in urban environments, including soot from vehicles and industry and dust from construction activities may significantly contribute to soiling of PV,” they further explained. “However, research suggests that periodic cleaning of PV surfaces, either from precipitation or from routine maintenance can maintain the generation penalty of soiling at less than 10%.”

The shading effect, which for PV systems in urban environments is often unavoidable, is described in the study as the most significant issue affecting PV system performance in dense urban areas. “The average effects of this penalty can be on the order of 20%,” the researchers emphasized. “However, careful design of urban installations, accounting for current, and potential future shading, can greatly reduce this issue.”

Impact of photovoltaics

The analysis of how PV impacts the urban environment showed conflicting results and highlighted the need for further studies, although it confirmed that solar panels have an influence on urban energy balance and affect urban air temperatures.

Their thermal and electrical characteristics are key parameters to assess this influence. The shadow that the panels can produce on the surrounding areas and air gap between the panels and the surface beneath them, which results in convective heat transfer from both surfaces of the PV panel to the air, were identified as two main factors increasing air temperature. “Further controlled empirical studies and validated modeling efforts are needed, particularly because the conflicting studies differ not simply in magnitude of their projections, but in terms of the sign of the anticipated impact of PV on air temperatures,” they further explained.

Their analysis also showed that current scientific literature is also divided on how rooftop PV positively affects the energy performance of buildings by reducing the need for cooling at night, taking into account that solar panels can cool down faster than the roof cover or other architectural elements. “The magnitude of this savings depends significantly on the assumption of the albedo of the roof surface being shaded, the level of building insulation, and other building construction and operation characteristics,” the also stated.

Their findings were presented in the paper “Photovoltaics in the built environment: A critical review,” published in Energy and Buildings.

“As our synthesis suggests, photovoltaics in urban settings offer many benefits, but also are fraught with challenges — both in terms of how the urban environment affects their performance and how they can adversely affect the urban environment and energy consumption for air conditioning,” they concluded. “These complexities are often difficult to convey to the general public or to local/regional decision-makers who are typically seeking simplified summaries regarding the evaluation of technologies.”

Germany deployed 5.26 GW of solar in 2021

Photon Mag — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 08:57:00 GMT

According to the official statistics published on Monday (January 31), Photovoltaic systems with a total capacity of 5.26 gigawatts (GW) were newly reported to the market data register of the German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur, BNetzA) last year, 7.6 percent more than in 2021 (4.89 GW). In December, 421 megawatts (MW) of new capacity were added, 19.8 percent less than in the same month last year (525 MW).
Of the additions reported last year, 4.71 GW (91.1 percent) were actually commissioned in 2021. Just under 456 MW (7.6 percent) were already online in 2020, and 96 MW (1.3 percent) in 2019.
Of the total 235,602 new systems registered for 2021, 161,293 (68.5 percent) are in the segment of small rooftop systems of up to ten kilowatts. In terms of installed capacity, however, this segment accounts for only 21.3 percent at 1.12 GW. Large, predominantly ground-mounted systems with a capacity of 750 kilowatts or more, on the other hand, account for only 0.1 percent of notifications with 339 projects, but with 1.38 GW (26.3 percent) they represent the largest segment in terms of installed capacity. According to the statistics, a total of 3.582 GW of capacity was registered outside of tenders, which means that 1.41 GW is accounted for by the tenders.

European Green Deal: Commission proposes to boost renovation and decarbonisation of buildings

EU — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 06:17:00 GMT

Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans said: “Stimulating renovation of homes and other buildings supports economic recovery and creates new job opportunities. Moreover, energy renovation leads to lower energy bills and in the end the investment pays for itself. By targeting the obstacles to renovation and providing financial support for the necessary upfront investment, today's proposal on the energy performance of buildings aims to boost the rate of energy renovation across the EU. Its focus on the worst performing buildings prioritises the most cost-effective renovations and helps fight energy poverty.”

Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, said: “Buildings are the single largest energy consumer in Europe, using 40% of our energy, and creating 36% of our greenhouse gas emissions. That is because most buildings in the EU are not energy efficient and are still mostly powered by fossil fuels. We need to do something about this urgently, as over 85% of today's buildings will still be standing in 2050, when Europe must be climate neutral. Improving our homes is also an effective response to high energy prices – the worst-performing buildings in the EU consume many times more energy as new or properly renovated ones. And it's often the most vulnerable who live in the least efficient houses and therefore struggle to pay the bills. Renovation reduces both the energy footprint of buildings and the energy costs for households, while also boosting economic activity and job creation."

The Commission proposes that as of 2030, all new buildings must be zero-emission. To harness the potential of faster action in the public sector, all new public buildings must be zero-emission already as of 2027. This means that buildings must consume little energy, be powered by renewables as far as possible, emit no on-site carbon emissions from fossil fuels and must indicate their global warming potential based on their whole-life cycle emissions on their Energy Performance Certificate.

When it comes to renovations, new EU-level minimum energy performance standards are proposed, requiring the worst-performing 15% of the building stock of each Member State to be upgraded from the Energy Performance Certificate's Grade G to at least Grade F by 2027 for non-residential buildings and 2030 for residential buildings. This initial focus on the lowest performing buildings fulfils the twin objective of maximising the potential for decarbonisation and for the alleviation of energy poverty.

Energy performance certificates provide publicly available information about energy consumption and are important guides to investment, buying, and rental decisions. With today's proposals, Energy Performance Certificates will become clearer and contain improved information. The obligation to have an energy performance certificate is extended to buildings undergoing major renovation, buildings for which a rental contract is renewed and all public buildings. Buildings or building units which are offered for sale or rent must also have a certificate, and the energy performance class will need to be stated in all advertisements. By 2025, all certificates must be based on a harmonised scale from A to G.

National Buildings Renovation Plans will be fully integrated into National Energy and Climate Plans. This will ensure comparability and tracking of progress, and make a direct link to mobilising financing and triggering the reforms and investments that are needed. These plans will need to include roadmaps for phasing out fossil fuels in heating and cooling by 2040 at the latest, along with a pathway for transforming the national building stock into zero-emission buildings by 2050.

Easier access to information and lower costs for consumers help to boost renovation. Today's proposal introduces a building ‘Renovation passport' that provides owners a tool to facilitate their planning and a step-by-step renovation towards zero-emissions level. The proposal defines ‘mortgage portfolio standards' as a mechanism to incentivise lenders to improve the energy performance of their portfolio of buildings, and encourage potential clients to make their properties more energy efficient. The Commission also invites Member States to include renovation considerations in public and private financing rules and to establish appropriate instruments, in particular for low-income households. No financial incentives should be given for the installation of fossil fuel boilers as of 2027 and Member States are given the legal possibility to ban fossil fuel use in buildings.

The new rules encourage the use of information and communication technology (ICT) and smart technologies to ensure buildings operate efficiently, and calls for digital building databases to be established. Regarding mobility, the proposal supports the rollout of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in residential and commercial buildings, and makes more dedicated parking space available for bicycles.

Background

The revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is part of the Commission's “Fit for 55” proposals to deliver on the European Green Deal and the European Climate Law. It complements the other components of the package adopted in July 2021, setting the vision for achieving a zero-emission building stock by 2050. It is a key legislative instrument to achieve the 2030 and 2050 decarbonisation objectives: buildings account for 40% of energy consumed in the EU and 36% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions; heating, cooling and domestic hot water are responsible for 80% of the energy that households consume.

The Commission is determined to alleviate energy poverty. There are more than 30 million building units in the EU consuming excessive energy (at least 2.5 times more than average buildings) which drives up energy bills of households. The benefits of lower energy bills are even more relevant in the current context of high energy prices. People living in worst performing buildings and those facing energy poverty would benefit from renovated and better buildings, as well as from reduced energy costs, and be buffered from further market price increases and volatility.

By increasing the renovation rate, the measures in the revised directive will create local jobs, supporting innovation diffusion and SMEs. Increased intensity of renovations needs to be supported by adequate capacity and skilled workforce.

Alongside today's package, the Commission has published a Staff Working Document outlining possible scenarios for a transition pathway toward a more resilient, greener and more digital construction ecosystem. With this document, the Commission invites Member States, industry stakeholders and all the other relevant actors to take active part in co-creating a vision for the future of the construction ecosystem. Additional information, views, as well as ideas for concrete actions, commitments and investments can be provided through an EU Survey, which is open until 28 February 2022.

Proposal for a Directive on the energy performance of buildings

Natural Gas is not a transitional fuel, so let’s stop saying it is

EURACTIV — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 09:43:00 GMT

Gas is widely branded as a transitional or a bridge fuel. The idea is that on the road from coal to renewables, we need to go through gas which emits, at the point of burning only, half the CO2 emissions. But if we look at countries that significantly reduced coal in power generation, we will see that coal is not replaced by gas and doesn’t behave as a transitional fuel. Countries reduce coal, but gas consumption does not increase but instead stays the same or even declines.

The UK is a striking example. In 2012 coal generation peaked at 40%. Today coal generates less than 3% of British electricity, and it is on the way to being fully phased out in 2024. In the last two decades, gas demand has remained flat. Furthermore, both gas and nuclear have shown signs of relative decline over the previous five years.

Germany is a unique case because of its commitment to close down nuclear by the end of 2022. In the last decade, it reduced its coal power generation by 44% and its nuclear generation by 49%. Amid this massive decline, gas generation has increased by only 13% (or an absolute change of 1.9 percentage points).

With some temporary and seasonal variations, the trend is similar in Denmark, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary and other European countries. In most cases, gas demand remains flat or declines despite the availability of underutilised gas generation capacity that could be turned on with a switch of a button.

Between 2010 and 2020, coal generation in the EU (the UK included) declined by exactly half. Gas did not replace the lost coal generation, instead, it also declined, modestly, by 7%. The trend is visible also globally – in the last 10 years, coal generation fell from 40% to 34%, while the share of gas power generation has remained the same at around 22%. There are national exceptions to this rule, but that does not change the overall trend.

The reality is that gas does not replace coal. So far, coal has been replaced primarily by renewables and energy efficiency in power generation.

The other two major gas-consuming sectors, buildings and industry, are also unlikely to support the idea of gas as a transitional fuel. In both sectors, the trend is to move away from gas. Countries like the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, and others with a high level of domestic heating gasification are introducing policies to reduce gas for heating and replace it with heat pumps, highly efficient insolation, and renewables. The industry is also increasingly looking at hydrogen.

The expectation that gas will be the transitional fuel in transport is also not materialising. Batterypowered vehicles have already won the race for passenger cars and, while the jury is still out on longdistance busses and freight transport, it is unlikely that the verdict will favour gas.

It is worth noting that the trend of gas not replacing coal took place when gas prices were low, and the cost of renewables and especially batteries were still high. With the dramatic decline in the cost of renewables and batteries and the skyrocketing gas prices, gas will likely start following the steeper declining trend of coal. If we add the higher carbon reduction ambition of the European Green Deal, we could be confident that gas has missed the energy transition boat both metaphorically and literally.

That doesn’t mean that gas does not have a role in the energy transition. This role, however, is not a transitional fuel and could be better described as a fuel of last resort – when energy efficiency, renewables, storage and demand-side response leave a gap, that gap might be filled with gas. After all, gas still acts as a fuel that balances intermittent renewables generation, though we must not exaggerate that role. A wide menu of technologies is advancing into the balancing position for the power systems.

Batteries are only one of them, but many others are market integration, cross-border grid connectivity, digitalisation of the energy system, long-distance HVDC cables, and others. Gas is increasingly acting as a niche rather than mainstream technology. The niches might be essential and many, but they will remain niches.

One might say: the statement that gas is a transitional fuel is only a PR slogan of the industry, just a phrase, part of a complex debate, and nothing more than a language issue.

Well, language matters. The much-debated EU Taxonomy for sustainable activities is the primary language. It is about calling things sustainable or not sustainable rather than a set of strict prohibitive rules and penalties. Nevertheless, there is a heated war over this “piece of language”, and the battle to get gas in as a green fuel is fierce.

Branding gas as a transitional fuel, or the more delicate bureaucratic term “transitional activity”, is the main argument for including gas as a green fuel in the Taxonomy. This branding will impact many investment decisions, public policies, and spending.

“Gas is a transitional fuel” is the primary justification for allowing countries to build gas power plants under the so-called DNSH (Do no significant harm) principle. When assessing the eligibility of gas power plants as replacement of coal capacity, the European Commission requires that the newly built gas generation capacity should “result in the simultaneous closure of a significantly more carbon-intensive power plant and/or heat generation facility (e.g. coal, lignite or oil) with at least the same capacity”.

In other words, if a country closes 1GW of coal, it will not do significant harm if it builds up 1GW of gas generation.

Looking at the existing trend of gas not replacing coal, that rule means simply that the EC is actively pushing countries to build unnecessary gas capacity and, on top of that, provides financial support for doing so.

Applied to gas, the DNSH principle will inflict harm mainly on Central and Eastern European countries that do not have ready to run gas generation capacity and will need to invest in newly built power plants to “not do so such a significant harm”. This very expensive irony will only widen the technology gap between West and East, and in a few years, we will see how the Green Deal is much greener for the West, but not that green, and not that profitable and beneficial for the East.

Goodbye gas: heat pumps will be the cheapest green heating option for consumers

BEUC (Ευρωπαϊκή Οργάνωση Καταναλωτών) — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 11:16:00 GMT

The study - ‘Goodbye gas: why your next boiler should be a heat pump’ – looked at the cost of heating the two most typical homes (house/apartment) in Italy, Czech Republic, Poland and Spain with electric heat pumps, hybrid electric/hydrogen heat pumps and hydrogen boilers from 2025-2040.¹

The result? Electric heat pumps emerged as the cheapest green heating option in all four countries in terms of the ‘total cost of ownership’,² with heat pump-powered district heating a strong option for high density urban areas.³

BEUC Director General Monique Goyens commented:
“Millions of consumers in Europe today rely on fossil fuels like gas to heat their homes. The problem is that these are heavily polluting. The climate crisis means we’ll have no other choice than to find greener and more efficient alternatives to heat our homes. Fossil fuels also expose consumers to volatile energy prices, as they are experiencing the hard way at the moment.

“The good news is that the solutions are out there. Our research shows that for consumers across Europe, electrification – whether by a heat pump or district heating in cities – combined with energy efficiency improvements, will be much cheaper and convenient than hydrogen. Making homes more energy efficient will help consumers save considerably - be it by insulating walls in Poland or installing blinds on windows in Spain. What’s more, moving away from the volatility of gas prices will offer consumers more stability and predictability in their energy bills.

“But let’s face it, the transition to heat pumps is still too difficult. Consumers face big up-front investment costs and issues with installation. As such, it is crucial that public authorities provide financial support to allow consumers to invest in a heat pump and energy efficiency improvements in their homes. It’s just as vital that consumers aren’t pushed into investing in expensive experiments, like hydrogen. Authorities must instead allocate public money to proven technologies instead of over-hyped and unproven ones likes hydrogen”.

Main findings:

Electric heat pumps are the cheapest green heating option for consumers. Renewable district heating is also competitive in urban areas. Hydrogen boilers and hybrid heat pumps (hydrogen/electric) are the most expensive option and hydrogen will be more expensive than gas is today
In cold climates, major home energy efficiency improvements deliver big financial benefits, helping to reducing energy bills. This applies in all four countries, helping to keep homes warm in winter. In warm climates, shading (e.g. the use of blinds) can cut consumption and improve comfort
‘Smart heating’ (e.g. when it’s cheaper at off-peak times) with heat pumps will reduce consumers’ heating costs by up to 25% compared to gas. This is because using electricity smartly reduces the need for investments in electricity grids. The savings could help reduce grid charges on energy bills
If national governments roll out ambitious home renovation programmes, allowing many consumers to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, this could also mean lower grid tariffs (and energy bills) for all if savings are passed on to consumers
But to be able to reap the benefits of lower energy bills, consumers will need financial support to help purchase a heat pump and pay for energy efficiency improvements.

More information

Read the executive summary
Read the full report - ‘Goodbye gas: why your next boiler should be a heat pump. A comparative study of green heating options for consumers, 2025-2040’.

ENDS

¹ This period was chosen as it is when residential heating legislation currently being revised or due to be will enter into force. 15-20 years is also the average lifetime of a heating appliance.
² Includes: cost of energy generation, cost of operating and upgrading energy networks, building insulation and purchasing/installing the appliances.
³ District heating distributes heat through pipes to multiple buildings, meaning consumers do not need to have their own individual heating systems. District heating powered by heat pumps is a promising option: it offers extra efficiency gains although is still in the early stages of development.

Anaptixikos Nomos • Dapanes gia paragogi enrgeias apo APE

ΥΠΑΝ — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 06:33:00 GMT

ΠΑΡΑΡΤΗΜΑ Β΄ ΕΠΙΛΕΞΙΜΕΣ ΔΑΠΑΝΕΣ ΕΚΤΟΣ ΠΕΡΙΦΕΡΕΙΑΚΩΝ ΕΝΙΣΧΥΣΕΩΝ

7. Επενδυτικές δαπάνες για μέτρα ενεργειακής απόδοσης (άρθρο 38 Γ.Α.Κ.).

1. Επιλέξιμες δαπάνες είναι οι πρόσθετες επενδυτικές δαπάνες που απαιτούνται ώστε να επιτευχθεί το υψηλότερο επίπεδο ενεργειακής απόδοσης. Οι δαπάνες που δεν συνδέονται άμεσα με την επίτευξη υψηλότερου επιπέδου ενεργειακής απόδοσης δεν συνιστούν επιλέξιμες δαπάνες. Δεν χορηγούνται ενισχύσεις όταν οι βελτιώσεις πραγματοποιούνται με σκοπό να εξασφαλισθεί η συμμόρφωση των επιχειρήσεων με ενωσιακά πρότυπα, που έχουν ήδη εγκριθεί, έστω και αν δεν έχουν ακόμα τεθεί σε ισχύ.

2. Η ένταση της ενίσχυσης των δαπανών ορίζεται σε ποσοστό τριάντα τοις εκατό (30%) αυτών. 87 Η ένταση της ενίσχυσης αυξάνεται κατά είκοσι (20) ποσοστιαίες μονάδες σε μικρές επιχειρήσεις και κατά δέκα (10) ποσοστιαίες μονάδες σε μεσαίες επιχειρήσεις. Η ένταση της ενίσχυσης αυξάνεται κατά δεκαπέντε (15) ποσοστιαίες μονάδες για επενδύσεις σε ενισχυόμενες περιοχές που πληρούν τις προϋποθέσεις του στοιχείου α΄ της παρ. 3 του άρθρου 107 της ΣΛΕΕ και κατά πέντε (5) ποσοστιαίες μονάδες για τις επενδύσεις σε ενισχυόμενες περιοχές που πληρούν τις προϋποθέσεις του στοιχείου γ΄ της παρ. 3 του άρθρου 107 της ΣΛΕΕ.

3. Οι δαπάνες αυτές ενισχύονται μέχρι ποσοστού πέντε τοις εκατό (5%) επί του συνολικού ενισχυόμενου κόστους περιφερειακών ενισχύσεων και έως του ποσού των εκατό χιλιάδων (100.000) ευρώ.

9. Δαπάνες για παραγωγή ενέργειας από ανανεώσιμες πηγές (άρθρο 41 Γ.Α.Κ.).

1. Επιλέξιμες είναι οι δαπάνες για αυτοπαραγωγή ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας ή/και παραγωγή θερμότητας/ψύξης από ΑΠΕ για ιδία χρήση, για επενδυτικά σχέδια παραγωγής ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας από μικρά υδροηλεκτρικά έργα, για επενδυτικά σχέδια παραγωγής θερμότητας/ψύξης από ΑΠΕ, καθώς και για επενδυτικά σχέδια παραγωγής αειφόρων βιοκαυσίμων τα οποία δεν είναι βασιζόμενα σε εδώδιμα φυτά και δεν υπόκεινται σε υποχρέωση εφοδιασμού ή ανάμειξης. Επιλέξιμες είναι οι 88 πρόσθετες επενδυτικές δαπάνες που είναι απαραίτητες για την προώθηση της παραγωγής ενέργειας από ανανεώσιμες πηγές, εφόσον χορηγούνται μόνο σε νέες εγκαταστάσεις. Ειδικά, για επενδυτικά σχέδια Υβριδικών Σταθμών ΑΠΕ στα Μη Διασυνδεδεμένα Νησιά επιλέξιμες είναι οι δαπάνες του συστήματος αποθήκευσης, εφόσον χορηγούνται μόνο σε νέες εγκαταστάσεις. Οι δαπάνες που δεν συνδέονται άμεσα με την επίτευξη υψηλότερου επιπέδου προστασίας του περιβάλλοντος δεν είναι επιλέξιμες.

2. Η ένταση της ενίσχυσης ορίζεται σε ποσοστό:

α) Σαράντα πέντε τοις εκατό (45%) των επιλέξιμων δαπανών, εάν οι δαπάνες υπολογίζονται ως εξής:

αα) Όταν το κόστος της επένδυσης για την παραγωγή ενέργειας από ανανεώσιμες πηγές μπορεί να προσδιοριστεί ως χωριστή επένδυση ως προς το συνολικό επενδυτικό κόστος.

αβ) Όταν το κόστος της επένδυσης για την παραγωγή ενέργειας από ανανεώσιμες πηγές μπορεί να προσδιοριστεί με βάση παρόμοια, λιγότερο φιλική προς το περιβάλλον επένδυση, που θα μπορούσε να πραγματοποιηθεί χωρίς την ενίσχυση, η διαφορά αυτή μεταξύ του κόστους των δύο επενδύσεων προσδιορίζει το κόστος που συνδέεται με την παραγωγή ενέργειας από ανανεώσιμες πηγές και συνιστά τις επιλέξιμες δαπάνες,

β) τριάντα τοις εκατό (30%) των επιλέξιμων δαπανών, εάν υπολογίζονται ως εξής:

βα) Για μικρές εγκαταστάσεις που δεν μπορούν να συγκριθούν με παρόμοια λιγότερο φιλική προς το περιβάλλον επένδυση, δεδομένου ότι δεν υπάρχουν μονάδες παραγωγής περιορισμένου μεγέθους, το συνολικό κόστος της επένδυσης για την επίτευξη υψηλότερου επιπέδου προστασίας του περιβάλλοντος συνιστά τις επιλέξιμες δαπάνες. Η ένταση της ενίσχυσης μπορεί να αυξηθεί κατά είκοσι (20) ποσοστιαίες μονάδες για ενισχύσεις που χορηγούνται σε μικρές επιχειρήσεις, και κατά δέκα (10) ποσοστιαίες μονάδες για ενισχύσεις που χορηγούνται σε μεσαίες επιχειρήσεις.

Η ένταση της ενίσχυσης μπορεί να αυξηθεί κατά δεκαπέντε (15) ποσοστιαίες μονάδες για επενδύσεις σε ενισχυόμενες περιοχές που πληρούν τις προϋποθέσεις του στοιχείου α΄ της παρ. 3 του άρθρου 107 της ΣΛΕΕ και κατά πέντε (5) ποσοστιαίες μονάδες για τις επενδύσεις σε ενισχυόμενες περιοχές που πληρούν τις προϋποθέσεις του στοιχείου γ΄ της παρ. 3 του άρθρου 107 της ΣΛΕΕ σύμφωνα με το ΧΠΕ.

3. Οι δαπάνες στις περιπτώσεις αυτοπαραγωγής ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας ή/και παραγωγής θερμότητας/ψύξης για ιδία χρήση από ΑΠΕ ενισχύονται μέχρι ποσοστού είκοσι τοις εκατό (20%) του συνολικού ενισχυόμενου κόστους περιφερειακών ενισχύσεων.

Analysis of hail impact test performance of Hi-MO 5 and oversized module

PV Magazine — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 06:10:00 GMT

A PV module needs to be able to operate in different types of extreme weather conditions and an infinite increase in its size has the potential to bring significant risk to power plants. Hail is a normal global meteorological phenomenon, meaning that analysis of the performance of different size modules in such conditions is increasingly important.

LONGi has conducted new hail performance testing which indicates that, whereas its Hi-MO 5 module (based on a 182mm wafer with dimensions of 2256×1133mm, 2.56m²), is able to withstand testing, the oversized module (dimensions 2384×1303mm, 3.11m²) is unable to do so. A TÜV SÜD report has also demonstrated that Hi-MO 5 was successful in passing a 35mm hail impact test.

Technical Report

1. Technical Feature of PV Glass: The bigger the glass area, the less mechanical strength

The mechanical strength of PV glass is mainly affected by the temperature gradient in the tempered furnace. Because of the significant increase in width (1.3m) of an oversized module, it is more difficult to make the temperature homogenous for glass, meaning that the increase in glass width can result in a reduction in mechanical strength.

2. Analysis of hail impact testing: 100% failure rate of oversized module

In order to verify the technical features of PV tempered glass, several hail tests were conducted in laboratory conditions, with a hail diameter of 35mm and a speed of some 27m/s. 11 points were tested for each module type.

The results indicated that all three oversized modules (3.11m²) failed the test, with a 100% failure rate and with a trend for edge breakage. This supports the view that a significant increase in module size can result in a decrease in mechanical strength, especially at the edge.

In summary, this article analyzes the hail impact test for different size modules and sets out the basic mechanism for testing. It was found that the mechanical strength of an oversized (3.11m²) module will decrease with the increase in glass width, all three modules of this type failing the hail impact test, unlike the 2.56m² module, which was successful in testing. This may be an important consideration for investors in projects in areas prone to hail conditions, where module reliability assumes particular importance.

Trina Solar has published a white paper on inverter matching for its Vertex series PV modules.

Trina Solar — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 06:05:00 GMT

The inverters covered in the paper are fully adaptive to all modules in the 210 Vertex series, focusing on the Vertex 550W, 600W and 670W series ultra-high power modules, covering nineteen mainstream inverter brands and more than 180 inverter models. Inverters included are suitable for utility-scale power plants, industrial and commercial distributed PV projects, and agricultural, fishery and Residential PV power settings.

The white paper provides customers with a clear reference for inverter options in different settings.

Modules and inverters are important components of power plants, and intelligent matching directly improves system safety and value. The publication of the white paper is a milestone in promoting efficient and synergistic development of the industry and building a high-power PV ecology.

In addition to the comprehensive inverter matching database, the paper introduces the first quick matching tool in the industry, helping customers locate the best inverter for their needs with just one click.

Fully Compatibility with Utility-Scale Power Plants

The 210 Vertex series modules feature a low voltage, high-string-power design. This design significantly increases string power and reduces the purchase and installation cost of cables and auxiliary materials, as well as the cost of trackers and pile foundations. The result is a reduction in the BOS and LCOE of power plants. The 210 Vertex series has become a mainstream product on the market. In the utility-scale power plant setting, 13 of the world's leading inverter brands and their products have been selected in the paper.

Fully Compatible with Distributed and Rooftop Applications

Because of significant advantages in BOS and LCOE, 550W, 600W and 670W ultra-high power modules are not limited to utility-scale power plants. Distributed PV power projects have also upgraded to Trina Solar’s newest ultra-high power modules. All mainstream distributed inverter brands globally have their own series of string inverter solutions for application in distributed and residential PV power projects.

The white paper provides customers with many options for different situations. In the instance of commercial and industrial distributed PV power, seventeen inverter brands are listed, including as FIMER, FRONIUS, INGETEAM, KACO, adding up to more than 100 models that all meet the application requirements. In rooftop household settings, eleven inverter brands are included, adding up to forty-seven models to choose from, significantly improving matching efficiency.

Inverter Manufacturers Contribute to Ultra-High-Power PV Ecology

Ultra-high power modules are an unstoppable trend. In terms of market demand, the production capacity for 210 series modules is forecast to reach 147GW this year and 234GW next year, according to a PVinfolink report. Large-size modules are forecast to account for more than 70% of overall module capacity worldwide.

With full validation by the market, inverter manufacturers are upgrading production to match 210 high-power modules. At this year's SNEC PV Power Expo in Shanghai, dozens of inverter manufacturers exhibited their high-current inverters. Nineteen mainstream global inverter manufacturers and 180+ adaptive models have joined Trina Solar's Matching Inverter Database, and the number will continue to grow.

The white paper can be downloaded here.

To learn about matching tools for the 210 V series modules, please go to http://invertertool.trinasolar.com/

What seawater and salt spray can do to a PV system

PV Magazine — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 05:24:00 GMT

A group of Chinese scientists has simulated the effects of the marine environment on the performance of PV systems installed on large ocean-going cargo ships and has found that there are differences between the effects of salt spray and seawater on the panels' electrical output characteristics.

The researchers explained that the marine environment has a strong influence on the module surface, via salt and water vapor mixed with acid and basic substances, noting that previous research focused mainly on the damage caused by seawater corrosion and salt particles. “Under seawater corrosion, black spots of corrosion on the surface of the glass of PV modules are formed, with further decrease of the spectral transmittance and [they can] even cause irreparable physical damage,” they stated. “Although the marine environment is highly corrosive, it takes a long time for tempered glass to be severely corroded. It may be more urgent to pay attention to the influence of marine environmental factors on the electrical output characteristics of the PV module.”

The impact of salt spray and seawater on a PV system is described by the academics as a dynamic process through which salt spray creates a layer on the module, thus forming a water film on its surface. “At the same time, the seawater will also cover the surface of the PV module,” they emphasized. “When the salt spray and seawater evaporate, the salt particles are left on the surface of the glass cover plate.”

The Chinese group built an experimental platform consisting of a main workbox, a sample holder, a modular lighting system, and a water circulation system. Mini solar panels, with a power output of 10 W each, were placed horizontally on the sample holder and humidity, radiation, and temperature sensors were used to collect environmental parameters. Artificial seawater with a concentration of 3.5% and a pH value of 8.2 was used for the experiment. The performance of the PV system was evaluated through the tester PROVA210.

Salt spray

Through their analysis, the scientists found that the solar irradiation hitting the module surface was considerably lowered after the salt spray was sprayed. “This weakening effect has a stronger impact on the electrical output of the PV modules than the positive effect brought by cooling, resulting in the decreasing power output,” they highlighted.

When no more salt spray was sprayed, the solar radiation levels on the panels increased again, which shows, they went on to say, that the effect of salt spray is greater on solar irradiance than on temperature. “The combined influence of water spray on the electrical output characteristics of [a] PV module manifests as a maximum power reduction of about 6%,” the research team further explained. “When the PV modules are used in inland rivers, and other areas with easy-to-condense water, the water mist generated in the environment will also have a similar influence on the electrical output characteristics.”

Seawater

When analyzing the effect of seawater, the researchers found that it has a significant cooling effect due to evaporation and heat absorption, and those can even raise the module yield by up to 20%. When the water evaporates, however, salt crystals gradually attach to the module surface and this makes solar irradiance spread uniformly on the glass cover.

“As a material with a low thermal conductivity, salt particles block the heat transfer of [the] PV module, making it difficult for the PV module to release its own heat, leading to a temperature rise,” they added, noting that the salt particles also weaken the light transmission of the module as a whole. “Although the cooling effect of seawater attached to the surface of [a] PV module is obvious, it will be temporary if there is no subsequent seawater scouring.”

The combined influence of salt particles, as a heating agent and a factor reducing solar radiation, resulted in a 10% yield reduction for the experimental PV system.

The scientists concluded that more research is needed to understand completely the dynamics of the coexistence between salt spray and seawater. “The resulting changes to the PV module output are often very complex, and it can lead to increases or decreases in the PV module output,” they stated. “Meanwhile, considering the rain, salinity of seawater, and other factors, the salt deposition will be slower, which will also affect the PV module output.”

The experimental set-up was presented in the paper Effects of marine environment on electrical output characteristics of PV module, which was recently published in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy. The research group comprises scientists from the Wuhan University of Technology and China's National Engineering Research Center for Water Transport Safety (WTS Center).

182mm modules offer lowest LCOE

PV Magazine — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 05:23:00 GMT

Chinese solar panel makers JinkoSolar, Longi and JA Solar have released a white paper intended to show what they believe are the advantages for developers of large scale PV projects of using photovoltaic modules manufactured with M10, 182mm wafers.

“The 182mm-wafer-size module is the most cost–effective solution based on the in–depth analysis of various boundary conditions of the whole industrial value chain,” the document reads. “Without efficiency improvement, further increase on module power with larger size modules will not achieve lower system cost.”

The three manufacturers emphasized the increasing reliability risks associated with larger and more powerful products and reiterated the well-known saying “bigger is not always better,” heard in recent months from all those companies that decided not to bet on 210mm wafers, and modules with a power output exceeding 600 W. JA Solar, however, launched an 800 W product in August.

According to the analysis by the three companies, which considered factors such as manufacturing, transportation, installation, power generation performance and system matching, the ideal module weight for easy deployment is 3.3kg and the maximum weight should not exceed 35kg. Furthermore, glass thickness for bifacial products should not be over 2mm. “On the premise of [a] two [times] 2mm, double-glass, structure and reasonable control of the frame cost, the size of the module should be within a limit, otherwise its ability to resist static and dynamic load will be weakened seriously,” the experts from the three companies stated, adding that glass burst and micro–cracks become more frequent if these size and width parameters are exceeded.

In terms of yield and efficiency, 182mm wafers do not differ substantially from 166mm products, however, they can provide a significant balance-of-system (BoS) cost reduction, due to their increased size and current. These lower costs are achieved thanks to three main factors: A larger racking design which reduces support and pile foundation costs per watt; a reduced length of the cables connecting PV strings and combiner boxes, or string inverters; and a lower labor cost associated with the limited increase in the product's size. “The 182mm-wafer-size module is compatible with the design of two rows of vertical (2P) and four rows of horizontal (4L) racks, and can adapt to different terrain conditions by adjusting the number of strings on a single rack,” the paper notes.

The manufacturers compared the BoS costs of 182mm-wafer-size modules and 210mm products installed on the 4L rack, and found that the former have a slight advantage in racking, foundation, and land costs. “Excessive working current of a module will lead to a significant increase of the heat losses on the metal contact surface of the cell, the ribbon and the bus bar, which will increase the working temperature of the module to a certain extent,” the experts stated.

Download the white paper

All that glitters is Heterojunction (HJT)

PV Magazine — Tue, 18 May 2021 04:56:00 GMT

Heterojunction (HJT) technology may be a well-established pathway to beyond 24% cell efficiencies, and there is some momentum among manufacturers to build up HJT production capacities. However, the high capex costs for HJT lines, some three times higher than that required for PERC, is understood by many to have been a break on the technology’s more widespread adoption – despite HJT’s numerous performance advantages.

Beyond this investment hurdle, there are also concerns about HJT’s usage of technology-critical elements such as indium, used in the indium-tin-oxide (ITO) layer within a HJT cell, along with silver, a precious metal that has seen significant price increases over the past 12 months.

HJT cells require more than double the silver content, for cell metallization, than the mainstream p-type PERC. BloombergNEF reports that not only does HJT require more silver in its metallization pastes, the prices for the low temperature pastes for HJT come at a 20% price premium over pastes used for PERC.

“You cannot do a high temperature firing at 750-800 C like a normal PERC cell, you have to limit your temperature to around 200 C,” says Pierre Verlinden, the veteran solar researcher and former chief scientist at Trina Solar. Verlinden now heads the PV consultancy Amrock and explains that as lower temperature paste has a lower conductivity, it requires a higher silver content. “In addition, you have to put the same amount of silver on the back side, but for a PERC cell you put [far lower cost] aluminum on the backside instead,” he says.

Limit to scale

Given this, Verlinden raises serious doubts as to whether existing HJT technology can be a mainstream PV cell technology, if the solar industry is to scale to the multi-terawatt scale required for it to become a pillar of the zero-carbon economy of the future. “There is something around 10-20 GW of announced new capacity HJT in China. But the big issue I see is how will the existing HJT technology ramp up to 100 GW or terawatt level.”

Verlinden is not alone in this opinion. Taiwan-based PVInfoLink also notes silver costs as being a limited factor of both major n-type technologies – HJT and TOPCon, the latter requiring 50-75% more silver than PERC.

“Once cell manufacturers and vertically integrated companies ramp up gigawatt-scale n-type cell capacity expansions, the consumption of silver paste and cost control will become issues,” says PVInfoLink’s Corrine Lin. “As the global economy rebounds from the Covid-19 recession, demand for silver will rise significantly from PV and the many other industries where the material is used.”

Price increases

Even short term HJT plans, both by existing PV manufacturers and prospective new entrants, may be threatened or at least paused by the recent price developments in silver trading. Already some gigawatt HJT plans in China are not proceeding as previously announced.

The U.S.-based Silver Institute notes that the average annual silver price rose from $16.19 per ounce in 2019 to $20.52 last year – representing a 27% hike. The organization’s forecast for 2021 is “exceptionally encouraging” – unless you’re a HJT manufacturer – with prices expected to hit $30 per ounce, a seven-year high.

“Although silver loadings continue to drift lower,” wrote the Silver Institute, in its price forecast issued in February, “the sector will benefit from a growing number of countries that are installing new PV capacity.”

Reducing consumption

It is possible that silver paste laydown and the silver content within HJT pastes will come down, as HJT activities intensify and silver paste suppliers and manufacturers dedicate more R&D investment into paste development. After all, a similar process occurred with PERC pastes last decade.

German metallization equipment supplier Asys reports that, beyond silver consumption alone, it expects HJT printing times to improve as pastes become optimized. “There will be this development in the [HJT] pastes in near future so that the same print speeds with PERC cells can be achieved with the HJT pastes,” says Matthias Drews, the director of solar sales for Asys. “A lot of paste suppliers are working on this to make them [HJT pastes] easier to use and to reduce drying times.”

Perhaps most promising is the deployment of cell interconnection technologies such as multibusbars (MBBs) and “busbarless” concepts such as Smartwire, which Meyer Burger is deploying in its dual 400 MW production sites in Germany. The deployment of MBB has been demonstrated to reduce silver paste laydown on PERC lines, and it may reduce the silver requirement of HJT.

The roadmaps of some HJT developers certainly point in this direction. Meyer Burger has long promoted the combination of its Smartwire and HJT as being an ideal combination – likely in no small part to the savings on silver. And while Meyer Burger won’t be supplying its Smartwire to Chinese manufacturers such as Risen, Canadian Solar and Tongwei that are pursing HJT on large scale pilot lines, they appear likely to be developing similar “busbarless” concepts with China’s homegrown cell interconnection partners such as Autowell and Chinese Wuxi Lead.

However, for Verlinden, this introduces its own challenges, with bismuth widely used in “busbarless” cell interconnection. “Bismuth is used for the low temperature soldering for the Smartwire or low temperature MBB,” says Verlinden. “Neither indium nor bismuth is sustainable,” particularly at very large scales.

To become mainstream technology at the terawatt level and to have a role to play in the fight against global climate change, Verlinden argues, the HJT manufacturers must solve these three major challenges for HJT: bring the capex to the same level as PERC, reduce silver consumption to less than 5 mg/W, and replace ITO with a sustainable TCO material without impacting the efficiency.

In April, independent precious metals research consultancy Metals Focus presented its World Silver Survey 2021. It found that the PV sector currently accounts for around 20% of global industrial silver consumption, which in turn accounts for 50% of global demand for the metal. If the terawatt-scale manufacturing Verlinden envisages is to deploy HJT, those numbers may very well skyrocket.

Risen HJT cell efficiency, silver content roadmapYear2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2026 Silver usage (mg/cell) 158 mm wafer400180160140808050 Cell efficiency 23.2% 23.5% 23.8% 24.5% 25% 25% 30%

Silver accounts for 10% of PV module costs

PV Magazine — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 09:20:00 GMT

The share of silver in PV module costs has risen by around 5% in recent months to account for approximately 10% of the total, according to U.S.-based analyst Matt Watson.

“With PV module costs in the neighborhood of $0.018-$0.019/watt and silver representing around 10% of the overall module cost structure, and module and cell prices still declining, finding a means to lower the silver cost component is going to become an increasingly difficult task,” Watson told pv magazine. “Over the past 20 years, silver has averaged an 8.31% year-on-year growth in prices, which is greater than the current rate of design thrifting. This means lowering that silver $/watt component is going to be very difficult.”

Watson noted that silver is now sold at around $26 per ounce, but said that prices will continue to climb.

“When you study the silver market, electronics demand, led by the Solar PV markets, all have increasingly larger forecast demand,” he said, noting that silver is becoming more of an industrial metal with each passing year. “The projected solar PV module silver cost per watt produced is leveling out going forward as a result of these silver price climbs … As other cell and module costs decline, silver will consume an even larger percentage of the overall module cost as these trends continue.”

Watson, a former executive at U.S.-based CIGS solar module manufacturer SoloPower, is currently the CEO and founder of California-based Precious Metals Commodity Management LLC. He said he believes that the PV industry will probably not move away quickly from the use of silver, despite the recent jump in silver prices.

“In my career, I did extensive work on alternatives alloys without any real success,” he said. “Life testing and electrical efficiency losses always brought us back to silver alloys.”

Watson said that engineering teams use precious metals in electronics for a reason.

“Silver of course is the most conductive mineral in the world, with good corrosion resistance properties assisting the durability of the module,” he added.

https://16iwyl195vvfgoqu3136p2ly-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/thumbnail_1614752131107blob-600x436.png

He acknowledged that nickel alloy has the potential to replace silver in solar cell metallization, but not in the space of a few years.

“We may need a couple of decades to get there,” he said, noting that in the connector market, copper and copper-nickel alloys are commonly used for both durability and electrical performance

However, Watson said he is concerned about the trajectory for PV market expansion and corresponding silver demand.

“In 2020, when global solar demand reached 115 GW, the industry needed around 98 million ounces (Moz), which represented around 10% of the global silver supply,” he added.

https://16iwyl195vvfgoqu3136p2ly-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/thumbnail_1614752082626blob.png

In 2025, when around 230 GW of new capacity is expected, the industry will need 156 Moz, or 15% of the global silver supply.

“And this considering all of the silver design thrifting baselines,” Watson said. “With the growth in other electronics applications, I’m sure the real silver supply continuity pinch point is around 30% of the global silver supply. But at present course, we will hit that 30% silver demand level by around 2046.”

On the current solar PV market growth trajectory, by 2050 some 332 Moz of silver will be needed to support 1.33 TW/year of new installations.

“Clean energy voices calling for an even steeper growth in solar PV, to as high as 3 TWs to 4 TWs a year by 2050,” Watson concluded. “This trajectory of growth would break the silver market without substantial mining growth.”

Solar modules prices rose by up to 15% in China

PV Magazine — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 09:48:00 GMT

The Chinese PV market saw PV module prices increase by up to 15% in the last few weeks, according to Dany Qian, the vice president of China-based solar module manufacturer JinkoSolar.

“The results of some key tenders which were announced recently, show a price increase of between 10 and 15% and an even higher increase is being considered for the upcoming ones,” she told pv magazine. “[The] China market has a crucial role as a solar PV price indicator as it brings to the forefront the raw material shortage.”

Qian cited a recent 30 MW tender linked to agricultural production and held by Chinese energy company Guangdong Energy Group Co Ltd. “According to the bidding analysis, the highest quotation of dual-glass modules is RMB1.79/watt ($0.27),” Qian explained. “Therefore the market still sees the trend of increased prices.”

According to her, this hike in prices depends on the shortage of supply of module frames and raw materials such as polysilicon, glass, and silver, as well as the lack of manufacturing capacity to meet current strong demand. Qian also cited a recent report from the China Silicon Association which revealed that the price range of monocrystalline is currently between RMB102,000 and 107,000 ($15,800-16,600) per ton, and the average transaction price is RMB103,400 RMB/ton, up 11.78% month-over-month.

“Since March, the monocrystalline wafer price of Longi has been comprehensively raised; [the] G1, M6 (170μm) monocrystalline silicon wafer quotation[s are] RMB3.55/piece ($0.55) [and] RMB3.65/piece, with an increase [of] up to 9%,” the vice president said. “Based on this, 175μm has increased by RMB0.05/piece ($0.01). The price rise is as high as 9.6%.” She also explained that raw materials such as iron and steel and aluminum have also seen a sharp price increase recently.

Qian also stated that, although glass and polysilicon producers are seeking to increase their capacity–as well as other raw material suppliers–setting up more factories and production lines will require time. “When combined with the U.S. dollar's continuous depreciation–following stimulus measures to ease public hardship during the pandemic–a further increase in PV panel prices can be expected in no time,” she added. “The rushing demand cannot stop prices from rising at least for [the] next six months or longer, until sufficient capacity ramps up.”

The current shortage, according to her, has left panel manufacturers unable to cope with the rising cost transferred from upstream that occurred since the second quarter of last year.

LG Therma V-Warranty Extension

LG — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 05:04:00 GMT

Σύμφωνα με ανακοίωση της εταιρίας:

Το τμήμα LG Business Solutions της LG Electronics Hellas (LG) ενημερώνει τους συνεργάτες του, ότι η εργοστασιακή εγγύηση των αντλιών θερμότητας Therma V R32 Monobloc επεκτείνεται από 2 (δύο) σε 5 (πέντε) έτη, για όσα μοντέλα έχουν ήδη διατεθεί στην αγορά από το 2018 όπως επίσης και για όσα θα τιμολογηθούν σε τελικούς πελάτες έως και 31/12/2021.

Προσοχή: Η επέκταση της εγγύησης δεν ισχύει για οποιαδήποτε άλλη LG αντλία θερμότητας εκτός των Therma V R32 Monobloc.

Growatt-Free warranty extension

Growatt — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 05:00:00 GMT

Growatt extends the warranty of all inverters up to 20 kW and storage for 5 years up to 10 years.

Growatt's inverters are known for their good price-quality ratio:

easy installation;
low noise production;
reliable technical support.

Extra attractive

The advantages of Growatt together with the extended warranty makes it even more interesting to order a Growatt inverter and/or storage directly.

Have you already ordered an inverter? The warranty extension applies retroactively from 1 May 2020.
Attention! Make sure you apply for the extension within 180 days from the installation date and no later than 12 months from delivery.
Extend the warranty here to 10 years.

Looking into the pv module cracks

PV Magazine — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 09:22:00 GMT

Cell cracking has emerged in recent years as a threat to module performance in the field. In certain projects, cracks have been shown to cause as much as 9% performance loss – more than enough to hurt profitability.

Cracking is the result of excessive thermal or mechanical stress being placed on a module, and can occur during manufacturing, transport, handling and even after deployment. The fact that cracks often start out too small for most testing to detect, and grow over time to reduce module performance, complicates the picture even further.

Module reliability experts PV Evolution Labs (PVEL) put more than 40 modules representing the bulk of commercially available technologies through rigorous stress testing, to better understand the likelihood of cracks occurring and affecting performance in the field.

Some of their observations from this testing are published in a new white paper. The paper concludes that each module will behave differently, and testing a specific bill of materials (BOM) is the only way to be sure of its susceptibility. However, PVEL’s testing also draws reveals some interesting trends in terms of new technologies and the risk of cracking.

Strong performers

The white paper finds that certain recent technology trends serve to reduce the risk associated with cracking – monocrystalline cells, now representing more than 80% of the market, are less susceptible, and recently introduced multibusbar interconnection reduces the chance of a crack creating an inactive area on the module.

Interdigitated back contact modules, glass-glass and thin film technologies all showed little to no cracking after going through PVEL’s mechanical stress testing. Half-cut cell technology is also shown to reduce the risk of cracking by more evenly distributing pressure over smaller surfaces, provided the formation of microcracks is avoided in cell cutting.

New risks

Another trend revealed in the testing is that larger module surface areas tend to equal more cracks – a highly relevant finding given the switch to larger formats that continues to play out in module manufacturing.

PVEL warns that larger surface areas, both in wafer and module, can mean more deflection during high loads, and more risk of cracking. High density interconnection techniques, reducing the gap between cells, could also increase the amount of mechanical stress placed on individual cells. The white paper offers an example where two modules of 120 and 144 cells, otherwise with the same BOM, were tested, and the 144 cell version showed significantly more cracking.

They also note that storms, changes in temperature and other weather conditions can cause cracking in the field, and the increased frequency of extreme weather events in many regions presents further of risk of cracking, alongside other damage to modules in the field.

“Crack susceptibility is nuanced,“ the PVEL experts conclude. “Several new technologies are inherently less susceptible to cracking, but some older technologies may perform better than their newer counterparts. Crack susceptibility ultimately depends on the specific components and manufacturing techniques employed in PV module production.” And the lab plans to continue testing, with close to 100 new BOM’s lined up for next year.

Download the report

EU law permits member states to amend or withdraw FIT payment terms

PV Magazine — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 12:57:00 GMT

European member states can unilaterally amend renewable energy feed-in tariffs (FITs) or withdraw them entirely before the end of the contract terms, according to an opinion stated by a member of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

Advocate general Henrik Saugmandsgaard Øe has said the decision by the Italian government in 2014 to change the terms of FIT payments during their 20-year contract term was not unconstitutional under EU law.

The opinion drawn up by Øe – one of the ECJ's 11 advocates general – on Thursday, will be considered by the court's 27 judges before a final judgement is delivered.

The case was referred to the ECJ by the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio in Italy after a complaint by the Federazione Nazionale Imprese Elettroniche ed Elettrotecniche (ANIE) parent body of renewables association ANIE Rinnovabili and by solar plant operators led by the Athesia Energy subsidiary of South Tyrolean publisher-cum-energy-company Athesia Group. The Italian Constitutional Court ruled, in January 2017, the decrees amending the FIT payment levels were not incompatible with the Italian constitution and the question was then referred to their compatibility with EU law.

Opinion

On the question of whether the changes applied to solar feed-in tariffs conflicted with the right to conduct business and the right to property guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Øe said they did not and even if they did, they would be judged justified and proportionate with regards to the necessity of implementing the bloc's renewable energy objectives. On a third point, whether the incentive scheme revision conflicted with the EU Energy Charter, the advocate general ruled the charter did not apply to disputes between investors and their own EU member states and added, even if it did, the charter did not preclude the rights of member states to alter or wind down clean energy incentive schemes.

Explaining his legal opinion, Øe said the rights granted by the bloc's Charter of Fundamental Rights were not absolute and proportional limitations could be applied to them if necessary in the general interests of the EU. “Member states are free to adapt, alter or withdraw support schemes provided that, inter alia [renewable energy] targets are met,” said the advocate general, noting clean energy incentive schemes were a tool that could be used by member states rather than an obligatory requirement.

Øe said legislation introduced in 2003 to regulate Italy's renewables incentive scheme had envisioned payments would be made in “a decreasing amount.” On that basis, the advocate general stated, responsible solar park owners could not expect agreed payment plans to remain unaltered during their full, 20-year contract term. “I don't consider that the operators of photovoltaic installations can rely on a legitimate expectation that there would be no change in the benefit of those incentives for the entire duration of the contracts concluded with GSE,” said Øe, referring to state energy body the Gestore dei servizi energetici which is the counter party to the clean energy FIT contracts.

The advocate general pointed to ECJ case law from the Agrenergy and Fusignano Due ruling in 2011 which determined provisions of Italy's fifth Conto Energia energy bill were “of such a kind as to indicate at once to prudent and circumspect economic operators that the support scheme applicable to solar photovoltaic plants might be altered or even withdrawn by the national authorities in order to take account of changes in certain circumstances.”

Crucially, Øe highlighted the FIT contracts signed by solar park owners reserved GSE the right to “amend the terms of those contracts unilaterally, in order to take account of developments in the legislative frame of reference.”

On the claim the changes made to the FIT payments restricted the rights to property of solar park owners, Øe said the amendments to the incentive scheme did not limit park operators' ability to control their assets, they merely reduced the amounts paid to them.

Choice

The Danish advocate general added, the Italian state had given solar farm owners the choice of three types of FIT contract renegotiation and had offered low-cost loans to reduce the financial burden on those affected. The changes introduced by the government initially saw solar parks paid for 90% of their estimated electricity output with any outstanding balance settled within six months of the end of the year in question. After that, park owners could choose to extend the same level of FIT payments over a 24, rather than 20-year contract; could accept an under payment for a defined period of their 20-year deal, followed by an overpayment; or could accept the default option of a straight 8% cut in payments for facilities with a generation capacity of more than 900 kW, 7% for assets bigger than 500 kW and up to 900 kW or 6% for installations bigger than 200 kW and up to 500 kW.

The opinion is set to be welcomed by the governments of Czechia, Germany, Greece and Spain, which gave input to the ruling and backed the right of EU member states to have the freedom to amend renewables incentive programs. The opinion also had input from the European Commission.

Epidotisi fotovoltaikon sto programma ardeusis

B2Green — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 12:56:00 GMT

Στάγδην άρδευση έως 410 ευρώ το στρέμμα, γεννήτριες πετρελαίου έως 6.000 ευρώ, γεωτρήσεις από 2.800 ευρώ και φωτοβολταϊκά έως 3.100 ευρώ ανά kW περιλαμβάνει στις επιλέξιμες δαπάνες το Μέτρο 4.1.2 για επενδύσεις στα ολοκληρωμένα αρδευτικά συστήματα που δημοσιεύτηκε στο ΦΕΚ.

Σύμφωνα με την υπουργική απόφαση, αιτήσεις στο πρόγραμμα που αναμένεται να ανοίξει εντός του έτους, μπορούν να κριθούν φυσικά ή νομικά πρόσωπα του εμπορικού δικαίου, κάτοχοι γεωργικών εκμεταλλεύσεων. Η επιδότηση φτάνει το 80% των δαπανών για τα φυσικά πρόσωπα και το 85% για τις συλλογικές επενδύσεις. Ο επιλέξιμος προϋπολογισμός δε μπορεί να υπερβεί αθροιστικά για όλες τις επενδύσεις:

α) Τα 150.000 ευρώ για τις εκμεταλλεύσεις φυσικών και νομικών προσώπων.
β) Τα 200.000 ευρώ για συλλογικές επενδύσεις.

Ο εν λόγω προϋπολογισμός μπορεί να ανέλθει έως και τα 500.000 ευρώ, με την προϋπόθεση ότι ο κύκλος εργασιών της τελευταίας κλεισμένης χρήσης του συλλογικού σχήματος ανέρχεται τουλάχιστον στο 25% του αιτούμενου προϋπολογισμού. Σημειώνεται πως για τα νεοσύστατα συλλογικά σχήματα ο επιλέξιμος προϋπολογισμός δε μπορεί να ξεπεράσει τα 200.000 ευρώ.

Πίνακας 9.1.3 Φωτοβολταϊκά συστήματα

1. Οι επιλέξιμες δαπάνες του ανωτέρω πίνακα αφορούν στην αγορά, μεταφορά και εγκατάσταση του σχετικού εξοπλισμού.

ΠΕΡΙΓΡΑΦΗ ΕΠΕΝΔΥΤΙΚΗΣ ΔΑΠΑΝΗΣ ΑΝΩΤΑΤΗ ΕΠΙΛΕΞΙΜΗ ΔΑΠΑΝΗ

Φωτοβολταϊκό συνδεδεμένο με σταθερές βάσεις 1.100 €/kW

Αυτόνομο φωτοβολταϊκό με σταθερές βάσεις 2.800 €/kW

Φωτοβολταϊκό συνδεδεμένο στο δίκτυο με ιχνηλάτες (trackers) 1.250 €/kW

Αυτόνομο φωτοβολταϊκό με ιχνηλάτες (trackers) 3.100 €/kW

How long can these polysilicon price spikes go on?

PVTECH — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 04:18:00 GMT

Disruptions in polysilicon supply this summer, as well as demand for solar PV during the ongoing pandemic, have added a new source of supply risk to project finance and construction that can lead to price risk and make projects unviable.

Considering the wide availability of polysilicon, long-term price increases above $10/kg would be unsustainable for a large portion of the industry, which has adjusted to lower-priced modules for making projects pencil in a highly competitive industry.

Recent price hikes are more reactionary in nature, as the sudden unavailability of production from fires and floods coincided with longer-term trends of supply going offline. GCL-Poly’s utilisation of its 70,000-ton nameplate capacity had already been declining over time to around 80% before the 21 July explosions. Other domestic producers followed suit, performing more maintenance operations, and slowing output during COVID-19 lockdowns in China when demand was at an all-time low.

OCI, a South Korean polysilicon producer, took two of its three production facilities offline in February of this year, citing oversupply (i.e. collapse of market price) as a key reason. South Korean news outlets cited OCI’s remaining capacity at 6,500 tons out of its original 52,00 tons of capacity. Also during February, Hanwha Solutions announced it would exit the polysilicon production business after Chinese anti-dumping duties on South Korean polysilicon made its operations unviable.

Meanwhile in the US industry, as China added capacity and price fell, some of its traditional competitors in the US dropped out, thereby accelerating concentration in the sector. REC closed, SunEdison closed, Wacker suffered a fire and has since targeted semiconductors and not solar, and Hemlock backed out of a new plant.

With the sudden uptick in demand stemming from strong Chinese installation expectations in the second half of 2020 and the idling or reduction of other production sources following periods of oversupply, readily available supply at low prices suddenly vanished.

This coincidence of narrowing supply chains with sudden shocks to availability is producing higher than expected price increases. Following a period of volatility, where we expect the reaction to the explosions and flooding to fan the fears of supply shortages, prices should be more stable in the future, barring more unforeseen events.

In addition, costs for polysilicon suppliers, rather than prices for buyers, are more likely to increase. Existing projects were already contracted up to a year ago, and deals currently in the pipeline were premised on the recent low module prices. Module makers will find it difficult to raise prices by much, as there is only so much farther they can go before buyers decide to wait or look elsewhere.

Some of today’s leading suppliers have comparatively higher margins and lower costs. We can expect healthy, sustainable margins to prevail, but if margins are too high, more competition will emerge in the long term.

In the domestic Chinese market, we have observed that if module prices go above $0.20/W ± $0.01/W, project developers begin suspending projects. The entire supply chain then needs to absorb some of the cost increase, or project pipelines will stall. As recently as two years ago, polysilicon was in the mid-teens, pricewise; today however a “new normal” of price expectations prevails in the industry, and prices could not approach those levels again without collapsing demand.

With most polysilicon pricing currently above US$10/kg and some very recent news reports citing prices above US$14/kg, domestic Chinese projects are already being pushed out several months until pricing can become competitive once again. Early hints from polysilicon suppliers indicate mid-year 2020 pricing will not be seen again until mid-Q1 of 2021 or possibly later, depending on how soon the expansions come online.

Projects in certain international markets will also need to extend timelines, or pay short-term premiums. The US is already buying higher-cost modules from Southeast Asia and is likely to experience less price changes, as suppliers have larger margins to absorb more of the cost increase. Markets in Europe and India can expect significant short-term price increases, however.

Global Polysilicon Prices Up 49 % On Average From COVID-19 Low

We do not find the impact of the GCL-Poly explosions to significantly affect any single module maker. Many module producers have diversified supply sources from Dongfang, Yongxiang, Daqo, Xinte, Asia Silicon, and other localised polysilicon producers. Larger suppliers with significant ingoting and wafer cutting capacities could be more impacted, as such suppliers have large amounts of capacity needing polysilicon inputs.

Still, we do not expect any suppliers to face any significant bottlenecks in terms of available supply, only bottlenecks emerging from high prices, pushing some companies to defer purchases or pass on more costs to buyers.

Even without accidents affecting the availability of polysilicon, prices would have started recovering for modules. Both module and polysilicon prices had been at the lowest point in history following the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent factory shutdowns.

Coupled with the recovery in the polysilicon market are increases in other module components. Glass prices are rising, fueled by increasing double-glass module production that is creating upward price pressure; strong Q3 and Q4 installations expectations from the Chinese market; and general price recovery from COVID-19 depressed demand and prices in many overseas markets, where demand is now recovering.

Newer sizing formats needed to accommodate larger modules are also presenting component suppliers with temporary challenges. New or expanded lines to handle increased widths are not that difficult or time-intensive, but may be costly at a time when many companies are carefully budgeting expansions and building cash reserves following COVID-19 lessons.

Commodity prices impacting solar, such as aluminum for module frames, are also recovering after pricing fell due to COVID-19, adding to module pricing upswing potential. Speculation is adding to higher silver paste prices — silver has more than doubled since its recent low in March, to over US$27 an ounce — and EVA/POE supplies are currently strained, as suppliers look to procure components compatible with larger module formats.

All being said, CEA foresees polysilicon, glass, and EVA/POE suppliers as needing upwards of two to three quarters to revamp production and bring new capacity online, to meet nearly 100 GW of new module and cell capacity announcements.

Other materials such as silver paste may need even longer to stabilize in price, with COVID-19 and recessionary conditions persisting in many parts of the world. After the 2007-2009 recession, speculators and investors seeking safe havens drove the price of silver over US$45 an ounce, with peak pricing not being reached until April 2011 and surpassing US$55.

Along with more projects being pushed into 2021, first due to COVID-19 and now due to pricing instabilities, global solar installations are expected to remain very close to 2019 levels, while 2021 is looking to be a brighter year for solar.

Light and shade of 500 W plus solar panels

PV Magazine — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 14:22:00 GMT

In the three article of a series, pv magazine editor Pilar Sánchez Molina analyzes with industry experts challenges and opportunities created by new panels with power output exceeding 500 W.

In recent months, several Tier-1 module manufacturers have started a race to develop more powerful products exceeding 500 W. This contest has raised widespread enthusiasm, but also skepticism from experts and people involved in the PV sector who are now asking many questions. What’s behind it? Are more powerful modules really more advantageous? Why are they coming now?

pv magazine has spoken with independent power producers, panel manufacturers, investors, EPC contractors, PV product distributors and consultancies to try to understand if we are facing a flash in the pan or a trend that is here to stay. Today we present the first article in the series in which we try to cover all aspects.

Ultra-powerful or ultra-efficient?

The first question we asked ourselves is why are manufacturers improving power instead of improving the efficiency of their products.

“China is betting on the PERC ny-type cell architecture, which provides for a high cell efficiency of between 22-23% in production, but it is not the highest in the market. New technologies such as TOP-Con or old ones known as heterojunction can overcome these efficiencies,” said Eduardo Forniés of Spanish wafer manufacturer Aurinka.

However, with more than 100 GW of production capacity worldwide, PERC dominates the market. Two reasons seem to explain this phenomenon. On the one hand, nobody wants to move to unexplored territory. Certainty implies bankability, since banks accept PERC, and not so much other more efficient technologies that are more expensive. On the other hand, the fact that the entire industry is built around PERC helps lower costs.

“This year, at SNEC there was no one showing off new technologies. Before there was a technological competition between manufacturers to launch the most efficient module on the market,” Asier Ukar from PI Berlin told pv magazine. “Although it is true that the difference in the production capacity of a Top 3 and Top 20 manufacturer was not as abysmal as it is now.”

It seems that nobody dares to innovate and it is easier to follow the market standard, which means PERC in combination with an increase in power, which is being set by the largest panel producers. “The market is like entrenched in a trend that has homogenized the strategies of manufacturers,” added an independent power producer (IPP) who does not want to be mentioned.

However, representatives of German renewable energy company Baywa re are more optimistic: “From our perspective, heterojunction cell technology will be the next technological development,” a company spokesperson explained. “The first pilots are already under construction in China, but the market production capacity will not be large enough before the middle or the end of next year.”

Examining cell and module design

Fournies, from Aurinka, explains that these modules owe their increased power to the following factors:

1. The most obvious is its increase in the area of the solar cells that the module contains. The power of the cell is directly proportional to the area of the cell, which is not the case with efficiency. For example, the 625W SunPower module has the largest cell on the market with a site of 210 mm. Therefore, much of that power is due to the area of the cell, which is larger. This also means that the area of the module will be greater, which has to be taken into account when moving it to the solar plant. The JA Solar 800 W module also has a 210 mm cell, although it is cut into three parts. This module owes its high power simply to its large dimensions (2.2 by 1.7 m), although it incorporates the innovation of dividing the cell into three parts instead of two (half-cut cell).

2. Another factor responsible for the slight growth in power is the increase in the efficiency of the cell, which is why the increase in module power is mainly due to the increase in the area of the cell and the module.

3. At the module level, technologies such as half-cell are being used. If we take into account the JA module, it is no longer a half-cell but a 1/3 cell, or shingled. Half-cell modules employ cells that are cut in half before being welded together to form the string of cells. This increases the power of the module (not of the cell) due to a reduction in the series resistance by reducing the intensity of the cells by half (in half the area we have half the current and double the voltage for having a double number of cells). This module technology is already mainstream and is here to stay.

Shingled cells are cut into five or six parts, and these parts are superimposed on their edges and joined by conductive adhesives. This module offers lower resistance losses and higher power and allows a saving in the cost of copper connectors coated with tin-lead alloy. The problem is that so far it is more difficult to manufacture these cells than the half-cell devices and there are probably economic losses due to a high percentage of cell breakage. If companies succeed in shingled profitably, they may drive the half-cells out of the market.

4. Also, at the module level, every manufacturer will have bifacial technology. This technology is simple to apply at the cell level and even saves costs due to the saving of metals, but at the module level it entails an increase in cost due to the rear glass. When the manufacturers of modules can sell those extra watts that are obtained in the rear side, for which they are working on the IEC 60904-1-2 standard, this technology will also become mainstream.

In summary, it seems that the increase in power is mainly due to a larger size module, which is not exactly a technological advancement (we will develop this point later in another article in the series). “Most of these current developments have nothing to do with the development of technology, just with the expansion of the size of the wafers. This implies that we do not have any efficiency advantage,” a spokesperson for Baywa re told pv magazine.

How did we get here?

The manufacturing process based on the wafer sizes of 156mm by 156mm (M1) and 156.75mm by 156.75mm (M2), which became standard in 2017, barely changed until about 2018 and traditional manufacturers have invested many resources in production lines based on this manufacturing process over the past years.

By contrast, new entrants in the solar manufacturing business may benefit from the “late-mover advantage”, which means they can acquire new production lines that result in more efficient modules without having to wait to amortize other older lines.

To address this competitive advantage, one of the traditional manufacturers, Jinko, introduced a module with larger cells (158.75mm by 158.75mm) with a relatively small investment in the second half of 2018. As the cell size increased, the resulting power increased proportionally, without implying an improvement in the module technology itself.

Other manufacturers decided to follow Jinko’s strategy until Canadian Solar made a master move by releasing, at Intersolar 2018, a module with 166mm by 166mm cells, incompatible with the old lines, and thus distancing itself again from the rest of the solar producers. This forced competitors to invest a notable capex in order to launch the same module on the market. More capex, higher price, less competitiveness. Monocrytalline specialist Longi began producing products with cells of the same size in 2019.

At that point, a world leader in wafer production for the semiconductor industry came into play, Zhonghuan Semiconductor, which, in September 2019, launched an even larger cell, the M12, measuring 210mm by 210mm and based on 12-inch wafers, more typical of the aforementioned semiconductor industry.

It was this innovation that most consistently introduced the concept of “half-cut” and “third-cut cells”, two concepts that respond to the need to reduce cell currents due to the wafers’ large site. Why? Asier Ukar, from PI Berlin, explained: “More surface, more current. More current, more losses as long as the busbar section must be kept constant (which is what would be done to avoid increasing costs). So what can be done to cut losses without investing in higher section busbars? Well, split the cells in two or three so that the current per busbar is reduced (the series losses increase and decrease exponentially with the current). In this way, larger modules can be manufactured without the higher series losses reducing the efficiency of the module. And yet the currents are greater than they were.”

A company that does not wish to be mentioned added another reason: “Manufacturers are not very clear about what can happen to the module if very high currents flow, possible degradation or disruptive phenomena are not ruled out, therefore they reduce them as a precaution.”

But it doesn’t end here: Longi, Jinko and JA Solar have launched modules with 182mm by 182mm cells on the market this year to compete against the M12. The advantage of these modules is that they conform well to the standard layout of the 60-cell module (or 120 if they are split) and therefore do not introduce unusual dimensions that generate headaches for manufacturers of mounting structures or trackers.

Advantages… for whom?

We have asked several manufacturers, IPPs, distributors, developers and EPCs if these modules are really more interesting than the standard ones.

Representatives from Chinese panel manufacturer Trina told pv magazine that “these modules, in addition to having a high energy production capacity, provide advantages to the user due to their electrical characteristics. 210mm half-cut cells result in low Voc for a single module, allowing more modules to be installed in strings than conventional panels. Depending on the climatic conditions of a region, we can reach up to 40 modules in a string for 550 W modules and this is reflected in economic advantages for photovoltaic plants, in the optimization of system equipment, in the reduction of capex and in the consequent reduction of the LCOE for a greater return on investment of the project.”

According to Spanish inverter maker Ingeteam, traditional competition for module efficiency has been transferred to the variable of power. “These modules are more powerful, improve energy density and optimize costs. The trend in the market is precisely that, increasing power to reduce manufacturing costs (frames, glass), integration (structure, number of trackers, anchors and wiring).”

Spanish infrastructure project developer Diverxiatells stated that “relatively recently the conventional module was 260 Wp, today we are implementing 400-450 Wp modules in our projects. Therefore, the move to ultra-powerful modules seems to us a natural evolution of technology and its implementation would allow us to reduce the size of the strings, consequently reducing wiring and the number of solar trackers in photovoltaic plants. This reduction will also mean a smaller surface area and a lower rental cost, thus increasing the IRR of the project.”

So, analyzing the responses of all the companies that have responded to pv magazine, we have come to the conclusion that there are two points that motivate manufacturers to launch these ultra-powerful modules:

Long live marketing!

A high power module sells more. It is like a car that goes faster. Many developers think so, because they see a higher power module as more modern. But it turns out that these advances are not seen either in efficiency or in other indicators. The only thing that manufacturers do is increase the surface of the wafer, that is to say: more surface, more power, but not necessarily more efficiency, industry representatives point out. In case any reader still has doubts, here is an apt comparison: Which animal is stronger, the ant (it is capable of lifting up to 50 times its weight) or the elephant (which can carry up to 9,000 kg)? Clearly the ant, right? Conclusion: having more power does not mean a better module.

Increasing production capacity

The largest and most powerful module manufacturers can announce loudly that their production capacity in MW or GW is increasing. Manufacturing a 600 W module costs you the same time as manufacturing a 420 W one, with which you can get much more power in the same time and thus reduce specific operating costs in $/Wp, respondents explained. In other words, it represents a saving for the manufacturer which, by the way, is not reflected in the cost of the module. “Very smart,” they agreed.

Reasonable doubts

Every time we write about the launch of one of these supermodules at pv magazine, the number of readers skyrockets.

However, in our round of questions we have found many experts who have told us about numerous disadvantages: some have wanted to do so openly, while others have asked us not to publish their names. We have asked them to clarify their doubts. Their answers were grouped and summarized in an overview of all the collected information. PI Berlin has helped us analyze most of the reported potential issues.

In the case of large modules, the first issue pertains to mechanical properties, which can be condensed into three problems:

Modules with large cells of 182 mm / 210 mm continue to use double glass with a thickness of 2 mm / 2 mm, which means that, although the module is much larger, its rigidity does not increase proportionally, since the glass continues to have the same thickness as that of smaller panels. Specifically, the module has grown from 1970 mm x 998 mm to 23XX mm x 11XXmm, with an increase in length and width of 15% and 10% respectively. Even if the module passes the MLT test (mechanical load test, which is part of the IEC norm), the torsion and bending of the module will be greater than that of smaller modules, thus increasing the risk of cell breakages under operating conditions (and more if they are mounted on trackers and in areas with relevant wind loads).

The second problem is related to the headaches that they generate among manufacturers of mounting structures due to static issues. These modules, in fact, are going to suffer much higher wind loads due to their larger surface. If they can already fly from a plant while having smaller dimensions, imagine what can happen with these super modules! This implies that the structural analysis will be more complex with special attention to the clamp that joins the module to the profile of the structure. The ideal at a static level is that the module is as square as possible, as highly stretched geometries, as is the case with these modules, increase the perimeter and complexity of the fastening.

If the structural designer wants to continue providing a safe structure, especially against aeroelastic effects, we may start to see a possible increase in prices, which would eat the supposed reduction of the BOS costs that manufacturers of these high-power modules announced. If the structures are not designed properly because they must be cost-competitive or extra costs to minimize the risk are not considered, then it is very possible that we will begin to see how more and more accidents will be reported due to weak static.

The third problem is logistical and relates to packaging, more expensive insurance due to the increased fragility of the merchandise, more weight of the module and less comfort for installers.

Having seen the mechanical issues, we are going to analyze the electrical part.

These modules have different voltages and currents than the previous generation. Manufacturers basically have two options when designing the internal circuitry of the module. The first one consists of increasing the open circuit voltage (Voc) and lower the short circuit current (Isc). In this case, the number of serial modules per string is reduced, which increases the costs for wiring, combiner boxes, inverters and other small components. Ultimately, the BOS costs increase (and with this, there are already two factors that contribute to the increase of the BOS, as this joins the higher cost of the module architecture mentioned above).

The second option is lowering the open circuit voltage (Voc) and increasing the short circuit current (Isc). This variant makes it possible to connect more modules in series and reduce BOS costs (it is more noticeable in the case in which string inverters are used), just the opposite of the previous case. An example is Trina’s Vertex module with a short circuit current of over 18A, which is quite a big jump. But this also has a negative part, which is the increased risk of fire, increased series losses in the busbars and the increase in temperature in the junction box and connectors, which also leads to efficiency losses. To all this we must add that, due to lack of experience with these modules, it is not known how the cables, connectors, junction boxes and inverters are going to behave. The IEC also does not have specific tests that shed light on the possible behavior of these modules.

As they are very new, most of these modules have not passed the extended durability tests offered by PQP, TÜV, RETC, etc., therefore, there are still questions to be answered.

Diverxia adds: “Module manufacturers are betting on power, which is positive in principle. However, the photovoltaic technology has many other variables in which it must evolve. Aspects such as tracker efficiency, inverter efficiency, and more advanced plant control methods must advance at the same pace if you really want to have a competitive photovoltaic plant. The growth and evolution of the module must go hand in hand with the growth and evolution of the rest of the technology that makes up a plant.”

Conclusions

The advantages of these modules are mainly focused on a reduction in the capex of the BOS costs due to the increase in power and current density. But, today, to really quantify the capex reduction requires a very detailed study of each project considering the reductions in DC cabling, playing with cable sections, aluminum and copper prices, testing with fewer modules per string, fewer junction boxes and adjusting the inverter’s DC/AC ratio.

In other words, there are sufficient elements to doubt that the supposed reduction of the BOS costs that accompanies these modules actually occurs due to the additional investment necessary to mitigate the mechanical and electrical risks that these modules bring with them.

PI Berlin recommends waiting at least a year for the main manufacturers to send their modules to laboratories that carry out the necessary extended duration testing. “This will give us an idea of their long-term durability, robustness and electromechanical integrity. We must wait to see what this open fight between manufacturers leads to and how and when the market stabilizes,” the experts from the testing institute said.

Eternal love or a summer romance?

As we reported in the first article of this series, many players in the sector think that, with 500+ W solar modules, we are not facing a technological advance, but rather a trend that has been established among manufacturers to homogenize the market.

We have also seen that this strategy of pushing super powerful modules is relatively safe for manufacturers as, in principle, it allows them to reduce costs without introducing major technological innovations and “the risks that may arise are sufficiently diffuse so that the marketing department can mask them and only those who really know about the subject, who are not always the same people who buy the modules, are aware of them,” one of the companies that prefers not to be cited told pv magazine.

We have mentioned that this trend benefits mainly large or very solvent manufacturers, which means those that already have production lines allowing them to manufacture these types of modules or those that have resources to invest in them. The remaining panel makers are forced to increase expenditures to be able to join this new trend imposed by the big players and which has led to a certain monopoly.

“If we start to compare the typical quality indicators of a module from the point of view of performance (NOCT, efficiency, temperature coefficients …) we can see that the +500 Wp modules are not necessarily better than those of 400 W. Many improve only minimally in aspects that manufacturers can modulate at will due to a commercial interest, such as annual degradation, product guarantee and performance guarantee, that is to say, nothing tangible that can be verified in a laboratory,” Asier Ukar from PI Berlin told pv magazine.

The question then is: are we facing a trend that could be seen as the result of a commercial war seasoned with a lot of marketing, or a product that is here to stay?

A Trina representative said, “They are here to stay. The 210mm cells derived from 12-inch monocrystalline silicon ingots are the largest in the industry, they are a reality, and their production capacity grows more each year.” According to the panel manufacturer, the low open-circuit voltage that this module has, in addition to allowing the integration of a high number of modules per string, also brings a high short-circuit current that creates the need to develop other system components, such as solar trackers and inverters. “For this reason, the entire industry has mobilized to develop optimal compatibility with this new panel model in an alliance that involves companies such as nClave, Nextracker, ArcTech, Sungrow, Huawei, SMA, JA Solar, Risen, DNV GL and TUV Rheiland Group, among others, to extract all the benefits of an optimized photovoltaic system and offer greater integration to the photovoltaic source in the energy network of any country in the world,” it further explained.

Spanish inverter producer Ingeteam also believes we are seeing a positive trend: “Since these panels allow you to increase energy density and efficiency even more, they offer better costs per kWp,” a company’s spokesperson told pv magazine. “This trend will end up being a standard until there is another turning point in cost optimization.”

A representative from Spanish wafer manufacturer Aurinka said that the half-cell and the bifacial are here to stay, while making larger wafers was still a matter of discussion. “Few companies are capable of making wafers above 166mm and below (or just one) at 210mm,” he stated. “These wafers are more fragile so the percentage of breakages in the manufacture of cells and modules will be higher. That is the main drawback of making cells bigger and bigger.” Another drawback, he added, is that most cell and module production equipment is not capable of processing those wafer sizes, so companies that have already made their investment in equipment are limited in that regard. “From our point of view, today, this responds more to a marketing strategy than to a real production scenario. As the cell and module manufacturers claim, none of these modules is mass-produced, and it seems more like a race for a headline than a real market strategy,” he concluded.

German module maker Solarwatt believes that “these modules are here to stay, but they will have their specific market, like all other technologies. There is and will be an increasingly specific range of modules for each client.”

Baywa re also believes that they will stay: “Since the beginnings of the solar photovoltaic industry more than 20 years ago, module manufacturers through investment in R&D have achieved continuous improvements in the efficiency of photovoltaic cells as well as in module technologies. This trend has been maintained in recent years and it is to be expected that many of these modules that are currently being launched will demonstrate their technical quality and suitability for their installation and will be massively manufactured in the future.”

Spanish developer Diverxia clarifies: “We believe that they are here to stay, but we must not forget either that the technology of the modules can advance in other aspects, not only in power.”

German PV product distributor Krannich is also optimistic: “All manufacturers seek to innovate and advance with the technology they produce. The logical thing is to think that what is now a trend is here to stay.” According to the company the production costs associated with ultra-powerful modules can be reduced later, but the current situation – marked by the coronavirus crisis and various accidents in some of the large factories that supply polysilicon wafers – is preventing that from happening. “Today there are certain supply problems that have caused a general increase in prices,” a company spokesperson told pv magazine. “Looking to the end of the year, there is a high demand for high-power panels due to the large projects that are pending, especially in China.” According to Krannich, the demand for these types of modules is higher than current production capacity, and this is resulting in an increase in prices. “Once these stabilize, we can see that this technology is here to stay,” the spokesperson concluded.

Sinovoltaics - PV Module Ranking Report

Sinovoltaics — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 08:25:00 GMT

It's summer here in China and despite that it’s a holiday time in most parts of the world, production of PV equipment and Quality Inspections continue at full speed. I hope you enjoy the summer months (or winter.. In case you’re in the Southern Hemisphere!).

Over the past weeks we've worked on the 3rd Edition Ranking Reports of 2020 which are now available for you. As you probably know, the Ranking Reports list PV manufacturers according to their financial strength, which is relevant when you require long term warranties on your PV equipment.

PV Module Ranking Report

75+ PV module manufacturers ranked
Asia, EU and US manufacturers
PV module manufacturers ranked according to their financial strength
Quarterly updates

PV Inverter Ranking Report

35+ Inverter manufacturers ranked
Asia, EU and US manufacturers
Inverter manufacturers ranked according to their financial strength
Quarterly updates

IEA Global Energy Review 2020

IEA — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 13:50:00 GMT

In response to the exceptional circumstances stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, the annual IEA Global Energy Review has expanded its coverage to include real-time analysis of developments to date in 2020 and possible directions for the rest of the year.

In addition to reviewing 2019 energy and CO2 emissions data by fuel and country, for this section of the Global Energy Review we have tracked energy use by country and fuel over the past three months and in some cases – such as electricity – in real time. Some tracking will continue on a weekly basis.

The uncertainty surrounding public health, the economy and hence energy over the rest of 2020 is unprecedented. This analysis therefore not only charts a possible path for energy use and CO2 emissions in 2020 but also highlights the many factors that could lead to differing outcomes. We draw key lessons on how to navigate this once-in-a-century crisis.

Key findings

The current Covid-19 pandemic is above all a global health crisis. As of the 28^th of April, there were 3 million confirmed cases and over 200 000 deaths due to the illness. As a consequence of the efforts to slow the spread of the virus, the share of energy use that was exposed to containment measures jumped from 5% in mid-March to 50% in mid-April. Several European countries and the United States have announced that they expect to reopen parts of the economy in May, so April may be the hardest hit month.

Beyond the immediate impact on health, the current crisis has major implications for global economies, energy use and CO₂ emissions. Our analysis of daily data through mid-April shows that countries in full lockdown are experiencing an average 25% decline in energy demand per week and countries in partial lockdown an average 18% decline. Daily data collected for 30 countries until 14 April, representing over two-thirds of global energy demand, show that demand depression depends on duration and stringency of lockdowns.

Global energy demand declined by 3.8% in the first quarter of 2020, with most of the impact felt in March as confinement measures were enforced in Europe, North America and elsewhere.

Global coal demand was hit the hardest, falling by almost 8% compared with the first quarter of 2019. Three reasons converged to explain this drop. China – a coal-based economy – was the country the hardest hit by Covid‑19 in the first quarter; cheap gas and continued growth in renewables elsewhere challenged coal; and mild weather also capped coal use.
Oil demand was also hit strongly, down nearly 5% in the first quarter, mostly by curtailment in mobility and aviation, which account for nearly 60% of global oil demand. By the end of March, global road transport activity was almost 50% below the 2019 average and aviation 60% below.
The impact of the pandemic on gas demand was more moderate, at around 2%, as gas-based economies were not strongly affected in the first quarter of 2020.
Renewables were the only source that posted a growth in demand, driven by larger installed capacity and priority dispatch.
Electricity demand has been significantly reduced as a result of lockdown measures, with knock-on effects on the power mix. Electricity demand has been depressed by 20% or more during periods of full lockdown in several countries, as upticks for residential demand are far outweighed by reductions in commercial and industrial operations. For weeks, the shape of demand resembled that of a prolonged Sunday. Demand reductions have lifted the share of renewables in the electricity supply, as their output is largely unaffected by demand. Demand fell for all other sources of electricity, including coal, gas and nuclear power.

Looking at the full year, we explore a scenario that quantifies the energy impacts of a widespread global recession caused by months-long restrictions on mobility and social and economic activity. Within this scenario, the recovery from the depths of the lockdown recession is only gradual and is accompanied by a substantial permanent loss in economic activity, despite macroeconomic policy efforts.

The result of such a scenario is that energy demand contracts by 6%, the largest in 70 years in percentage terms and the largest ever in absolute terms. The impact of Covid‑19 on energy demand in 2020 would be more than seven times larger than the impact of the 2008 financial crisis on global energy demand.

All fuels will be affected:

Oil demand could drop by 9%, or 9 mb/d on average across the year, returning oil consumption to 2012 levels.
Coal demand could decline by 8%, in large part because electricity demand will be nearly 5% lower over the course of the year. The recovery of coal demand for industry and electricity generation in China could offset larger declines elsewhere.
Gas demand could fall much further across the full year than in the first quarter, with reduced demand in power and industry applications.
Nuclear power demand would also fall in response to lower electricity demand.
Renewables demand is expected to increase because of low operating costs and preferential access to many power systems. Recent growth in capacity, some new projects coming online in 2020, would also boost output.

In our estimate for 2020, global electricity demand falls by 5%, with 10% reductions in some regions. Low-carbon sources would far outstrip coal-fired generation globally, extending the lead established in 2019.

Global CO₂ emissions are expected to decline by 8%, or almost 2.6 gigatonnes (Gt), to levels of 10 years ago. Such a year-on-year reduction would be the largest ever, six times larger than the previous record reduction of 0.4 Gt in 2009 – caused by the global financial crisis – and twice as large as the combined total of all previous reductions since the end of World War II. As after previous crises, however, the rebound in emissions may be larger than the decline, unless the wave of investment to restart the economy is dedicated to cleaner and more resilient energy infrastructure.

Solar maintenance to 'cost $9.4bn by 2025'

reNews — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 04:56:00 GMT

Solar energy repairs and maintenance costs are expected to grow to over $9bn by 2025, according to research by Wood Mackenzie.

The analysts said costs will hit $9.4bn by mid-decade as PV power systems nearing inverter end of life rise to 16% of the market (227GW) from about 5% currently.

Wood Mackenzie said Asia-Pacific will account for $4.1bn, Europe, Middle East and Africa $3.5bn and the Americas $1.8bn.

Wood Mackenzie principal analyst Daniel Liu said: “Inverter repowering is especially important in Europe, as more than 16GW of systems are currently over 10 years old. By 2025, that number will grow to 100GW.

“Ageing solar systems are an opportunity for repowering activities, while new projects can take advantage of advanced analytics.”

Solar inverters are estimated to need replacing every 10 years, but some systems present earlier faults, the company added.

Wood Mackenzie estimated that approximately 4.2GW of solar assets will run into premature failures in 2020, with this annual total jumping to 36GW in 2025.

Wood Mackenzie principal analyst Garcia da Fonseca said: “Premature inverter failures will grow as the global PV fleet ages.

“Though less than 1% of systems experience premature failure, between 10% – 12% of O&M costs are dedicated to inverter replacements.”

The widescale adoption of auctions is driving the levelised cost of energy for solar further down and putting additional pressure on O&M costs, the analysts added.

Liu said: “Europe has joined the markets that are phasing out renewable energy incentive schemes and introducing auction-based mechanisms.

“Auctions are emphasising the existent price-based competition for O&M services in established markets such as Germany.

“Developers and asset owners are exploring methods along the value chain to reduce overall costs, assuming more risk.

“In the O&M sector, this will happen through partnerships with different players oriented to a hybrid structure.”

Other factors impacting O&M costs include the content of contracts signed by developers and asset owners.

In the long-term, asset owners are likely to incur more costs with an 'a-la-carte' service structure than if opting for an all-in service contract, said Wood Mackenzie.

Da Fonseca said: “In reality, most O&M contracts currently signed on the lower end of the cost range ($3-5/kW/year) miss vital aspects of operating and maintaining a solar power plant properly.

“The typical scope included on current O&M contracts covers very few basic maintenance activities.

“With full-wrap contracts being avoided, vegetation management, corrective maintenance work and module washing are often excluded from the scope, despite being critical to keep solar power plants performing as expected.

“While these activities are heavily dependent on plant location and project specific characteristics, they can roughly represent 40-45% of a project’s total O&M costs.”

Last year, saw further consolidation in the global O&M market, as the top 15 vendors increased market share to 54% from 51%, Wood Mackenzie said.

Only Germany, the UK, the US and France, of the 12 markets examined in the Wood Mackenzie report, did not show any consolidation.

Spain experienced significant consolidation activity last year, as the top five players held 71% of the market share. This is up 9% from 2018.

Solar Mobility report

Solar Power Europe — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 08:27:00 GMT

SolarPower Europe launched a new report on solar mobility, thought to be the first of its kind, which explores the potential of clean mobility solutions and solar power.

The report documents various solar mobility business models, illustrating the experience of European and global pioneers with detailed case studies. Three solar mobility models are highlighted: (1) solar-powered mobility, (2) solar smart charging, and (3) vehicle-integrated PV, all of which can lead to vast carbon reductions in the transport sector.

Decarbonising the transport sector, which is responsible for one quarter of European CO2 emissions, is a crucial step in achieving the European Union’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. The benefits of solar mobility are vast and include significant improvements in air quality for European citizens, as well as the reduction of noise pollution. Smart mobility strategies that rely on the increasing deployment of solar energy can lead to a more affordable and reliable solar electricity supply. This has the effect of optimising grid integration of future vehicles, unlocking new flexibility sources, and ultimately creating new business models for solar prosumers, EV owners, and charging station operators. Further, solar mobility and all of its related technologies can help Europe lead the global energy transition.

REN21 Renewables 2020 Global Status Report

REN21 — Sun, 21 Jun 2020 06:26:00 GMT

The report brings together all the latest information about renewable energy market and industry developments, policy and investment trends.

Η ανάπτυξη της παραγωγής ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας από ανανεώσιμες πηγές ενέργειας ήταν εντυπωσιακή τα τελευταία πέντε χρόνια. Αλλά πολύ λίγα γίνονται στη θέρμανση, στην ψύξη και στις μεταφορές.

Σύμφωνα με την έκθεση Renewables 2020 Global Status Report (GSR) (Παγκόσμια Κατάσταση για τις ΑΠΕ το 2020) του REN21, που κυκλοφόρησε σήμερα, η παγκόσμια όρεξη για ενέργεια συνεχίζει να αυξάνεται και απορροφά αυτήν την ανάπτυξη των ΑΠΕ. Το ταξίδι προς την κλιματική καταστροφή συνεχίζεται, εκτός εάν στραφούμε άμεσα και σε όλους τους τομείς, σε ανανεώσιμες πηγές ενέργειας, στον απόηχο της πανδημίας COVID-19.

Καμία πραγματική αλλαγή κατά την πανδημία COVID-19

Στο πλαίσιο της χωρίς προηγούμενο οικονομικής ύφεσης που οφείλεται στον COVID-19, ο IEA προβλέπει ότι οι εκπομπές CO2 που σχετίζονται με την ενέργεια αναμένεται να μειωθούν έως και 8% το 2020. Αλλά οι εκπομπές του 2019 ήταν υψηλότερες από ποτέ και η όποια μείωση είναι μόνο προσωρινή. Η επίτευξη των στόχων του Παρισιού θα απαιτούσε ετήσια μείωση τουλάχιστον 7,6% για τα επόμενα 10 χρόνια. Η Adib προσθέτει: «Ακόμα κι αν τα lock-down συνεχιζόντουσαν για μια δεκαετία, η μείωση των εκπομπών δεν θα ήταν αρκετή. Με τον τωρινό ρυθμό, με το ισχύον σύστημα και τους σημερινούς κανόνες της αγοράς, δεν θα καταφέρουμε ποτέ να πετύχουμε ένα σύστημα χωρίς άνθρακα.»

«Πολλά πακέτα ανάκαμψης μας εγκλωβίζουν στη βρώμικη οικονομία ορυκτών καυσίμων»

Τα πακέτα ανάκαμψης προσφέρουν μια μοναδική ευκαιρία για να γίνει μετάβαση σε μια οικονομία χαμηλών εκπομπών διοξειδίου του άνθρακα. Αλλά σύμφωνα με την Adib υπάρχει μεγάλος κίνδυνος να χαθεί αυτή η τεράστια ευκαιρία. «Πολλά από αυτά τα πακέτα ανάκαμψης περιλαμβάνουν προτάσεις που θα μας εγκλωβίσουν ακόμη περισσότερο στο βρώμικο σύστημα ορυκτών καυσίμων. Μερικά προωθούν ευθέως το φυσικό αέριο, τον άνθρακα ή το πετρέλαιο. Άλλα, αν και επικαλούνται πρασίνισμα, χτίζουν την οροφή αλλά ξεχνούν τα θεμέλια», λέει. «Πάρτε για παράδειγμα τα ηλεκτρικά αυτοκίνητα και το υδρογόνο. Αυτές οι τεχνολογίες είναι πράσινες μόνο εάν τροφοδοτούνται από ανανεώσιμες πηγές ενέργειας ".

Επιλέγοντας ένα ενεργειακό σύστημα που δημιουργεί θέσεις εργασίας και υποστηρίζει κοινωνική δικαιοσύνη

Η έκθεση επισημαίνει ότι τα «πράσινα» μέτρα ανάκαμψης, όπως επενδύσεις σε ανανεώσιμες πηγές και στην αποδοτικότητα των κτιρίων, είναι πιο οικονομικά από τα παραδοσιακά μέτρα τόνωσης και έχουν μεγαλύτερες αποδόσεις. Επίσης, τεκμηριώνει ότι οι ανανεώσιμες πηγές ενέργειας δημιουργούν θέσεις εργασίας, εθνική ενεργειακή κυριαρχία, ταχεία διείσδυση ενέργειας στις αναπτυσσόμενες χώρες, μειωμένες εκπομπές και μειωμένη ατμοσφαιρική ρύπανση.

Αυτό αντιπαρατίθεται με το πραγματικό κόστος των ορυκτών καυσίμων που εκτιμάται σε 5,2 τρισεκατομμύρια δολάρια, εάν συνυπολογιστεί το κόστος των αρνητικών επιπτώσεων όπως η ατμοσφαιρική ρύπανση, οι επιπτώσεις της αλλαγής του κλίματος και η κυκλοφοριακή συμφόρηση.

Τα συστήματα ανανεώσιμων πηγών ενέργειας υποστηρίζουν την εθνική ενεργειακή κυριαρχία και τη δημοκρατία, ενισχύοντας τους πολίτες και τις κοινότητες, αντί των μεγάλων παραγωγών και καταναλωτών ορυκτών καυσίμων. «Όταν ξοδεύουμε πακέτα ενίσχυσης, πρέπει να αποφασίσουμε: Θέλουμε ένα ενεργειακό σύστημα που εξυπηρετεί τους λίγους ή ένα σύστημα που εξυπηρετεί τους πολλούς», λέει η Adib. «Αλλά δεν είναι μόνο τα πακέτα ενίσχυσης. Πρέπει να τερματίσουμε κάθε είδους υποστήριξη στην οικονομία των ορυκτών, ιδίως όταν πρόκειται για θέρμανση, ψύξη και μεταφορές. Οι κυβερνήσεις πρέπει να αλλάξουν ριζικά τις συνθήκες και τους κανόνες της αγοράς και να επιδείξουν την ίδια ηγετική ικανότητα και βούληση όπως έκαναν με την πανδημία COVID-19».

Σύμφωνα με την έκθεση:

• Η συνολική τελική ζήτηση ενέργειας συνεχίζει να αυξάνεται (1,4% ετησίως από το 2013 έως το 2018). Παρά τη σημαντική πρόοδο στην παραγωγή ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας από ανανεώσιμες πηγές ενέργειας, το μερίδιο των ανανεώσιμων πηγών ενέργειας στη συνολική τελική ζήτηση ενέργειας μόλις που αυξήθηκε (από 9,6% το 2013 σε 11% το 2018). Σε σύγκριση με τον τομέα παραγωγής ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας, οι τομείς της θέρμανσης, της ψύξης και των μεταφορών υστερούν πολύ (μερίδιο ΑΠΕ στην ηλεκτροπαραγωγή 26%, στη θέρμανση και ψύξη 10% και στις μεταφορές 3%).

• Η σημερινή πρόοδος είναι σε μεγάλο βαθμό το αποτέλεσμα πολιτικών και κανονισμών που τέθηκαν σε ισχύ πριν από χρόνια και επικεντρώνονται στον τομέα της παραγωγής ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας. Τα μεγάλα εμπόδια που παρατηρούνται στη θέρμανση, την ψύξη και τις μεταφορές εξακολουθούν να είναι σχεδόν τα ίδια επί μια δεκαετία. Απαιτούνται πολιτικές για τη δημιουργία των κατάλληλων συνθηκών στην αγορά.

•Ο κλάδος των ανανεώσιμων πηγών ενέργειας απασχολούσε παγκοσμίως 11 εκατομμύρια εργαζόμενους το 2018

• Το 2019, ο ιδιωτικός τομέας υπέγραψε συμβάσεις ρεκόρ για την αγορά ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας (PPA’s) από ανανεώσιμες πηγές ενέργειας, σημειώνοντας άνοδο άνω του 43% το 2019 σε σχέση με το 2018.

• Οι παγκόσμιες διαμαρτυρίες για το κλίμα έχουν φτάσει σε άνευ προηγουμένου υψηλά επίπεδα με εκατομμύρια ανθρώπους σε 150 χώρες να πιέζουν κυβερνήσεις να επεκτείνουν τις κλιματικές φιλοδοξίες τους. Μέχρι τον Απρίλιο του 2020, 1490 περιοχές, σε 29 χώρες, όπου κατοικούν 822 εκατομμύρια πολίτες - είχαν εκδώσει ανακοινώσεις κατάστασης κλιματικής έκτακτης ανάγκης,, πολλές από τις οποίες περιλαμβάνουν σχέδια και στόχους για περισσότερα ανανεώσιμα ενεργειακά συστήματα.

• Ενώ ορισμένες χώρες καταργούν σταδιακά τον άνθρακα, άλλες συνέχισαν να επενδύουν σε νέους σταθμούς παραγωγής ενέργειας με καύση άνθρακα. Επιπλέον, η χρηματοδότηση από ιδιωτικές τράπεζες για έργα ορυκτών καυσίμων αυξάνεται κάθε χρόνο από την υπογραφή της Συμφωνίας των Παρισίων, ανερχόμενη συνολικά σε ύψος 2,7 τρισεκατομμυρίων δολαρίων τα τελευταία τρία χρόνια.

«Είναι σαφές ότι η παραγωγή ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας από ανανεώσιμες πηγές αποτελεί πλέον βασική ενεργειακή επιλογή, και αυτό είναι υπέροχο. Όμως, η πρόοδος σε αυτόν τον τομέα δεν πρέπει να μας οδηγήσει να πιστέψουμε ότι είναι εγγυημένη η επιτυχία τους γενικά. Οι κυβερνήσεις πρέπει να αναλάβουν δράση πέρα από τα πακέτα οικονομικής ανάκαμψης. Πρέπει επίσης να δημιουργήσουν τους κανόνες και το περιβάλλον για την στροφή σε ένα αποτελεσματικό ενεργειακό σύστημα με βάση τις ανανεώσιμες πηγές. Παγκοσμίως. Τώρα." καταλήγει ο Αρθούρος Ζερβός, Πρόεδρος της REN21.

Σχετικά με το REN21 και την Αναφορά για την Κατάσταση των Ανανεώσιμων Πηγών (GSR)

Το REN21 είναι η μόνη παγκόσμια κοινότητα φορέων ανανεώσιμης ενέργειας από το χώρο των επιστημών, εκπαιδευτικών ιδρυμάτων, κυβερνήσεων, ΜΚΟ και τη βιομηχανία και από όλους τους τομείς των ανανεώσιμων πηγών ενέργειας. Παρέχουμε επικαιροποιημένα στοιχεία, αριθμούς και αξιολογημένη ανάλυση από ειδικούς, των παγκόσμιων εξελίξεων στην τεχνολογία, τις πολιτικές και τις αγορές στους υπεύθυνους λήψης αποφάσεων. Ο στόχος μας: να τους ενθαρρύνουμε και να τους διευκολύνουμε να κάνουν τη μετάβαση σε ανανεώσιμες πηγές ενέργειας - τώρα!

Η ετήσια δημοσίευσή μας, η Παγκόσμια Κατάσταση για τις Ανανεώσιμες Πηγές Κατάστασης, είναι ίσως η πιο ολοκληρωμένη έκθεση παγκοσμίως για τις ανανεώσιμες πηγές ενέργειας. Η έκδοση 2020 έχει συν-συγγραφεί από περισσότερους από 350 ειδικούς.

Μπορείτε να κατεβάσετε τα γραφήματα, τα στοιχεία, τα εθνικά και περιφερειακά ενημερωτικά δελτία εδώ:

Solar in the driver’s seat: Solar Mobility report

Solar Power Europe — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 08:25:00 GMT

On 5th November at Digital Solar & Storage 2019, SolarPower Europe launched a new report on solar mobility, thought to be the first of its kind, which explores the potential of clean mobility solutions and solar power. The report documents various solar mobility business models, illustrating the experience of European and global pioneers with detailed case studies. Three solar mobility models are highlighted: (1) solar-powered mobility, (2) solar smart charging, and (3) vehicle-integrated PV, all of which can lead to vast carbon reductions in the transport sector.

Read the report

Single-axis bifacial PV offers lowest LCOE in 93.1% of world’s land area

PV Magazine — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 15:20:00 GMT

Researchers from the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore have concluded that utility-scale PV projects relying on bifacial panels and single-axis trackers deliver the lowest levelized cost of energy in most of the world. They found that the combination of bifacial products with dual-axis trackers is still too expensive, despite the higher yield. The second-lowest LCOE is offered by monofacial single-axis tracker plants.

A group of scientists from the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore has showed that combining bifacial panels and single-axis trackers is the best way to achieve the lowest levelized cost of energy in solar power projects based on crystalline silicon technology.

In the study Global Techno-Economic Performance of Bifacial and Tracking Photovoltaic Systems, published in Joule, the academics said that their tests have showed that the aforementioned combination can ensure a yield that is up to 35% higher than conventional systems.

Parameters

The group analyzed the cost-effectiveness of both monofacial and bifacial solar plants installed with fixed-tilt, single-axis, and dual-axis tracking systems on a global scale. It said that the daily average global horizontal irradiance for several of the world’s locations was obtained from NASA’s Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES).

The research team calculated direct normal irradiance (DNI) and diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) by applying the Orgill–Hollands’ approach, which estimates diffuse fraction using the clearness index as the only variable. Daily average ambient temperature and albedo values were also included as parameters.

Measurements

The researchers assumed that module rows in the solar plant are properly spaced so that losses caused by shading are only marginal. Their analysis did not consider shading caused by mounting systems on the panels’ rear side.

“The influence that the row-row spacing has on other cost factors, such as site preparation works, wiring, fencing, etc., has also been neglected in this work,” the researchers explained. “We do not consider governmental policies; these can have a big influence on the LCOE and therefore, determine whether it is cost effective to install a PV system in a particular location.”

Soiling losses and transport costs were also excluded as parameters for the analysis.

For projects built with fixed-tilt modules, the academics considered a height of 0.6 m between the panels’ lowest edge and ground, while for projects installed with trackers this height is assumed to be 1 m. The modules for the field measurements were provided by Chinese manufacturer Longi and a comparison was made between installations with monofacial monocrystalline PERC modules with front power output of 310 W and bifacial panels of the same type with front power output of 305 W. Inverter efficiency and other losses in the PV installation were considered to be 96% and 3%, respectively.

Single-axis primacy

“All combinations of tracking and bifacial systems improve yield, with improvements of more than 50% possible in very high latitudes,” the group wrote. “In general, with the same mounting structure, bifacial configuration outperforms monofacial configuration. Tracker configurations outperform fixed-tilt configurations significantly, with dual-axis tracker installations having marginally higher yield than one axis.”

The scientists said that single-axis tracker installations have 10% higher system costs than conventional monofacial fixed-tilt systems, while two-axis tracker installations may be between 30% and 60% more expensive. “These considerably higher system costs for two-axis tracker systems are mainly due to the high cost of their mounting structure,” the explained.

The cost and yield advantages for bifacial systems backed by single-axis tracking increase when project locations are at high latitudes.

“In general, the tracking properties from monofacial-1T systems result in a considerable LCOE reduction compared with bifacial fixed-tilt systems (reaching values up to 21%),” the scientists concluded. “However, only for locations close to the poles, the properties of bifacial modules to capture light from both sides becomes more influential and results in lower LCOE values.”

The LCOE for bifacial single-axis tracker projects is the lowest for 93.1% of the analyzed world’s land area, while monofacial single-axis tracker plants are said to achieve the second-lowest LCOE, at 87.9% of the analyzed land area.

“Hence, under the current market situation, 1T systems are cost-effective and preferable,” the academics concluded.

How much dust is enough?

PV Magazine — Mon, 11 May 2020 06:04:00 GMT

Απώλειες φωτοβολτικών λόγω επικαθίσεων & σκόνης

Researchers from the University of Exeter, in England, have investigated the impacts of soiling on photovoltaic modules and focused in particular on dust properties.

Their findings are presented in the paper An analytical indoor experimental study on the effect of soiling on PV, focusing on dust properties and PV surface material, published in Solar Energy and on the ScienceDirect website.

The Exeter group used a solar simulator, spectrometer and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to analyze the effect of the accumulation of 13 soiling agents: ash; bird droppings; carpet dust; cement; charcoal; clay; coarse sand; reddish, clayey ‘laterite’; loam and sandy soils; salt; stone dust; and wood dust. The team behind the study claim it was more extensive and rigorous than previous research in the same field.

Method

Samples were deposited through a dispenser developed by the group and examined in wet and dry conditions on low-iron glass and acrylic plastic encapsulation materials.

“Each piece of low-iron glass and acrylic plastic had a dimension of 13 by 13 by 0.4cm,” stated the group. “A mini-module with an active area of 120.84 cm² was developed using four monocrystalline cells with dimensions [of] 5.2cm by 5.2cm.”

Wet deposition was used to simulate dew and dust deposition during wet weather. An image characterization was used to analyze the morphology and chemical composition of each dust sample. The performance of the mini module was then tested using a Wacom continuous solar simulator at a controlled temperature of 25 degrees Celsius.

Results

The experiments showed the encapsulant materials had high light transmittance, of around 92% for the glass and 91% for the acrylic, and the Exeter group found soiling agents could almost negate panel performance.

“Our result revealed that larger particles create wider gaps between them and could allow light to pass through the gaps but small and uniformly spread particles would not have enough spaces that light can penetrate,” stated the researchers, who added, energy yield was further depleted by heavier weights of accumulated dust particles.

Charcoal powder was found to be the worst soiling agent, with a degradation of PV yield performance of around 98%. Salt was the least inhibitive, and reduced performance only 7%.

The scientists determined panels with an acrylic plastic encapsulant accumulated more dust than glass covered modules. Wet conditions were found to reduce performance more than dry accumulation as capillary force can create bridges between particles and surface, according to the researchers.

“The asperity [harshness] of degradation observed in this study cannot be overlooked and, therefore, proper mitigation techniques must be provided to prevent soiling of PV surfaces,” the authors of the paper concluded.

Solar module quality control measures in an age of Covid-19

PV Magazine — Sat, 09 May 2020 06:05:00 GMT

Not long after China imposed restrictions on travel between provinces, problems began to accumulate in PV module factories throughout the country. Let’s start with personnel issues.

Workers from provinces affected by the pandemic who wanted to return to factories after Chinese new year on January 25 were not allowed to do so because of the imposition of a 15-day quarantine period.

Those who were able to return were, in many cases, several days late due to transport restrictions. Some factories recruited temporary staff to bridge the gap. However, most of those temps lacked adequate training. The result was an abnormally high defect rate on production lines in the following weeks.

As a consequence of the travel restrictions and lack of personnel, supply problems were immediate. Trucks queued at checkpoints while drivers had their temperatures measured and traffic jams caused by roadblocks were a normal occurrence in February. Consequently, the supply chain was interrupted and the reserve materials stored before the start of the new year holiday were depleted. Manufacturers would not return to pre-crisis production rates until the end of March.

On the other side of the world, the impact of non-existent, or at best minimal production, was of course immediate. Lack of module supply had a devastating effect for some developers. For instance, in Germany, where fixed tariffs are tied to strict grid connection dates, the long term economic viability of projects was put in serious jeopardy. That situation prompted various developers and engineering, procurement and construction companies (EPCs) to accept older modules or panels made by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). As a result, module supply contract clauses relating to independent quality assurance were scrapped. For example, modules might be accepted which did not meet agreed frame dimensions or cable lengths suitable for tracker systems.

Another example concerned a developer forced to accept panels from three OEMs which resulted in 12 bills of material (BOMs), hampering material traceability and any evaluation of the manufacturing processes involved. In that instance, some of the BOM combinations were not listed in the certification construction data forms. The variety of BOMs could explain why some of the modules showed a high susceptibility to potential induced degradation (PID) or light and elevated-temperature-induced degradation (LeTID), or why post-stabilization degradation (light-induced degradation) varied greatly. To complicate matters further, in a few cases it was necessary to deal with lack of cooperation by manufacturers who refused access to factories for our engineers, despite no Covid-19-related restrictions being present in the provinces concerned. At the other extreme, however, were manufacturers who facilitated our transit through control points by providing official invitation letters.

It goes without saying the situation greatly complicated our day-to-day work, which became an obstacle course to the implementation of applying control measures in record time. Those measures included remote monitoring of production through video cameras assigned to factory personnel with little knowledge of production lines. Such a solution should be regarded as a necessary evil in an extreme situation when external auditors could not gain factory access. On the other hand, in those cases where modules had already been manufactured and production monitoring was no longer possible, flash-lists of the products were used to select samples to be sent to our laboratory in Suzhou. Module samples included low, medium and high power modules in the same class, from different batches and with different failure patterns visible under electroluminescence.

What can we learn from all this? First of all, quality control during the crisis was critical to avoiding changes in material selection and manufacturing processes not covered by contract arrangements. Secondly, rapid decision-making about critical activities; the knowledge we have gained from factories in the last nine years; and the flexibility shown by our customers enabled us to perform successfully during a unique situation. That said, a contractual framework between manufacturer and buyer which expedites the implementation of some of our core recommendations for quality assurance could have avoided some of the challenges imposed by some manufacturers.

Last but not least, as a preventive measure for future such pandemics, module supply agreements should cover the following points: A comprehensive elaboration of the concept of pandemic as a force majeure; agreement production supervision will take place, without notice day and night to increase control over non-approved materials; and express indication manufacturers cannot deny access to auditors unless a force majeure clause has been invoked.

Shunfeng posts $265.2m loss in 2019

PV Magazine — Sat, 04 Apr 2020 05:21:00 GMT

Shunfeng International Clean Energy (SFCE) recorded a loss of RMB1.88 billion ($265.2 million) last year, from RMB1.71 billion loss in 2018.

Group revenue edged up 5.4% year on year to RMB1,731,106,000, up 5.4% year on year to RMB1.7 billion, according to the group’s unaudited results for the year to Dec. 31, 2019. It attributed the delay in the auditing process to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Its PV projects in China accounted for RMB1.37 billion of its total full-year revenues, up 4.6% year on year. However, it said that its electricity-generating business faced a number of critical challenges in 2019.

“The company was under unprecedented liquidity pressure due to a delay in receiving tariff subsidies payable by the relevant financial departments of China,” SFCE said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Its operational solar arrays throughout China generated about 1,843.8 GWh of electricity in 2019, up 6.2% year on year. By the end of December, its total installed PV capacity in China had reached roughly 1.5 GW.

SFCE spent much of the past year selling off parts of its business. In September it sold its PV equipment production business to Zhonghe Shandong Energy in September, and unloaded 11 solar projects in November. It sold off these assets to pare down its debts, as it shifts its focus to PV generation in China and the production of LED lighting kit. It said that its “LED business continued to maintain its growth” throughout 2019, with sales from the segment rising from RMB334.5 million in 2018 to RMB362.7 million by the end of December.

“Looking forward, the continuous drop in solar power generation costs will lead to a new era in the global clean energy market,” SFCE said, noting the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. “With challenge comes opportunity. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Η εταιρίες Suntech ανήκουν στο συγκεκριμένο group.

Coronavirus outbreak in China impacting solar industry in Korea, India and Taiwan

PVTECH — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 11:19:00 GMT

Manufacturing delays and supply chain constraints in China, caused by the coronavirus outbreak are starting to impact both upstream PV manufacturers and downstream installers in countries such as South Korea, India and Taiwan.

Hanwha Solutions

In a statement given to PV Tech, Hanwha Solutions Corporation (Q CELLS) has temporarily shut down its two major module assembly plants in South Korea, due to raw materials and component shortages, usually purchased from China-based suppliers.

Hanwha Solutions stated; “Given the ongoing uncertainty caused by the Coronavirus outbreak, Hanwha Solutions Corporation has taken measures to temporarily shut down solar module manufacturing activity at its two production facilities in South Korea. The Jincheon Factory will pause production between February 12 and February 23, with plans to partially restart some operation between February 17-20, depending upon the supply of some raw materials. The Eumsung factory will pause production between February 18 and February 23.”

However, Hanwha Solutions’ Qidong manufacturing plant, located near Shanghai in the Jiangsu province of China has resumed production after the extended the New Year’s holiday as planned on February 11.

Overall, Hanwha Solutions said that it expected to resume normal production activity soon, without providing further details. Korean language news reports also claimed that Hanwha Solutions manufacturing operations in the US were not affected by supply chain issues in China.

Sterling & Wilson (India)

In releasing 2019 annual financial results, leading global PV EPC firm, Sterling & Wilson noted that some of its key suppliers in China have yet to commence production after the extended break are not expected to commence manufacturing operations until the end of February.

As a result, Sterling & Wilson stated; “As most material was expected to be shipped in February / March 2020 there is likely to be a significant impact.”
The company added that it was constantly evaluating the current situation in China, which would impact its business in the near term.

Taiwan

According to Taiwan-based market research firm, TrendForce the supply of key equipment such as modules and inverters for PV power plant projects planned in Taiwan would be impacted the most from the coronavirus outbreak in China.

TrendForce noted that PV manufacturers in Taiwan sourced a large variety of raw materials and components from China, such as silicon wafers, EVA sheet, aluminium frames, and PV glass.

Taiwanese manufacturers’ stockpile of raw materials from pre-Chinese New Year is expected to last until the end of February, at best, according to TrendForce.

However, the knock-on effect is expected to lead to downstream project delays.

TrendForce said that in the first quarter of 2020, Taiwan was expected to have the lowest quarterly installation capacity for the year. The shortage of modules and inverters would delay the installation schedule of these projects and subsequently postpone Taiwan’s goal of 2.2GW total installation capacity in 2020.

Coronavirus expected to impact solar industry supply chain – ROTH Capital

PVTech — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 08:41:00 GMT

Updated: ROTH Capital Partners has told investors that the recent outbreak of the Coronavirus in China is likely to impact the solar industry supply chain, due to extended work stoppage in eight provinces, many being key solar manufacturing hubs, through February 9th.

ROTH said in an investor note that checks made, indicated many PV manufacturers continued some level of production during the Chinese New Year holiday period.

“We've been told that the "not to return to work" order, i.e. work stoppage, may not be applicable to companies that never dismissed employees. We are still trying to confirm this. Our guess is that while most of the facilties have been up and running, they likely have not been running at 100% staffing,” ROTH said in the investor note.

ROTH noted that within the eight provinces that extended work stoppages, notably include Jiangsu province, was home to a number of ‘Solar Module Super League’ (SMSL) members major manufacturing hubs, including Canadian Solar, LONGi Group, Trina Solar, Q-CELLS and JA Solar.

Zhejiang province is home to some of JinkoSolar’s manufacturing operations, the largest SMSL, while JA Solar also has manufacturing operations in the province.
ROTH also highlighted that PV inverter companies such as SolarEdge and Enphase Energy had contract manufacturers in affected provinces of Guangdong and Anhui, respectively.

With ‘limited’ continued production through Chinese New Year and lack of visibility into issues related to returning workforces, ROTH capital also noted that shortages of solar wafers were emerging and possibly glass for PV modules.

This would likely lead to near-term solar supply chain component pricing increasing, according to ROTH.

Update (1)

In the electronic display panel manufacturing sector in China, IHS Markit technology research, now a part of Informa Tech has highlighted the escalating coronavirus crisis impact on the sector that is in Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus.

The market research firm said in a press statement that the five factories in the city LCDs and OLED panels would experience near-term slowdowns in production. They also believe that total capacity utilization for all LCD fabs in the country could fall by at least 10% with the possibility of more than a 20% decline during the month of February.

“Display facilities in Wuhan currently are dealing with the very real impacts of the coronavirus outbreak,” said David Hsieh, senior director, displays, at IHS Markit technology research. “These factories are facing shortages of both labor and key components as a result of mandates designed to limit the contagion’s spread. In the face of these challenges, top display suppliers in China have informed our experts that a near-term production decline is unavoidable.”

China is expected to own 55% of the global display manufacturing capacity in 2020.

Update (2)

According to reports, the CPIA (China Photovoltaic Industry Association) is expected to seek Chinese government support for the sector as the coronavirus continues to spread.

The CPIA deputy secretary, Liu Yiyang told Bloomberg that the solar sector needed support, including perhaps interest-free loans for upstream manufacturers, while potentially seeking delays to downstream PV power plant FiT changes, due to the difficulty project developers would face meeting 2019 subsidy quota deadlines fast approaching for the end of March, 2020.

Times anaforas gia fotovoltaika 500KW 1MW

B2Green — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 14:29:00 GMT

Αναρτήθηκαν από το ΔΑΠΕΕΠ οι τιμές αναφοράς για φ/β σταθμούς της κατηγορίας 29 του πίνακα 1 του ν. 4414/2016 που θα τεθούν σε λειτουργία από την 01/01/2020 μέχρι και την προηγούμενη ημέρα της ημέρας διενέργειας της πρώτης ειδικής ανταγωνιστικής διαδικασίας του έτους 2020 για φ/β καθώς και οι τιμές αναφοράς για φ/β σταθμούς της κατηγορίας 30 του πίνακα 1 του ν. 4414/2016 που θα τεθούν σε λειτουργία από την 12/12/2019 μέχρι και την προηγούμενη ημέρα της ημέρας διενέργειας της πρώτης ειδικής ανταγωνιστικής διαδικασίας του έτους 2020 για φ/β.

Αναλυτικά, σύμφωνα με το ΔΑΠΕΕΠ:

Σε εφαρμογή των διατάξεων του άρθρου 72, παρ. 3 και παρ. 7 του ν.4602/2019, για φωτοβολταϊκούς σταθμούς με εγκατεστημένη ισχύ < 500 kW, που θα τεθούν σε λειτουργία (κανονική ή δοκιμαστική) από την 1η Ιανουαρίου 2020 μέχρι και την προηγούμενη ημέρα της ημέρας διενέργειας της πρώτης ειδικής κατά τεχνολογία ανταγωνιστικής διαδικασίας του έτους 2020 για φ/β σταθμούς, η τιμή αναφοράς που διέπει τη σύμβαση λειτουργικής ενίσχυσης είναι 70,30 €/MWh.
Σε εφαρμογή των διατάξεων του άρθρου 72, παρ. 3 και παρ. 7 του ν.4602/2019, για φωτοβολταϊκούς σταθμούς που ανήκουν σε Ενεργειακές Κοινότητες του ν. 4513/2018 με εγκατεστημένη ισχύ ≤ 1 MW ή σε κατ’ επάγγελμα αγρότες με εγκατεστημένη ισχύ < 500 kW, που θα τεθούν σε λειτουργία (κανονική ή δοκιμαστική) από την 12η Δεκεμβρίου 2019 μέχρι και την προηγούμενη ημέρα της ημέρας διενέργειας της πρώτης ειδικής κατά τεχνολογία ανταγωνιστικής διαδικασίας του έτους 2020 για φ/β σταθμούς, η τιμή αναφοράς που διέπει τη σύμβαση λειτουργικής ενίσχυσης είναι 73,64 €/MWh.

View-factor vs. ray tracing – which bifacial modelling techniques should you use?

PV Magazine — Sat, 21 Dec 2019 11:14:00 GMT

Soltec, has logged in 12 months of testing in its Bifacial Tracker Evaluation Center and will share some of the key findings in this webinar. Aside from news about AC/DC-ratio practices, also joining the webinar is NREL’s Bifacial PV Analyst, Silvana Ayala, who will provide her insights into the two methodologies to calculate rear-side irradiance.

Discussion participants

José Alfonso Teruel, CTO, Soltec Innovations

Silvana Ayala Peláez, Bifacial PV Analyst, NREL

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Presentation of José Alfonso Teruel

Presentation of Silvana Ayala Peláez

Watch the recording at https://www.pv-magazine.com/webinars/view-factor-vs-ray-tracing-which-bifacial-modelling-techniques-should-you-use/

Φωτοβολταϊκά: αυτές είναι οι νέες ταρίφες για έργα που δεν συμμετέχουν σε διαγωνισμούς

B2Green — Sat, 21 Dec 2019 11:05:00 GMT

Δείτε παρακάτω τις νέες ταρίφες για έργα που δεν συμμετέχουν σε διαγωνισμούς:

Επενδυτές με έργα kWp που τίθενται σε λειτουργία (κανονική ή δοκιμαστική) από 1.1.2020
(αμείβονται δηλαδή με βάση τη μεσοσταθμική τιμή προηγούμενων διαγωνισμών):

1,05*μεσοσταθμική Τιμή Αναφοράς που προέκυψε κατά τις 3 προηγούμενες πριν την τελευταία ανταγωνιστικές διαδικασίες υποβολής προσφορών που αφορούν στην ίδια τεχνολογία.

Ο τελευταίος διαγωνισμός για φωτοβολταϊκά διενεργήθηκε στις 12.12.2019. Η μεσοσταθμική Τιμή Αναφοράς από τις 3 προηγούμενες ανταγωνιστικές διαδικασίες πριν την τελευταία ήταν 66,95 €/MWh, άρα η Τιμή Αναφοράς θα είναι 1,05*66,95=70,3 €/MWh.

Η τιμή αυτή ισχύει μέχρι τη διενέργεια νέου διαγωνισμού το 2020.

Ενεργειακές Κοινότητες (για έργα ≤1MW) και κατ’ επάγγελμα αγρότες (για έργαΈργα που τίθενται σε λειτουργία (κανονική ή δοκιμαστική) από τη δημοσίευση σε ΦΕΚ του Ν.4206/2019 (9.3.2019) – “Κατηγορία 30” :

1,1*μεσοσταθμική Τιμή Αναφοράς που προέκυψε κατά τις 3 προηγούμενες πριν την τελευταία ανταγωνιστικές διαδικασίες υποβολής προσφορών που αφορούν στην εν λόγω κατηγορία φωτοβολταϊκών σταθμών, ή αν δεν έχουν διενεργηθεί διαγωνισμοί στην κατηγορία, στην ίδια τεχνολογία.

Η τιμή αυτή ισχύει μέχρι τη διενέργεια νέου διαγωνισμού το 2020.

Greece’s PV tender falls to €0.05382/kWh

PV Magazine — Sat, 21 Dec 2019 05:50:00 GMT

Greece’s last renewable energy tender on Dec. 12 produced a rather astonishing result – at least, it was astonishing by Greek standards. Public Power Corp. (PPC), the country’s incumbent energy utility, offered the nation’s lowest bid for a solar PV park. The project will be built at the Kardia lignite mine in Kozani, northern Greece.

PPC’s 15 MW installation will be supported by a premium tariff of €0.05382/kWh, which is the lowest offer in both the PV and wind tender pots. The result is surprising, given that Greece’s largest energy company currently owns just 1.32 MW of PV assets, out of approximately 2.65 GW of PV capacity installed throughout the country.

PPC has attempted to win contracts in previous tenders, but it had thus far failed to do so. Following the election of a new government in July, the company’s newly appointed CEO has pledged to transform the utility into a modern European company, with an eye on renewable energy investment.

PV and wind

Apart from PPC’s plant, the first tender category – which covered solar PV facilities up to 20 MW each – led to 105.09 MW of new photovoltaic capacity spread across 27 plants. Italy’s Enel Green Power offered the second-lowest bid at €0.0586 for a 6.5 MW plant in Veroia, in the Central Macedonia belt of northern Greece.

Other winners include several widely-known local Greek companies. One of them, Spes Solaris-Solar Concept, won contracts for 14 solar plants, or about 50 MW of capacity, with tariffs ranging from €0.06087/kWh to €0.06197/kWh. Egnatia Energy, which is part of Greece’s Mytilineos Group, also won two contracts for two PV projects of about 1 MW each, at a tariff of €0.062/kWh.

The Greek regulator said that the tender led to an average tariff of €0.05998, which is 9.15% below the the tender’s ceiling price. But overall, the country’s latest auction exercise confirms once again the general rule that Greek tenders are undersubscribed. pv magazine has reported before that this is due to a lack of licensed projects that are eligible to participate in the tender schemes. Potential auction participants need to own both a license to generate electricity and a license to connect their project to the grid.

The regulator had initially announced it would tender 287 MW of new solar capacity in December, only to award just 105.09 MW last week. Greece’s renewable energy sector is now waiting for the government to announce a new licensing regime, which will help the regulator to process the vast amount of applications it receives.

The tender’s second category concerned wind farms of up to 50 MW in size. In the end, the regulator awarded seven projects, or 224 MW of capacity in total, with tariffs ranging from €0.05577/kWh to €0.06194/kWh. The average tariff price for the wind energy pot is €0.05774/kWh, said the regulator, which is 15.4% lower than the ceiling price for this category.

New strategy

Meanwhile, the chief executive officer of the incumbent utility, George Stassis, presented the company’s new short-term strategy earlier this week. The new strategy builds upon Greece’s recent policy decision to phase out coal by 2028.

Stassis said PPC aims to install 1 GW of renewable capacity, while also entering the electric mobility sector. “PPC lost the renewable energy train and fights now to jump on it. I don’t want the same to happen in electric mobility,” Stassis said.

He therefore added that PPC will install 1,000 EV-charging stations across Greece in the next two to three years, while another 9,000 charging stations will be installed at a later date. PPC also wants its customers to install smart meters, with the Greek government vowing to sell additional chunks of the grid to foreign investors.

PPC’s move to modernize and become a competitive European company is a welcome development, but the Greek government also needs to modernize if the country hopes to achieve its new target of installing 5 GW of new solar PV in the next 10 years.

This week marked the first time that the Greek regulator did not publish the tender results on its website. Journalists and investors needed to email the regulator directly to ask for the press release on last week’s renewable energy auctions. This is hardly the way to move toward a green, efficient and transparent energy sector.

Bifacial Solar’s True Potential with JinkoSolar & NREL

TaiyangNews — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 07:23:00 GMT

Understanding bifacial PV’s true potential: TaiyangNews Webinar puts spotlight on performance modeling and field studies, technology innovation and technical bankability of bifacial PV projects

Click here to access presentation video (youtube).

Click here to download the PPT of the presentation.

As demand for bifacial solar module technology is starting to pick up, there are still many questions about the real potential of bifacial solar and how to best utilize it.

The TaiyangNews webinar with JinkoSolar and the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will provide background on how to design large-scale solar systems with bifacial PV modules the right way in order to achieve maximal benefits.

TaiyangNews will provide an overview of its upcoming Bifacial Solar2019 report, JinkoSolar will provide background for optimizing system design configuration, performance modelling and cost optimization, while NREL will show results of performance modelling, field studies and due diligence software modelling to better understand the technical bankability of bifacial PV projects.

Introduction

Michael Schmela, Managing Director TaiyangNews

Overview on Bifacial Solar Technology

Shravan K. Chunduri, Head of Technology, TaiyangNews

Design Optimization for Bifacial Solar Systems to Tap Its Full Potential

Roberto Murgioni, Technical Service Manager, JinkoSolar

Modelling & Reality – Understanding the Technical Bankability of Bifacial PV Projects

Chris Deline, Ph.D, Research Engineer,

Silvana Ayala Pelaez, Ph.D, Researcher,

Photovoltaic Performance and Reliability Group, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Optimizing bifacial gain and balancing investment costs

PV Magazine — Thu, 28 Nov 2019 04:26:00 GMT

There is a difference between maximizing bifacial gain, and cost effectively optimizing a bifacial pv system, which means balancing increased investment costs and energy yield payback. It’s often claimed that bifacial technology can deliver energy yield gains of 20% or more, but where is the line between this potential and the added investment cost required for bifacial optimizations? In the first part of this upcoming webinar, Bruno Wittmer, chief development engineer at PVSyst, will show us how bifacial gain can be maximized through insight gained from system simulations in PVSyst.

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Q CELLS Thomas Dinkel Webinar Presentation

PVsyst Bruno Wittmer Webinar Presentation

Watch Recording

Cross-mating of connectors was chief cause of Netherlands PV fires

PV Magazine — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 05:15:00 GMT

The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) has ended its investigation into a series of fire accidents involving rooftop PV systems last year. The probe was begun in September on behalf of national enterprise agency the RVO at the request of PV association Holland Solar and electroctechnical installers body Uneto-VNI.

A report by the TNO stated around 70% of the fires were caused by faulty connectors, and especially by cross-mating, which happens when connectors of different kinds are mated.

“If two connectors do not connect properly, or if a corrosive layer is present between the two poles of the contact, a transition resistance may occur,” stated the study. “Such a resistance can lead to heat development, which can cause the temperature to rise and the connector to ultimately form a point of ignition for a fire. This can lead to transition resistances, internal arcs, heat development and ultimately fire.”

Other factors

The other accidents were caused by heat accumulation, junction boxes and the proximity of installations to combustible material, with each of those factors accounting for 10% of cases, said the TNO.

According to the findings of the report, the fires led solely to economic damage. “We are aware of 23 fire incidents involving houses, that mainly took place in 2018,” the report stated, adding another four incidents concerned rooftop systems on non residential buildings.

The report’s authors said around a third of the cases involved building integrated PV (BIPV) systems, a significantly lower estimate than other, unidentified experts who claimed 80-90% of the fires involved such units.

The TNO said it will warn installers about the risks of using faulty connectors and cross-mating, and said the RVO will establish a multidisciplinary committee – or expand an existing committee – to advise on the construction and material flammability requirements of BIPV systems, as well as on regulation through standards and guidelines to prevent connector cross-mating. “This may lead to the possible tightening of certification for installers”, the report stated.

The authors of the report added, in some cases PV systems were being installed in the Netherlands by a workforce without the necessary skills and training. “PV systems differ in electrical engineering from what [has been] known in the past, which implies that [the] personnel handling PV systems must receive special training,” said the study. “Staff who are not properly trained can make mistakes with the proper installation of a system.”

Put your hands on a floating PV system

PV Magazine — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 05:40:00 GMT

The Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) has announced the publication of the Floating Solar Handbook for Practitioners, a practical guide for developers of inland and near-shore floating PV projects.

The book, produced with the support of the National University of Singapore and the World Bank Group’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program, is intended to help developers of large scale and commercial floating projects from the planning to the operations and maintenance stage. The publication includes advice on site identification, feasibility studies, finance, environmental and social issues, procurement and construction and commissioning.

The development process for floating PV in particular differs markedly from that for ground-mounted and rooftop systems, say the guide’s authors.

Unique conditions

Site identification, for example, involves consideration of bathymetry, subsurface soil conditions, water levels and wind speed, among other variables. “It is unlikely that a site possesses all the desirable features,” the authors said.

As for feasibility studies, the writers recommend an energy yield analysis which takes into account better module cooling; major soiling risks, including above-average bird droppings; and faster degradation of electrical components.

For planning purposes, the quality of floating structures and mooring and anchoring systems is said to be crucial, as well as proper cable routing and management. “The water environment imposes more stringent requirements with regard to electrical safety,” the authors wrote.

In terms of finance, floating projects are said to be more complex than ground-mounted installations, as the former require more contractors. “Given the lack of experience that banks, insurers and regulatory bodies have with FPV [floating PV], permitting and financial closing are likely to take longer than for ground-mounted PV projects,” the guide notes.

More hurdles

Floating projects also have to overcome more obstacles during permitting, especially in countries with little experience in renewables – and floating PV in particular.

Developers planning sea-borne floating power plants should try to avoid the littoral zone next to the shore to avoid damaging environmental impacts. “The development of the constituent technologies and knowledge of positive and negative impacts will be greatly enhanced if early installations are diligently monitored, which will entail some public expenditure,” the publication states.

SERIS published a report in June indicating the world had around 1.3 GW of installed floating PV capacity at the end of 2018. A best-case scenario considered by the authors envisaged potential generation capacity of 4.044 GW if 10% of the world’s available sites hosted floating solar.

Promising soiling mitigation solutions should not be left to gather dust

PV Magazine — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 10:47:00 GMT

Although several mitigation approaches are available, the PV industry’s soiling problem is far from being solved, particularly in in high-insolation arid and semi-arid climates, according to the paper Techno-Economic Assessment of Soiling Losses and Mitigation Strategies for Solar Power Generation, published in Joule.

The authors of the study claim soiling-related energy yield losses may be higher in regions such as the Middle East and Asia, and can offset within weeks the impressive progress made in solar cell and concentrating solar power (CSP) efficiency in recent decades.

“Even in optimized cleaning scenarios, soiling reduces the current global solar power production by at least 3-4%, with at least €3-5 billion annual revenue losses, which could rise to 4-7%, and more than €4-7 billion losses, in 2023,” stated the study. That situation will be exacerbated by the rising volume of solar capacity in highly soiling-affected regions such as India and China, but also in markets with cheap electricity prices, where the incentive for cleaning panels is reduced.

Soiling, which is considered a contributory factor in potential induced degradation and the development of hot spots, can easily result in yield losses of more than 1% per day, the authors of the paper added.

The lack of a universal solution to soiling was highlighted as a concern in the industry. Cleaning solutions, which depend heavily on labor or water consumption, raise project costs. An urgent need has been identified for water-less and inexpensive soiling mitigation technologies such as optimized cleaning plans, automated solutions, anti-soiling coatings and tracking system modifications.

A wide range of technologies

The soiling report’s authors indicated PV module design, improved monitoring and site adaptation are efficient measures to mitigate the problem. Other technologies, such as electrodynamic screens or dew mitigation, are too costly at present and require further R&D to bring down their price. Reducing soiling by half by deploying such solutions, however, may result in net additional costs of just €2/m², according to the researchers

Soiling matter varies by location but includes bird droppings, bacteria biofilms, algae, lichen, mosses, fungi, plant debris, pollen, engine exhaust fumes and industrial and agricultural emissions – such as feed dusts, as well as dust and sand.

Rain is described as an important mitigating factor as it can serve as a cleaning tool in regions with high rainfall although it also has the negative effect of depositing wet aerosol particles washed out of the atmosphere. Wind also influences particle deposition. “Tilt angle of the PV modules and CSP mirrors should be considered, since soiling rates are greater on flatter surfaces,” the research stated.

Coating materials

The study proposes several coating materials that could be used to mitigate soiling even though they only extend the intervals between cleaning, rather than removing the need for it entirely. Coatings also offer varying durability and effectiveness depending on climate. “Nevertheless, the attraction of a passive anti-soiling solution is great, so that development continues, with many promising approaches,” the authors stated.

Solutions such as electrodynamic dust shields (EDS) and night-time heating are described as too expensive and insufficiently tested under field conditions, although their development should be continued, according to the study.

“Together with the technological approaches, soiling mitigation can start at the site selection and plant design stage,” the researchers said. “Studies on this aspect are particularly lacking, suggesting that more research is needed on soiling monitoring – including resource assessment campaigns – soiling modeling and integration into meteorological models.”

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Is solar eroding too much land? The EU thinks not

PV Magazine — Fri, 11 Oct 2019 04:20:00 GMT

Scientists from the European Union’s Joint Research Center (JRC) have created the Enspreso – energy system potentials for renewable energy sources – dataset to evaluate potential land use for renewable energy across 276 regions in the EU’s member states and to assess how much generation capacity could be hosted.

In the paper ENSPRESO – an open, EU-28 wide, transparent and coherent database of wind, solar and biomass energy potentials, published on the ScienceDirect website, researchers stated the 28 EU member state dataset offers energy models about the potential of clean energy sources across the EU based on realistic land-restriction scenarios and bottom-up resource analysis.

The authors of the paper stressed solar and wind have, separately, the potential to produce three times more electricity than the EU generated in 2016. The paper concludes the solar projects needed to reach that goal would occupy only 1.4% of the political bloc’s total land surface – wind facilities would require at least 16%.

Ideal scenario

Solar potential was calculated considering solar irradiation data for rooftops, facades and available land of any kind, combined with geospatial analysis of areas suitable for PV installations and consideration of the solar technologies – PV and concentrating solar power – available.

Assuming 170 MW of solar power generation capacity per square kilometer, full use of available artificial areas and 3% use of available non-artificial areas, the EU could host 10 TW of solar capacity, stated the report, enough to generate 11 PWh, by occupying 1.4% of the total land area in the EU. And not all of that 1.4% would be agricultural land.

With that 1.4% of land figure related to a theoretical best-case scenario, the realistic future development of solar is likely to occupy even less EU land and the study does not account for technology advances that may see solar sites occupy less space. The researchers added, their figures also fail to consider land cost restraints or public opposition to solar plants.

Land use debate

Opposition to solar based on loss of agricultural land is nothing new but has sharpened of late in European countries including the Netherlands, where restrictions were introduced in May to large scale solar park development, and Italy, where opposition has been vocal in planned solar hubs such as the provinces of Viterbo and Brindisi. In Germany and France too, protests have been made against solar parks and in South Korea, allegations have been made of forest clearance for PV plants.

In May, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency published a report about the solar potential of neglected surfaces and parking lots in addition to identifying 17,764 such sites which could host PV.

Solar Trade Association (STA) airs warranty concerns as ABB hands off inverter business

Solar Power Portal — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 15:01:00 GMT

The Solar Trade Association (STA) has issued concerns over support for failed inverters both historically and after the sale of ABB’s inverter business concludes.

The sale – which sees ABB fork out up to US$470 million (£380 million) to hand off the business to Fimer – raises concerns over the provision of service and replacement parts of defective inverters, the STA said in a letter addressed to the CEOs of the two firms.

The letter - sent by the STA on behalf of a number of asset owners and operators in the UK – says that ABB inverters have a failure rate “above their peer group”, according to reports from the STA’s members.

This is more specifically in terms of ailing modules and fires on the central inverters and diodes on the string inverters, the letter detailed.

Members have made “numerous” complaints of “unreasonable” delays in assessing warranty claims and undertaking repairs, the STA said.

The failure rate of ABB’s inverters has previously been acknowledged by the firm. As reported in sister-site PV Tech, ABB described the failure rates in its 2016 financial report as being “higher than expected” for some of Power-One’s inverters, which ABB took over in 2013.

And in 2018, warranty provisions had to be increased by US$151 million (£122 million), according to ABB’s 2018 financial report.

The sale of the inverter business now raises concerns of further complications, the STA said, stressing that this shouldn’t preclude its members from pursuing or receiving the service and assistance “they are entitled to”.

When the sale was originally announced in July, Fimer confirmed it would honour ABB warranties. However, the STA is calling on the two firms to “take this matter seriously” and allocate sufficient resources.

“Credible plans should be put forward to give our members assurance that the right equipment and properly trained personnel will be available going forward and during the lifetime of our members’ assets and service mandates,” the letter reads.

The STA is "ready and willing" to work with ABB and Fimer and is requesting that a dialogue is started.

The geopolitics of renewable energy: Debunking four emerging myths

PV Magazine — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 04:34:00 GMT

Abstract

This article seeks to nip in the bud four emerging myths about the geopolitics of the rise of renewable energy and the concomitant increase in electricity usage. The article presents alternative perspectives, arguing that (1) the risk of geopolitical competition over critical materials for renewable energy is limited; (2) the resource curse as we know it from the petroleum sector will not necessarily reappear in many countries in connection with renewable energy; (3) transboundary electricity cut-offs will mostly be unsuitable as a geopolitical weapon; and (4) it is not clear that growing use of renewable energy will exacerbate cyber-security risks. In all four areas, the evolving literature could place more emphasis on uncertainty and risks and less on one-sided scenarios and maximization of threats.

1. Introduction

The founding fathers of the study of geopolitics conceived of it as a deterministic causal relationship between geography and international affairs, focused on the permanent rivalry, territorial expansion and military strategies of imperial powers [1]. With time, “geopolitics” came to denote the influence of geography on the power of states and international affairs more broadly, with less emphasis on determinismand more on the strategic importance of natural resources, their location, transportation routes, and chokepoints.

During World War I, warfare became mechanized and Winston Churchill made his famous decision to shift the British navy from coal to oil. From then on, access to oil was a key component of much geopolitical analysis [2]. As car ownership grew, Western countries came to depend on oil imports from the Middle East and were caught off guard by the oil crises of 1973 and 1979. These events transformed oil security from a military issue into one of economic stability [3], [4]. Often the focus of geopolitical analysis was on great power rivalry over specific oil-rich parts of the world such as the Persian Gulf, the Caspian, or the Arctic, or on chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz or the Suez Canal (e.g. [5], [6]). Sometimes the analysis took on a neo-Malthusian, peak-oil hue (e.g. [7]). Later on, the gas crises between Russia and Ukraine in 2006 and 2009 raised concerns about natural gas, with particular emphasis on the use of monopsony, gas transportation infrastructure, pricingpower, and supply disruption as foreign energy policy tools (e.g. [8], [9]).

The current rapid growth of renewable energy is giving the impetus to a yet another phase in geopolitical thinking, this time focusing on changes in the positions of states in the international system that may follow from the rise of renewables (e.g. [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15]).

Although the geopolitics of renewables represents a new direction for geopolitical analysis, some arguments are already being repeated with such frequency that they may come to be seen as common knowledge. They tend to involve the transposition of the geopolitical logic of oil and gas onto renewables, despite the considerable differences between the energy types and their associated technologies and infrastructure. While shifting focus from fossil fuels to reneables, geopolitical analysis remains centered on resource-rich locations, key infrastructure, transportation routes, control over energy supplies, and the potential for supply disruptions. The continuing underlying assumption is that control over resources and their distribution endows states with power in the international system. In this article, I therefore seek to nuance and challenge four specific arguments concerning the geopolitics of renewable energy.

Traditional geopolitical thinking found its counterpart in critical geopolitics, a constructivist approach to the maps and texts produced by actors involved geopolitical theory- and policymaking [16], but so far there have not been any critical geopolitics contributions on the geopolitics of renewables. This article could be thought of as a first step in that direction.

The article is a response both to the emerging academic literature on the geopolitics of renewables and to the discussions at seminars and conferences convened between 2016 and 2018 by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA); the ministries of foreign affairs of Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Emirates; the Clingendael Institute, Columbia University, Harvard University, the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, and Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik.

2. Competition over critical materials

One frequent claim about the consequences of the energy transition is that there will be increasing geopolitical competition over critical materials for renewable energy technologies [17], [18], [19], [20]. “Critical materials” is a broad term that refers to raw materials for which there are no viable substitutes with current technologies, which most consumer countries are dependent on importing, and whose supply is dominated by one or a few producers.

Much of the concern over critical materials for renewables is focused on the 17 rare earth elements and was sparked by an episode in 2010 when China imposed a rare earths embargo on Japan over a territorial dispute [20], [21], [22], [23], [24]. China dominated global production, Japan depended on Chinese supplies, and it was feared that China would be able to use its increasingly dominant position in global rare earths markets as a foreign policy tool.

However, most of the rare earth elements are in fact geologically abundant in the earth's crust. For example, cerium is more common than lead [25]. The heavier rare earth elements are less common than the lighter ones, but most of them are still not among the most scarce basic elements [26]. Only promethium is truly scarce, but is not used in renewable energy technologies. What is true about rare earth elements is that they are mostly found in dilute concentrations—making it expensive to mine them—and that there has not been much demand until recently and production is therefore limited [22], [27]. The Chinese—with low costs, lax environmental standards, and an eye for profit—have cornered most of the market.

One of the most relevant rare earth elements for renewable energy is neodymium, followed by praseodymium and dysprosium, all of which are used in permanent magnets for direct-drive wind turbines [21], [22]. However, the vast majority of wind turbines are constructed with geared-turbine technology that does not require permanent magnets [28]. In the United States, for example, less than 2% of wind turbines use permanent magnets [29].

Sometimes “rare earth elements” is used as shorthand for all critical materials for renewable energy. However, some of the most important materials for renewable energy technologies do not belong to the rare earth elements group. For example, lithium and cobalt are essential for lithium ion battery technology, and copper is used for electric turbines and electricity distribution, but none of these belong to the group of rare earth elements. The term “rare earth elements” could be used with greater caution.

Whether and which critical materials might be rare and sought-after is a complex question. The energy transition is above all about technology and innovation. It is impossible to predict with certainty which renewable energy technologies will be developed in the future; but it is highly probable that there will be technological improvements and cost reductions in some or other areas [30]. One of the main aims of research on renewable energy is to develop new technologies that use cheaper materials, and the prospects for success in this endeavor are good [31], [32]. Just in recent years, the materials intensity of neodymium, dysprosium, germanium, tellurium, europium and terbium in clean energy technologies has been reduced [33]. The 2010 China–Japan rare-earth-elements spat triggered technological innovation in the following years, weakening China's grip on the market [23]. This does not mean that a technological fix can necessarily be found for any critical material, but it does mean that it is important to consider at least the possibility of technological change. If not, one risks falling into the same static technology assumption trap as peak oil proponents who were caught off guard by improvements in fracking technology and the rise of shale oil.

Another problem with the discourse on critical materials is that it tends to confuse the economics of commodity cycles with geological scarcity. Commodity marketsare typically cyclical, repeating patterns of boom and bust. Mining projects have long lead-times, in some cases decades from an investment in exploration until a processed product reaches the market. This time lag—combined with neo-Malthusian discourses of peak extraction—leads companies to overinvest. When the output of many different new mining projects finally reaches the market, pricescollapse, initiating a new cycle of boom and bust. Again, the 2010 China supply disruption is a case in point, as it triggered more investment in rare earths extraction and processing in other countries, changing the supply picture to a degree [23], [24].

Current discourses also tend to overlook the fact that—unlike fossil fuels—most critical materials for renewable energy technologies can be recycled [33], [34], [35], [36]. For some materials, the cost of recycling is currently high, but this is conditional upon volumes and recycling technologies—both of which are dynamic. If demand increases for a critical material, recycling will likely increase too [19], [32], [37]. As recycling increases, scale economies will reduce the cost of recycling.

Depending on how technologies for renewable energy develop, it is plausible that prices for some critical materials will be high, that they will generate significant revenues for exporting countries and expenses for importing countries, and that some materials will be securitized. However, this does not mean that a geopolitical race to take control over critical materials is inevitable. In the words of Lovins [22], they “are simply another commodity—unusual, significant, but unable to transcend the realities of economics, innovation, and trade” (see also [33]).

3. New resource curses

The vast existing resource curse literature is oriented towards countries with oil, gas and valuable minerals and metals. Some actors now argue that the transition to renewable energy will lead to the reappearance of the resource curse among countries rich in critical materials and/or with large, exportable surpluses of renewable energy [12], [38], [39], [40]. Like some oil producers in the past, their apparent wealth will lead to a weakening rather than a strengthening of their position in the world, it is thought.

This view requires nuancing. Renewable energy for export could potentially require more long-term maintenance of infrastructure, generate more local jobs, and produce more stable revenues than oil and gas have done [41], [42], [43], especially compared to an oil exporter such as Angola, for example, with oil and gas production located offshore and dominated by international oil companies and workers [44].

Oil is also often sold one tanker load at a time in international markets, and subsequently traded and re-traded around the world. By contrast, exported electricity from renewables will more likely be sold to nearby countries on long-term contracts needed to finance the upfront capital expenditure required to build renewable-energy infrastructure. In this regard, renewable energy may have more in common with piped natural gas than with oil.

The assumption of a new resource curse also ignores learning processes among countries handling resource revenues. While much of the literature on the resource curse is based on long timeseries of panel data and assumes that the curse is a stable phenomenon (e.g. [37], [38]), the relationship between society and natural resource revenues may actually have changed over time. One major learning process has been improved design and management of sovereign wealth funds [47], [48], [49]. Exemplifying this trend, both Russia and Saudi Arabia managed to first save petroleum revenues and later disburse them to keep their economies afloat during the dip in oil prices from 2014 to 2018 [50]. Back in the 1980s, neither country had set up its petroleum revenue management to handle this kind of situation. There is little reason why countries rich in renewable-energy resources or critical materials should be at least as well equipped as the Russians and Saudis to manage future revenues.

The energy transition is likely to generate resource revenue windfalls for some countries, and for some of them this could lead to challenges. But a repetition of the resource curse on a large scale is not inevitable.

4. Electricity disruption as a geopolitical weapon

Increased use of renewable energy will lead to higher levels of electrification and increased trade in electricity across borders [51], [52], [53]. Another worry is therefore that interstate electricity cut-offs could become an important foreign policy tool [12], [54], [55]. This worry is often supported by references to historical cases of the use of energy as a foreign policy tool.

A comprehensive study by Fischhendler et al. identifies 38 cases of energy sanctionsbetween 1938 and 2017 [56]. These cases include a broad range of measures, and only a minority of them involve supply disruptions. There are so few past cases of use of electricity as a foreign policy tool that Fischhendler et al. excluded them and limited their study to oil, gas, and coal [56].

The most high-profile past cases of energy sanctions are the oil crises of 1973 and 1979, but the relevance of these to the future use of electricity as a “weapon” is limited because they involved oil transported by tanker over long distances. Compared to solar and wind power distributed by cable, oil on tankers is easier to redirect or hold back and save for later.

The cases most often referred back to at seminars and conferences on the geopolitics of renewable energy are the Russia–Ukraine natural gas conflicts of 2006 and 2009, in which Russia halted the flow of piped gas across its border. However, much of the future international solar and wind power trade will likely involve more symmetrical relationships between different prosumer (producer-consumer) countries than does the unidirectional gas trade (and much past electricity trade). Many countries will produce domestically much of the renewable energy they consume, but trade with neighboring countries to balance their grids against the intermittency of solar and wind power [57]. Thus, prosumer countries will be mutually dependent upon each other [58]. Also gas-exporting and importing countries are mutually dependent, as the exporting countries need security of transit and demand, while the importing countries need security of supply and transit [59]. However, this dependence is more asymmetrical and therefore less stable than prosumer relationships [60].

In some cases, renewable energy trade relationships may be more asymmetric and similar to natural gas trade relationships, with one country always being the importer and another country always being the exporter [56]. However, even in such cases, the nature of the asymmetry may be different, as most net-importer countries will still have the option of developing their own renewables potential and thus face long-term make-or-buy choices [14]. If the political risk premium on imported renewable energy becomes too great, it will lose its competitive edge over domestic alternatives. In other words, renewable energy exporters will often be competing against their own customers and will have to treat them with care.

5. Cybersecurity as a geopolitical risk

The growth of renewable energy is occurring simultaneously with another major development: digitalization. Digitalization can help keep grids balanced, even as large numbers of renewable energy producers raise and lower production depending on the weather [61]. This causes academics, security think tanks, intelligence and security organizations, parliamentary committees, and consultancies to fear that terrorists or the intelligence services of hostile countries may hack the computers that control utilities and grids [39], [62].

Clearly, there is cause for these concerns as society becomes dependent on new technologies and the growing complexity of digital systems for grid management can give rise to new cybersecurity challenges. However, sometimes such concerns are overstated, as in when the potential large-scale hacking of smart meters was likened to “the modern day equivalent of a nuclear strike” [63] cited in [62].

Those who raise concerns about the cyber-security of electricity grids at seminars and conferences often invoke the case of a cyber-attack against three energy distribution companies in Ukraine in 2015 [64]. As a result of this attack, substationsin 30 locations in Western Ukraine were shut down, cutting off the electricity supply to 230 000 people for a period of between 1 and 6 hours [65]. While utilities and electricity distribution networks in many countries are subject to frequent hacking attempts, this is considered to have been the first successful attack on this scale and with such geopolitical significance, foreshadowing the role of cyber-attacks in the future energy system. However, it is worth noting that Ukraine was a special case, comprising unusually dilapidated infrastructure, a high level of corruption, a military conflict with Russia, and exceptional possibilities for Russian infiltrationdue to the historical linkages between the two countries [66]. Despite all these issues, only 0.015% of Ukraine's daily electricity consumption was affected, and only for a few hours [67].

The use and associated risks of electricity are not new per se, as all homes, companies, and institutions in developed countries already depend on electricity grids, and grids have been controlled digitally for decades. It is also probable that increased use of renewable energy will lead to greater decentralization, with millions of prosumer households supplying electricity. This may actually make the system more resilient, as many different units will have to be hacked to destabilize the system as a whole.

Like many pessimistic, policy-oriented forecasts, those concerning digitalization and cybersecurity have merit, but are also potentially self-destructing predictions: the more such predictions are made, the greater the likelihood that incumbents will be encouraged to implement counter-measures. In other words, the predictors are part of the social context about which they are trying to make a prediction and may influence that context in the process.

As a source of policy recommendations, discourse on cybersecurity is therefore clearly useful; as a prediction about the future energy system it is trickier. As one of the rare critical contributions in the cybersecurity field put it, “Moderate and measured takes on cyber security threats are swamped by the recent flood of research and policy positions in the cyber research field offering hyperbolic perspectives based on limited observations” [68] (see also [69]).

6. Conclusions

In three of the four areas discussed above, there is a risk of transposing patterns of behavior from the fossil-fuels dominated energy system of the past onto the renewables-based energy system of the future: great powers have competed to control oil, in the future they will compete over critical materials; there has been a resource curse related to oil, and this will be replicated as a resource curse related to critical materials and renewable-energy exports; countries have used disruptions of oil and gas supplies as geopolitical weapons, now they will start disrupting electricity supplies instead. While some of these phenomena could indeed be reproduced, one cannot assume that they automatically will be.

The underlying challenge is that renewables change the premises for international energy affairs. Because renewable energy resources tend to be more evenly distributed geographically than are fossil and nuclear fuels, the economic and security advantages of access to energy will be more evenly spread among countries, there should be fewer risks related to transportation chokepoints and less reason for great powers to compete over valuable locations. In sum: international energy affairs will become less about locations and resources, and thus less geopolitical in nature. As renewable energy resources are abundant but diffuse, technologies for capturing, storing and transporting them will instead become more important. International energy competition may therefore shift from control over physical resources and their locations and transportation routes to technology and intellectual property rights. This may evolve into something along the lines of the competition in mobile telephony between China (Huawei), South Korea (Samsung), and the United States (Apple). It is not a war, nor is it geopolitics in any strict sense, but there are winners and losers--for example the Finns who used to work for Nokia.

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Rooftop PV has reached grid parity in main EU markets

PV Magazine — Sat, 17 Aug 2019 05:06:00 GMT

Researchers have developed a high-resolution geospatial method of assessing the solar potential of all buildings in the EU and concluded rooftop PV could provide a quarter of the bloc’s electricity needs. The scientists say grid parity for rooftop solar has been reached outside eastern member states with cheap fossil fuel electricity.

If all the rooftops across the European Union able to host solar arrays did so, 680 TWh could be generated, providing 24.4% of the political bloc’s current electricity consumption.

That is the chief finding of a paper entitled A high-resolution geospatial assessment of the rooftop solar photovoltaic potential in the European Union, published on the ScienceDirectwebsite.

The authors of the study combined geospatial and statistical data to assess the technical potential of rooftops for solar energy deployment on every building in the EU. The model, which also used machine learning, was used to quantify the total available rooftop surface for PV systems.

Making the datasets match up

To collect the data, the scientists used a spatial statistical tool to determine correspondence between the European Settlement Map – a dataset mapping human settlement in Europe based on images supplied by the SPOT5 and SPOT6 satellites – and building ownership data.

That comparison showed overestimation by a factor of 2-5 so the researchers also used data from the Corine Land Cover, a computerized inventory of land cover in the 27 European Commission member states and other European countries; and the European Urban Atlas, which provides comparable land use and land cover data for large urban zones. As a result, the researchers were able to adjust their estimations and have more harmonized data.

“The methodology applied over the harmonized, pan-European coverage resulted in the EU-building density map in 100m resolution”, stated the study. Most importantly, the total available roofspace was reduced to surfaces suitable for PV, and solar system losses and module degradation figures were taken into account.

European rooftop PV energy price

The methodology helped the researchers identify EU markets where rooftop PV could generate electricity at a very competitive levelized cost of energy.

“Specific countries such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain stand out in the maps as they host the highest economic potential that translates to more options for advantageous investments,” stated the paper, adding, electricity retail prices of €0.30-0.169/kWh meant rooftop solar could offer electricity savings of 49% in Germany, 44% in Spain, 42% in Italy and 23% in France.

Eastern EU member states such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Estonia, however, were cited as markets with very low retail electricity prices, of €0.095-0.12/kWh.

The rooftop PV analysis identified nine markets where grid-parity is some way off as a result of cheap grid power and all of them are in Eastern Europe: Romania, Poland, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

By contrast, Portugal was highlighted as a market with very favorable conditions, including high solar radiation, good financing availability and high retail electricity prices of around €0.22/kWh.

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Global warming will hit solar panel performance

PV Magazine — Sat, 17 Aug 2019 04:59:00 GMT

A study by scientists at Massachussetts Institute of Technology has considered the potential negative effect of rising global temperatures on solar panel performance.

The researchers calculated that for each degree of global temperature rise, solar modules could lose around 0.45% of output, although they stressed the figure was a representative number.

The calculations were made using the ‘representative concentration pathway 4.5’ warming scenario published by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which envisages CO₂ emissions peaking in 2040 for a global average temperature rise of 1.8 degrees Kelvin by 2100.

Higher temperatures, bigger losses

Although the performance of solar modules would fall everywhere, the worst affected areas would be in the southern United States, southern Africa and central Asia, according to the study.

“We project median reductions in annual energy output of 15 kWh per kWp [of solar system capacity], with reductions up to 50 kWh per kWp in some areas,” wrote the researchers.

The report’s authors said innovative solar module materials and new panel architectures may drive stronger resistance to high temperatures. “For example, materials with a higher band gap such as cadmium telluride have a significantly smaller drop in efficiency,” the paper noted.

A separate report recently stated only an energy system based entirely on zero carbon generation could help keep the rise in global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius, and thus avoid a climate catastrophe.

“The transition in all sectors will reduce the annual greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector continuously, from roughly 30 GtCO₂-eq [gigatons of carbon equivalent] in 2015 to zero by 2050,” that study claimed.

Evolution of pre-cracked PV modules

PVTECH — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 08:30:00 GMT

Cell cracks have been identified as a major cause of defects in PV modules, but their effect on performance is less well understood. Researchers Claudia Buerhop-Lutz, Thilo Winkler, Jens Hauch, Christian Camus and Christoph J. Brabec describe the results of ongoing investigations into how the electrical power of PV modules is impacted by cracking.

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Why solar, wind and EVs will be the death of the petroleum industry

RenewEconomy — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 06:45:00 GMT

A stunning new report from French-based global banking group BNP Paribas signals the death toll for the petrol industry – a mixture of solar, wind and electric vehicles can deliver more than six times the “mobility” returns on each dollar invested than oil.

The report, entitled “Wells, Wires and Wheels”, has been described as “seismic” by the likes of solar pioneer and entrepreneur Jeremy Leggett because he says it demonstrates the huge capital efficiency of wind and solar and EVs over the petroleum industry.

This is because of the low costs of renewables, but also because of the huge losses sustained by petrol and diesel in transportation of the fuel, in refining, and mostly in losses through the engine (most of the energy is lost through heat).

The actual amount of energy delivered to actually move the car or other forms of transport is vastly inferior than renewables and EVs. So much so that the report suggests that the case for renewables and EVs over petroleum investments is “irresistible”.

“We calculate that to get the same amount of mobility from gasoline as from new renewables in tandem with EVs over the next 25 years would cost 6.2x-7x more,” says the report, written by respected analyst Mark Lewis.

“Indeed, even if we add in the cost of building new network infrastructure to cope with all the new wind and/or solar capacity implied by replacing gasoline with renewables and EVs, the economics of renewables still crush those of oil.

“Extrapolating total expenditure on gasoline in 2018 for the next 25 years would see $US25 trillion spent on mobility, whereas we estimate the cost of new renewables projects complete with the enhanced network infrastructure required to match the 2018 level of mobility provided by gasoline every year for the next 25 years at only $US4.6 trillion to $US5.2trillion.”

Further, Lewis suggests that the only way that the petroleum industry could compete with renewables and EVs is if it could extract oil at around $US9-10 a barrel. The problem is, mid point return for most of the oil industry’s planned investments is a price of $US60 a barrel.

And his calculations are based on a rather conservative view of the costs of wind, solar and batteries – ranging from $US60/MWh to $US70/MWh for wind and solar, and modest capacity factors of 25 per cent for onshore wind and 15 per cent for solar. In Australia, those ratios should be doubled for new projects such as the Yandin wind farm (50 per cent) and most solar projects (more than 31 per cent).

Lewis suggests that the oil companies might be better off returning their money to shareholders, rather than continuing as usual.

Lewis also notes that these calculations are even before the climate- change and clean-air benefits, and the public-health benefits that flow from this are taken into account.

He says that while the oil industry has the advantage of incumbency, this may be time limited because of the rapidly changing nature of costs, and because it has never before faced the kind of threat that renewable electricity in tandem with EVs poses to its business model.

These, of course, are a competing energy source that (i) has a short-run marginal cost (SRMC) of zero, (ii) is much cleaner environmentally, (iii) is much easier to transport, and (iv) could readily replace up to 40% of global oil demand if it had the necessary scale.

“We conclude that the economics of oil for gasoline and diesel vehicles versus wind- and solar-powered EVs are now in relentless and irreversible decline, with far-reaching implications for both policymakers and the oil majors,” he notes in his summary.

“If all of this sounds far-fetched, then the speed with which the competitive landscape of the European utility industry has been reshaped over the last decade by the rollout of wind and solar power – and the billions of euros of fossil-fuel generation assets that this has stranded – should be a ashing red light on the oil industry’s dashboard.”

But from that you have to subtract the energy costs of refining, transportation and taxes, and then the refining losses, and finally the engine losses (most petrol cars run at a hopelessly low rate of efficiency of around 20 per cent, and Lewis says that is a generous estimate).

Compare that to solar, below.

For $US100 billion, you could expect to deliver gross energy of 3,249 terawatt hours, while the cost of transportation (per wires rather than pipes and ships) is much reduces, as are the energy losses in networks and the charging and battery losses.

In other words, the net return in “mobility” from the capital invested in petroleum is just 10 per cent of the energy produced. With solar and EVs it is 50 per cent.

That is no contest. And, as Lewis notes, this is without factoring in the huge cot savings from the ecological, social and security benefits of using renewables rather than oil. You know, pollution, climate change and energy security,

Which makes Australia’s energy minister Angus Taylor’s plan to try and lock in a trans-Pacific delivery of emergency petrol supplies as daft as the government’s policy on renewables and electric vehicles – or the lack of them.

“With the economics of road transportation already moving so dramatically in favour of renewables in tandem with EVs, once the other advantages of renewables and EVs over oil as a road-transportation fuel are factored in the case for accelerating the roll-out of renewables capacity becomes unanswerable,” Lewis writes.

“We think that the implications of all this for both policy-makers and the oil majors are clear and compelling,” he says.

For policymakers, the economics of renewables are such now that there is a chance to accelerate the energy transition and the environmental and health bene ts that come with it by providing targeted support to:

– EVs, via tax incentives (as has proven very successful in Norway, for example)

– Charging infrastructure for EVs (the lack of charging infrastructure is a big obstacle to the faster adoption of EVs)

– Energy-storage technologies (as renewables increase their share of overall power generation, storage capacity will be the key to enabling continuing increases in renewables capacity)

Inconvenient Energy Realities

Economics 21 — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 08:36:00 GMT

The math behind “The New Energy Economy: An Exercise in Magical Thinking”

A week doesn’t pass without a mayor, governor, policymaker or pundit joining the rush to demand, or predict, an energy future that is entirely based on wind/solar and batteries, freed from the “burden” of the hydrocarbons that have fueled societies for centuries. Regardless of one’s opinion about whether, or why, an energy “transformation” is called for, the physics and economics of energy combined with scale realities make it clear that there is no possibility of anything resembling a radically “new energy economy” in the foreseeable future. Bill Gates has said that when it comes to understanding energy realities “we need to bring math to the problem.”

He’s right. So, in my recent Manhattan Institute report, “The New Energy Economy: An Exercise in Magical Thinking,” I did just that.

Herein, then, is a summary of some of bottom-line realities from the underlying math. (See the full report for explanations, documentation and citations.)

Realities About the Scale of Energy Demand

1. Hydrocarbons supply over 80% of world energy: If all that were in the form of oil, the barrels would line up from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles, and that entire line would grow by the height of the Washington Monument every week.

2. The small two percentage-point decline in the hydrocarbon share of world energy use entailed over $2 trillion in cumulative global spending on alternatives over that period; solar and wind today supply less than 2% of the global energy.

3. When the world’s four billion poor people increase energy use to just one-third of Europe’s per capita level, global demand rises by an amount equal to twice America’s total consumption.

4. A 100x growth in the number of electric vehicles to 400 million on the roads by 2040 would displace 5% of global oil demand.

5. Renewable energy would have to expand 90-fold to replace global hydrocarbons in two decades. It took a half-century for global petroleum production to expand “only” 10-fold.

6. Replacing U.S. hydrocarbon-based electric generation over the next 30 years would require a construction program building out the grid at a rate 14-fold greater than any time in history.

7. Eliminating hydrocarbons to make U.S. electricity (impossible soon, infeasible for decades) would leave untouched 70% of U.S. hydrocarbons use—America uses 16% of world energy.

8. Efficiency increases energy demand by making products & services cheaper: since 1990, global energy efficiency improved 33%, the economy grew 80% and global energy use is up 40%.

9. Efficiency increases energy demand: Since 1995, aviation fuel use/passenger-mile is down 70%, air traffic rose more than 10-fold, and global aviation fuel use rose over 50%.

10. Efficiency increases energy demand: since 1995, energy used per byte is down about 10,000-fold, but global data traffic rose about a million-fold; global electricity used for computing soared.

11. Since 1995, total world energy use rose by 50%, an amount equal to adding two entire United States’ worth of demand.

12. For security and reliability, an average of two months of national demand for hydrocarbons are in storage at any time. Today, barely two hours of national electricity demand can be stored in all utility-scale batteries plus all batteries in one million electric cars in America.

13. Batteries produced annually by the Tesla Gigafactory (world’s biggest battery factory) can store three minutes worth of annual U.S. electric demand.

14. To make enough batteries to store two-day’s worth of U.S. electricity demand would require 1,000 years of production by the Gigafactory (world’s biggest battery factory).

15. Every $1 billion in aircraft produced leads to some $5 billion in aviation fuel consumed over two decades to operate them. Global spending on new jets is more than $50 billion a year—and rising.

16. Every $1 billion spent on datacenters leads to $7 billion in electricity consumed over two decades. Global spending on datatcenters is more than $100 billion a year—and rising.

Realities About Energy Economics

17. Over a 30-year period, $1 million worth of utility-scale solar or wind produces 40 million and 55 million kWh respectively: $1 million worth of shale well produces enough natural gas to generate 300 million kWh over 30 years.

18. It costs about the same to build one shale well or two wind turbines: the latter, combined, produces 0.7 barrels of oil (equivalent energy) per hour, the shale rig averages 10 barrels of oil per hour.

19. It costs less than $0.50 to store a barrel of oil, or its equivalent in natural gas, but it costs $200 to store the equivalent energy of a barrel of oil in batteries.

20. Cost models for wind and solar assume, respectively, 41% and 29% capacity factors (i.e., how often they produce electricity). Real-world data reveal as much as 10 percentage points less for both. That translates into $3 million less energy produced than assumed over a 20-year life of a 2-MW $3 million wind turbine.

21. In order to compensate for episodic wind/solar output, U.S. utilities are using oil- and gas-burning reciprocating engines (big cruise-ship-like diesels); three times as many have been added to the grid since 2000 as in the 50 years prior to that.

22. Wind-farm capacity factors have improving at about 0.7% per year; this small gain comes mainly from reducing the number of turbines per acre leading to 50% increase in average land used to produce a wind-kilowatt-hour.

23. Over 90% of America’s electricity, and 99% of the power used in transportation, comes from sources that can easily supply energy to the economy any time the market demands it.

24. Wind and solar machines produce energy an average of 25%–30% of the time, and only when nature permits. Conventional power plants can operate nearly continuously and are available when needed.

25. The shale revolution collapsed the prices of natural gas & coal, the two fuels that produce 70% of U.S. electricity. But electric rates haven’t gone down, rising instead 20% since 2008. Direct and indirect subsidies for solar and wind consumed those savings.

Energy Physics… Inconvenient Realities

26. Politicians and pundits like to invoke “moonshot” language. But transforming the energy economy is not like putting a few people on the moon a few times. It is like putting all of humanity on the moon—permanently.

27. The common cliché: an energy tech disruption will echo the digital tech disruption. But information-producing machines and energy-producing machines involve profoundly different physics; the cliché is sillier than comparing apples to bowling balls.

28. If solar power scaled like computer-tech, a single postage-stamp-size solar array would power the Empire State Building. That only happens in comic books.

29. If batteries scaled like digital tech, a battery the size of a book, costing three cents, could power a jetliner to Asia. That only happens in comic books.

30. If combustion engines scaled like computers, a car engine would shrink to the size of an ant and produce a thousand-fold more horsepower; actual ant-sized engines produce 100,000 times less power.

31. No digital-like 10x gains exist for solar tech. Physics limit for solar cells (the Shockley-Queisser limit) is a max conversion of about 33% of photons into electrons; commercial cells today are at 26%.

32. No digital-like 10x gains exist for wind tech. Physics limit for wind turbines (the Betz limit) is a max capture of 60% of energy in moving air; commercial turbines achieve 45%.

33. No digital-like 10x gains exist for batteries: maximum theoretical energy in a pound of oil is 1,500% greater than max theoretical energy in the best pound of battery chemicals.

34. About 60 pounds of batteries are needed to store the energy equivalent of one pound of hydrocarbons.

35. At least 100 pounds of materials are mined, moved and processed for every pound of battery fabricated.

36. Storing the energy equivalent of one barrel of oil, which weighs 300 pounds, requires 20,000 pounds of Tesla batteries ($200,000 worth).

37. Carrying the energy equivalent of the aviation fuel used by an aircraft flying to Asia would require $60 million worth of Tesla-type batteries weighing five times more than that aircraft.

38. It takes the energy-equivalent of 100 barrels of oil to fabricate a quantity of batteries that can store the energy equivalent of a single barrel of oil.

39. A battery-centric grid and car world means mining gigatons more of the earth to access lithium, copper, nickel, graphite, rare earths, cobalt, etc.—and using millions of tons of oil and coal both in mining and to fabricate metals and concrete.

40. China dominates global battery production with its grid 70% coal-fueled: EVs using Chinese batteries will create more carbon-dioxide than saved by replacing oil-burning engines.

41. One would no more use helicopters for regular trans-Atlantic travel—doable with elaborately expensive logistics—than employ a nuclear reactor to power a train or photovoltaic systems to power a nation.

Mark P. Mills is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a McCormick School of Engineering Faculty Fellow at Northwestern University, and author of Work in the Age of Robots, published by Encounter Books.

Unveiling Huawei’s AI Evolution on PV Project

PV Magazine — Wed, 10 Jul 2019 04:24:00 GMT

In the looming shadow of the global 5G revolution, an invisible battle is underway. International energy giants EDF, Enel, ENGIE, and Iberdrola have launched ambitious strategies for the future. From energy production to management, digital technologies promote energy consumption transformation from thermal to renewables such as photovoltaic (PV) and wind power.

After Chinese PV manufacturing industry climbing to the top of the world, millions of people are marching into the final battle to make their PV plants to be grid parity. PV is even more competitive in 2019, as requirements for cost control and data precision of PV plants are fine-tuned from the mechanical watch level to the atomic clock level.

PV Project Powered by AI Engine

By 2018, 170 GW of PV modules were installed in China over a diversity of latitudes, terrains, climates, and solar irradiation. Massive volumes of data are generated from every one of these multiple brands of PV modules and solar inverters, customized design and construction, and large number of maintained components. Huawei has been using PV Big Data to train AI for the past five years.

These past five years, Huawei has shipped 90 GW of string PV inverters worldwide, connecting nearly 330 million PV modules. 1 GW PV plant generates 1 TB (1000 GB) per annum in total. 50 kW inverter, with total 15 million units’ shipments, function as both the eyes and brain of a PV plant. Huawei solar inverter transmits information such as local climate, current, voltage, temperature, and fault alarm to the data center while performing simultaneous edge computing. Leveraging its extensive and intensive experience with big data, Huawei has been cultivating and finally launching the most powerful digital engine for grid parity.

The AI BOOST 1500V FusionSolar Smart PV Solution covers solar inverter, PV module, tracking system, O&M, grid stability, future electricity trading and financing, big data, AI, power electronics, meteorology, and astronomy, and can perform self-learning , continuous optimization, plant health check, fault rectification, equipment evaluation, intelligent solutions, grid stability, and collaborative ecosystem construction.

Electronic, chip, computing, AI, and other digital information technologies simplifying complex problems
Smart trackers controlled by AI algorithms + bifacial PV modules enabling power supply, and communication, reducing CAPEX and maximizing energy yield
Smart I-V diagnosis, AI identification, and online multi-scenario diagnosis help transform O&M towards “autonomous driving”
Huawei AI grid-connection algorithm with active harmonic control adapting to harsh grid environments, maintaining grid connection, and improving plant stability. Huawei helps PV plants shift from simply adapting to the power grid, to supporting it.

AI BOOST 1500V FusionSolar is Huawei’s sixth-generation smart PV solution. The next step in development is integrating solar inverters with next-generation technology over the next three to five years. When AI technology evolves from liberating hands to liberating brains, PV plants will feature truly autonomous O&M.

Collaborating Across Domains towards a Fully Connected, Smart PV World

Currently, the industry integrates advanced technologies such as 1500 V solar inverters + bifacial PV modules + trackers + multiple MPPTs with the most significant goals for grid parity being reducing initial costs and improving yield. Huawei reports that AI data analysis is likely to disrupt traditional design and O&M concepts. Through system integration and AI self-learning, the system was able to obtain the optimal tracking angles of bifacial PV modules in a PV plant at 32°N.

AI accelerates fault rectification of PV plants by 2/3 while fortifying component weaknesses. Among the 5 GW of PV modules that underwent Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis, 54.81% reported diode circuit failure in PV strings. The next two most common faults were abnormal string output currents and string open circuits. Thanks to this information, PV manufacturers can take proactive measures to rectify such faults. This diagnostic tool demonstrates how Huawei has leveraged its years of expertise and experience into its own ICT platform to help customers solve potential problems.

From solar inverters to system solutions, industry ecosystems, and future-oriented energy interconnection and AI in the PV industry, Huawei contributed six generations of evolution into the intelligent era.

Looking to the future, Huawei R&D emerges from its 2012 Laboratories to collaborate with international energy giants such as Enel and EDF on the new landscape of energy restructuring. AI builds grid-friendly PV plants that can automatically learn and adapt to grid features, preventing PV interference.

When asked about Huawei’s biggest contribution to the PV industry, Huawei’s PV technical owner responded, “I think that firstly, Huawei redefines solar inverters. If Huawei had not entered this industry, solar inverters would remain inverters.” Huawei has taken the initiative to transform these simple power components into power-based digital terminals, and it is Huawei who conceptualized full coverage from the grid to the PV digital center.

In 2013, Huawei joined Huanghe Hydropower in launching the smart PV plant. The PV technical owner explained Huawei’s motivation. “In bringing our leading ICT technologies to the PV industry, we aim not only to digitalize PV plants, but also enable the industry to enjoy the high reliability, higher security, and heat dissipation, eLTE wireless, and PLC communication technologies we have built over the past 25 years.” While such breakthroughs might not be revolutionary or proprietary, Huawei has led them to the PV industry and in turn, accelerated its transformation.

While integrating PV with power grid technologies, Huawei also integrates its own structure. Apart from its communications technology departments, the company’s AI, cloud computing and majority of other departments have been introduced into its overall solution. With an overall platform of such importance, Huawei is prioritized and preferred by international customers, who work as partners towards energy digitalization.

This is what the AI BOOST PV project about: structural evolution of the PV industry from a single-dimensional chain to a two-dimensional plane. In the future, a three-dimensional system will comprise complementary PV, multiple energy sources, and power grids. Each breakthrough brings infinite possibilities.

Through internal and external chains, Huawei strives to be the foundation for its customers and joins hands to achieve shared success.

ABB pays up to $470 m to ditch solar converter business

Reuters — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 15:56:00 GMT

ZURICH (Reuters) - ABB (ABBN.S) will pay up to $470 million to hand over its loss-making solar inverter business to Italy’s FIMER SpA, the first big move by interim CEO Peter Voser and a reflection of the tough conditions in the solar industry.

Sales at the inverter business, which makes units that convert direct power from solar panels into alternating current that can be fed into the electricity grid, have plunged since the Swiss engineering company bought it in 2013.

Although solar power is the fastest growing source of electricity generation, equipment prices have plummeted in recent years in the face of Chinese competition and increased production.

ABB declined to say if it had attempted to sell the business before deciding to give it to FIMER but said it expected the operational EBITA margin at its electrification division to rise by more than 50 basis points after the divestment.

“The margin improvement in the future outweighs the cash impact of the transaction,” said ABB spokesman Daniel Smith, who declined to comment on the business’s profitability.

Analysts said the exit showed Voser was getting down to business and that the divestment could be followed by others as ABB looks to trim its operations and ditch under-performing units.

ABB bought the inverter business in 2013 for $620 million when it acquired U.S. solar energy company Power-One Inc, betting that growth in emerging markets would revive the sector. However, sales collapsed from $743 million in 2012 to $290 million in 2018.

Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Kirsten Donovan

ABB will take an after-tax non-operational charge of approximately $430 million in the second quarter of 2019 to get rid of the business, with up to three quarters of the money being cash paid to FIMER.

An extra $40 million will come in separation costs with the deal due to be completed in the first quarter of 2020.

“The divestment is in line with our strategy of ongoing systematic portfolio management to strengthen competitiveness, focus on quality of revenue and higher growth segments,” said Tarak Mehta, President of ABB’s Electrification business, its largest unit since selling the power grids operation to Hitachi last year.

HIGH COST

Analysts viewed the exit positively but said ABB’s foray into the solar industry had cost it dearly, while the price of off-loading the business would weigh on second quarter results.

“ABB’s solar inverter strategy probably cost it close to $1.5 billion in terms of investments, acquisitions, exit costs and ongoing losses since 2013, trying to benefit from the growth in renewables but through commoditized products,” said Andreas Willi at JP Morgan.

ABB’s shares were around 2% lower by 1000 GMT.

Solar power has been boosted by governments and companies increasingly introducing clean energy targets but hardware costs have fallen more than 70% in the last decade.

An average-sized residential system in the U.S. has dropped from $40,000 in 2010 to roughly $18,000 today, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.

Mehta said ABB will continue to integrate solar power into projects like smart buildings, energy storage and electric car charging.

ABB Chairman Voser, the former head of oil company Royal Dutch Shell, took over as the Swiss company’s chief executive in April on an interim basis.

Product recall: SMA calls inProduct recall: SMA

PV Magazine — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 08:24:00 GMT

The inverter maker conducted tests and found the Tigo Energy TS4-R-F-42 could not always supply the rapid shutdown function called for by a new U.S. safety standard when applied in commercial and industrial systems featuring its inverter tech.

SMA is contacting U.S. commercial and industrial customers after discovering problems with Tigo Energy’s TS4-R-F 42 Sunspec Rapid Shutdown device.

Some 28 U.S. states have introduced new NEC2017 690.12 module-level shutdownrequirements. Under the new standard, all conductors within 30cm of an array must lose voltage to 80V or less within 30 seconds of rapid shutdown initiation. One method of complying with the new safety standard is to install module-level power electronics such as rapid shutdown devices.

However, having carried out tests in its lab German inverter maker SMA discovered deviations in some instances from the Sunspec Rapid Shutdown standard when the Tigo product is combined with SMA inverters in commercial and industrial applications.

“The recall only affects a few customers, exclusively in the commercial sector in the USA,” an SMA spokesperson told pv magazine. “We have informed these customers personally and in writing.”

The inverter manufacturer says it is already exchanging affected products with the new TS4-R-F to comply with the standard.

SMA began shipping the TS4-R-F to residential and commercial customers in the U.S. in September. For the U.S. market, SMA sold its Sunny Tripower Core1 string inverter with the TS4-R-F shutdown device for NEC2017 standard compliance.

Diagonismoi APE

EnergyPress — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 06:09:00 GMT

Σε μάλλον ικανοποιητικά για τους επενδυτές επίπεδα φαίνεται ότι έμειναν οι τιμές κατά τους σημερινούς διαγωνισμούς ΑΠΕ. Σύμφωνα με πληροφορίες, στα αιολικά η χαμηλότερη τιμή ήταν στα επίπεδα των 59 ευρώ ανά Μεγαβατώρα και αφορά ένα από τα έργα που προκρίθηκαν, ενώ τα υπόλοιπα έκλεισαν σε τιμές υψηλές, με αποτέλεσμα η μεσοσταθμική τιμή να κινείται λίγο πάνω από τα 67 ευρώ ανά Μεγαβατώρα.

Σύμφωνα με πληροφορίες, έργα τους "πέρασαν" η (υπό κινεζικό έλεγχο) πορτογαλική EDP Renoveis, η Mytilineos, η NOSTIRA, η VOLTERRA, αλλά και ο Όμιλος Καράτζη.

Σε ότι αφορά τα φωτοβολταϊκά, οι κατώτερες τιμές κινήθηκαν στα επίπεδα των 61,5 ευρώ ανά Μεγαβατώρα, με αρκετά έργα να "πέρασαν" με τιμές υψηλότερες. Σημαντική ισχύ κατάφερε να εξασφαλίσει ο Όμιλος Παναγάκου (περίπου 75 Μεγαβάτ), ενώ επιτυχής φαίνεται ότι ήταν και η προσπάθεια της ΔΕΗ Ανανεώσιμες για 15 MW.

Η σημερινή διαδικασία ξεκίνησε με ανώτερη τιμή 69,26 ευρώ ανά Μεγαβατώρα στα φωτοβολταϊκά και 69,18 ευρω ανά Μεγαβατώρα στα αιολικά. Σύμφωνα με εκτιμήσεις παραγόντων του κλάδου, το γεγονός ότι ήταν μικρός ο αριθμός των συμμετεχόνων και το επίπεδο ανταγωνισμού στο 40% (από 75% που ήταν προηγουμένως) επέδρασε έτσι ώστε να κρατηθούν σχετικά ψηλά οι τιμές.

Αυτό έχει ιδιαίτερη σημασία και για τους επενδυτές που θα κατέβουν στον επόμενο διαγωνισμό, καθώς η τιμή εκκίνησης θα διαμορφωθεί από το μέσο όρο της σημερινής τιμής εκκίνησης και της μεσοσταθμικής του σημερινού διαγωνισμού.

Νωρίτερα το energypress έγραφε:

Χαμηλά οι τιμές, μικρή η συμμετοχή στους σημερινούς διαγωνισμούς ΑΠΕ – Δεν «απελευθερώνει» ισχύ το αδειοδοτικό πλαίσιο

Το παράδοξο φαινόμενο να υπάρχουν στους διάφορους σταθμούς της αδειοδοτικής διαδικασίας επενδυτικά σχέδια ΑΠΕ, αιολικά και φωτοβολταϊκά, που αθροίζουν δεκάδες GW, αλλά στους διαγωνισμούς να «κατεβαίνουν» λιγότερα ακόμα και από την μεγίστη δημοπρατούμενη ισχύ που έβγαλε η ΡΑΕ, έρχεται στο προσκήνιο με τους δύο ανά τεχνολογία διαγωνισμούς που πραγματοποιούνται σήμερα.

Η μέγιστη δημοπρατούμενη ισχύς που είχε θέσει η ΡΑΕ ήταν 300 MW για αιολικά (έκαστο έως 50 MW) και 300 MW για φωτοβολταϊκά (έκαστο έως 20 MW), σε μια ενιαία κατηγορία πλέον και όχι σε δύο.

Σύμφωνα με τους οριστικούς καταλόγους που δημοσίευσε η Αρχή, όσον αφορά τα φωτοβολταϊκά ο συνολικός αριθμός των έργων που κατεβαίνει ανέρχεται στα 68 με την συνολική ισχύ της κατηγορίας να φτάνει τα 200 MW.

Αντίστοιχα στα αιολικά, έχουμε συνολικά 12 έργα που κατεβαίνουν, συνολικής ισχύος 261,75 MW.

Με βάση τον κανόνα ανταγωνιστικότητας του 40% που εφαρμόζεται πλέον (από 75% που ήταν), η ισχύς που τελικά θα δοθεί δεν μπορεί να είναι μεγαλύτερη από 143 MW στα φωτοβολταϊκά και από 189 MW στα αιολικά.

Σύμμφωνα με τα στελέχη της αγοράς που συνομίλησε το energypress, η μικρή συμμετοχή έργων στους διαγωνισμούς οφείλεται αποκλειστικά στο γεγονός ότι η αδειοδοτική διαδικασία παραμένει πολύπλοκη, με αποτέλεσμα, ενώ στους αδειοδοτικούς γύρους της ΡΑΕ υποβάλλονται πάρα πολλά σχέδια, η συντριπτική πλειοψηφία τους λιμνάζει σήμερα, αθροίζοντας αρκετά GW «εν αναμονή». Δεν υπάρχουν λοιπόν ώριμα έργα για να κατέβουν στους διαγωνισμούς.

Το θέμα απασχολεί έντονα τη ΡΑΕ η οποία βρίσκεται στη διαδικασία επεξεργασίας νέου μοντέλου αδειοδότησης, με πολλές παρεμβάσεις απλούστευσης της διαδικασίας.

Η προσοχή στη σημερινή ανταγωνιστική διαδικασία στρέφεται στις τιμές που θα προσφερθούν. Στις τιμές εκκίνησης πάντως, έχει επιτευχθεί πολύ σημαντική μείωση σε σχέση με την αρχή του 2018. Η σημερινή διαδικασία ξεκινάει με ανώτερη τιμή 69,26 ευρώ ανά Μεγαβατώρα στα φωτοβολταϊκά και 69,18 ευρω ανά Μεγαβατώρα στα αιολικά.

Γεγονός είναι, δε, ότι οι ΑΠΕ καθίστανται σταδιακά οικονομικότερες από τις συμβατικές μονάδες όσον αφορά το κόστος του ρεύματος.

Από ανάλυση της ΟΤΣ του 2018 προκύπτει ότι η μέση τιμή για το 60% ωρών του 2018 ήταν πάνω από το 58,58ευρώ ανά Μεγαβατώρα που ήταν η μεσοσταθμική τιμή του διαγωνισμού των αιολικών του Δεκεμβρίου. Το δεύτερο εξάμηνο του 2018 μάλιστα, το 96,2% των ωρών η Οριακή Τιμή Συστήματος βρέθηκε πάνω από τα 58,58 ευρώ.

Xamiloni to orio: Fotovoltaika >=400KW sto Target model

Energypress — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 06:01:00 GMT

Μια σημαντική αλλαγή που επηρεάζει άμεσα τους σχεδιασμούς των επενδυτών που συμμετέχουν ή θέλουν να συμμετάσχουν στην φωτοβολταϊκή αγορά, έχει δρομολογήσει η Ε.Ε. και πρόκειται σύντομα να νομοθετηθεί και στη χώρα μας.

Πρόκειται συγκεκριμένα για το όριο πάνω από το οποίο οι φωτοβολταϊκοί σταθμοί υποχρεώνονται να συμμετάσχουν στις υποχρεώσεις που προκύπτουν από το target model.

Το όριο αυτό ήταν μέχρι τώρα τα 500 KW. Οι πληροφορίες από τις υπηρεσίες του ΥΠΕΝ αναφέρουν ότι η απόφαση σε ευρωπαϊκό επίπεδο ελήφθη ήδη και το όριο κατεβαίνει στα 400 KW για νέα φωτοβολταϊκά έργα από 1ης Ιανουαρίου του 2020. Θα ακολουθήσει και η εναρμόνιση της ελληνικής νομοθεσίας.

Συνεπώς ο ΔΑΠΕΕΠ θα υπογράφει Συμβάσεις Ενίσχυσης Σταθερής Τιμής (ΣΕΣΤ) για νέα πάρκα μέχρι 400 KW, ενώ τα πάνω από 400 KW θα έχουν Συμβάσεις Ενίσχυσης Διαφορικής Προσάυξησης (ΣΕΔΠ).

Οι υποχρεώσεις του target model για τους έχοντες ΣΕΔΠ αφορούν ως γνωστόν τη συμμετοχή στην προημερήσια αγορά (σε ότι αφορά την ενέργεια και όχι την τιμή) και στην εξισορρόπηση, η οποία έχει κόστος για τον επενδυτή, το κόστος των αποκλίσεων. Επιπλέον κόστος είναι βεβαίως η σύμβαση με Φορέα Σωρευτικής Εκπροσώπησης (ΦΟΣΕ) προκειμένου να είναι ο επενδυτής εντάξει με τις υποχρεώσεις του.

Η μείωση του ορίου πάντως στα 400 KW, είναι άσχετη από την συμμετοχή ή μη σε διαγωνισμούς ΡΑΕ και επίσης άσχετο με το αν η φωτοβολταϊκή μονάδα αφορά εταιρεία ή Ενεργειακή Κοινότητα.

Πρέπει όμως να σημειωθεί ότι η αλλαγή του ορίου συμπιέζει έτι περαιτέρω τις δυνατότητες ανάπτυξης των μικρομεσαίων επενδυτών στον τομέα των φωτοβολταϊκών. Συνεπώς γίνεται ακόμα πιο πειστικό το αίτημα των επενδυτών για «χαλάρωση» των περιορισμών που έχουν τεθεί για τα εκτός διαγωνισμού ΡΑΕ φωτοβολταϊκά έργα που δικαιούνται. Όπως έχει γράψει το energypress, το αίτημα αφορά την ελαστικοποίηση του περιορισμού των δύο μονάδων ανά φυσικό πρόσωπο, πολλώ δε μάλλον όταν τα 400 kW είναι ακόμα δυσκολότερο να ανταγωνιστούν σε διαγωνισμούς ΡΑΕ τα μεγάλα φωτοβολταϊκά πάρκα.

Πληροφορίες αναφέρουν, τέλος, ότι υπάρχει επίσης απόφαση της Ε.Ε., σύμφωνα με την οποία δίνεται η δυνατότητα στις χώρες – μέλη, εφόσον το επιθυμούν, να συνεχίσουν την ισχύ των υφιστάμενων εγκεκριμένων συστημάτων στήριξης των ΑΠΕ και μετά το τέλος του 2020 για τη διετία 2021 κιαι 2022.

Σχετικά:

ΚΑΝΟΝΙΣΜΟΣ (ΕΕ) 2019/943 ΤΟΥ ΕΥΡΩΠΑΪΚΟΥ ΚΟΙΝΟΒΟΥΛΙΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟΥ της 5ης Ιουνίου 2019 σχετικά με την εσωτερική αγορά ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας (αναδιατύπωση)

ΟΔΗΓΙΑ (ΕΕ) 2018/2001 ΤΟΥ ΕΥΡΩΠΑΪΚΟΥ ΚΟΙΝΟΒΟΥΛΙΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟΥ της 11ης Δεκεμβρίου 2018 για την προώθηση της χρήσης ενέργειας από ανανεώσιμες πηγές (αναδιατύπωση)

UK scientists observe LID in action

PV Magazine — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 06:45:00 GMT

Light-induced degradation (LID) has been a thorn in the side of solar manufacturers for decades, preventing full utilization of the impressive efficiency gains solar technology has achieved in recent years. And since the passivated emitter rear cell (PERC) concepts that now represent the mainstream in solar production are particularly vulnerable to LID effects, the issue has become even more important.

Without treatment, LID can cause as much as 10% relative efficiency loss in the first month after installation, and while treatments are available and widely used on production lines, these do not eliminate the issue entirely. And when another degradation mechanism, light elevated temperature induced degradation, is factored, the issue becomes yet more complex.

A team of scientists at the University of Manchester in the UK now says it has identified a previously unknown material defect which is responsible for LID. This defect lies dormant in the material until exposed to sunlight, when it creates a “trap” that impedes the flow of electrons, reducing the efficiency of the cell via a process the University of Manchester calls trap-assisted Auger recombination.

The process and the methods employed to identify it are described in the paper Identification of the mechanism responsible for the boron oxygen light induced degradation in silicon photovoltaic cells, published in the Journal of Applied Physics.

“Flow of electrons is what determines the size of the electrical current that a solar cell can deliver to a circuit, anything that impedes it effectively reduces the solar cell efficiency and amount of electrical power that can be generated for a given level of sunlight,” explained Iain Crowe, associate professor at Manchester University’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. “We’ve proved the defect exists, it’s now an engineering fix that’s needed.”

The researchers also noted that the defect is reversible, with the material’s carrier lifetime increasing again when heated in the dark — which fits in with industry knowledge of LID and the current processes used to mitigate it.

The researchers say they will now extend their observations to include a range of different concentrations of boron and oxygen — interactions between which are responsible for the LID effect, to better understand how the process is initiated.

Shunfeng’s steadily rising revenue cannot distract from its debt worries

PV Magazine — Sat, 04 May 2019 03:58:00 GMT

The solar world is likely to have been somewhat taken aback as troubled manufacturer Yingli revealed the extent of its groaning debt pile to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday.

When it came to the publishing of the 2018 annual accounts of fellow Chinese major Shunfeng today, the Hong Kong-listed entity took a somewhat more traditional approach to keeping its shareholders up to date.

Chairman Zhang Fubo’s summary painted a picture of a solar manufacturer and project developer making steady progress after reacting to last year’s decision to reduce Chinese PV subsidies by wisely diversifying into overseas markets.

There were rises in revenue across all four sectors of the business at Shunfeng International Clean Energy, explained Zhang, with solar raw materials revenue up 2.3% year on year to RMB8.43 billion (US$1.25 billion); solar power generation returns rising 4.8% to RMB1.38 billion; the income from solar plant operations and maintenance services up 7.5% to RMB137 million; and Shunfeng’s LED unit seeing a 4.5% improvement to RMB334.5 million.

Success in overseas markets

That all added up, said an apparently contented chairman, to an overall rise in revenue of 2.7% on the 2017 figures as Shunfeng raked in RMB10.29 billion, with the company owning 1.5 GW of installed PV capacity and having generated 1.76 TWh of solar power last year.

“Success is not final and challenge is not fatal,” purred Mr Zhang, sagely.

The verdict of the management board was similarly positive, with the volume of module exports up 33.4% on 2017, to 3.3GWh, for a 17% year on year revenue rise to RMB6.92 billion despite an average selling price (ASP) 12.5% lower, at RMB2.1 per watt. Admittedly cell revenue tumbled 41.6% to RMB1.17 billion on the back of a 12.9% fall in shipment volumes and an ASP one-third lower at RMB1/W, and wafer income was down 13.2% to RMB19 million on a 9.3% reduction in shipment levels but look at the progress made in selling products outside China.

Some 74.9% of Shunfeng’s sales were to Chinese customers in 2017 but that figure had come down to 53.7% in just a year to prove that when it comes to the emerging markets, Shunfeng walks the walk, even if the change drove up distribution and selling expenses 74.1% to RMB1.85 billion during the period.

Even with those reverses, Shunfeng reported gross profits of RMB1.85 billion, up 17.2% on 2017. Happy days! So why was there not only no dividend but a “loss for the year” figure of RMB1.7 billion, up 104.6% from 2017, to leave Shunfeng “group in a negative net cash position”?

And now the bad news…

And therein lies the rub. Dive down into the blue pages of the 241-page annual report – the section prepared by auditors Deloitte – and the story is a familiar one as steady progress is replaced by talk of “material uncertainty” and measures being drawn up to keep creditors at bay.

According to the auditor, Shunfeng’s liabilities at the end of last year exceeded its assets by more than RMB7.58 billion, with a further RMB420 million of commitments made on top.

A HK$2.5 billion (US$318 million) chunk of those borrowings is owed to Sino Alliance Capital Ltd and was due to mature at the end of March. However, settlement is now dependent on Shunfeng completing the sale of its Jiangsu Shunfeng Photovoltaic Technology Co Ltd unit to the Asia Pacific Resources Development Ltd business owned by one of its significant shareholders, Cheng Kin Ming, by the end of June.

Shunfeng was due to have settled HK$600 million of that debt at the end of March – although there is no confirmation that took place in the 2018 figures – and will have to find a further HK$700 million by the end of June. The balance of the debt, provided the sale completes, will then be taken on by Cheng, who will also pay Shunfeng RMB1.94 billion in cash and wipe out monies he is owed under one of the two Shunfeng corporate bonds he holds.

If that deal goes through, is Shunfeng out of the woods? Not quite, as the solar manufacturer would then have to settle the HK$980 million it owes China Minsheng Banking Corp, the deadline for which has been extended, but only until August. There are also further short term borrowings of RMB3 billion, RMB145 million of which have already matured and had their payment deadline extended. And let’s not forget a further RMB1.09 billion of other loans for which “certain financial covenants” have been broken, permitting lenders to call in instant payment, if they so wish.

Failed shares subscription

Plus there is a three-year corporate bond worth RMB550 million which has had its maturity date extended until November 9, not to mention the RMB284 million bond which was due to mature on March 22 and for which no mention of the outcome was made in the accounts.

Shunfeng’s stated optimism that it can persuade its Chinese backers to have patience with its turnaround plans is undoubtedly well placed, especially given Beijing’s recent demand that lenders do everything in their power to encourage PV development. And that proposed disposal of Jiangsu Shunfeng would ease matters.

However, shareholders will be fully aware a proposed HK$1.62 billion shares subscription by the CAM SPC fund that materialized in December – and would most likely have prompted a full takeover offer – came to nothing. More alarming is the fact that proposed subscription, which lapsed at the end of March, is still listed as one of the two central planks in the Shunfeng board’s strategy to pay down its crippling debts – the other being the Jiangsu Shunfeng disposal.

Plan B, said the board, would involve a sale of PV plants and subsidiaries and persuading lenders to continue rolling over portions of a debt pile that adds up to RMB13.6 billion.

Challenge may not be fatal, but a gearing position of 77.9% just might be

Huawei remained world’s largest inverter provider in 2018

PV Magazine — Fri, 03 May 2019 07:41:00 GMT

Huawei, Sungrow and SMA were, in that order, the three largest inverter providers in terms of shipments last year, according to a report from analyst Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables.

The dominant trio have held the same positions since 2016, with Huawei securing top rank for the fourth year in a row. The WoodMac analysts said the top five inverter makers – rounded out by Power Electronics and ABB – saw their combined market share fall last year for the first time in six years, with the most dominant players seeing their share fall from 62% in 2017 to 56%. Their rivals appear to be gaining ground, with the market share held by the companies placed sixth to tenth on the list improving from 15% to 19% in the same period.

Although global inverter shipment volumes rose 8% – year-on-year – in 2018, Huawei saw its market share fall 4%, due to the decision by China to rein in public solar subsidies. The importance of that about-turn was reflected by a similar dampening effect on shipments at Huawei’s domestic rivals, according to the report.

Who will fall by the wayside?

“As customers continue to buy inverters primarily based on price, and low cost vendors continue to dominate, it remains to be seen which companies will exit the inverter market and which will drive its growth,” the authors of the WoodMac report wrote. “Some companies are now looking to differentiate on residential and commercial offerings and some may opt to exit utility scale PV entirely, as Schneider Electric did several months ago.”

The report revealed that Israel’s SolarEdge and Spain’s Ingeteam broke into the top 10 for the first time, in eighth and ninth places, with Power Electronics and ABB becoming the fourth and fifth largest manufacturers, respectively. Sixth and seventh places were occupied by Sineng and Godwee and another Chinese company, TBEA Sunoasis, completed the top ten.

The Asia-Pacific region once again accounted for the biggest slice of the market last year, with around 64% of total shipments. “The U.S. and Canada had 21% growth in PV inverter shipments, [there was] approximately 40% [growth] in both Latin America and the Middle [Eastern-African] and Turkey (MEA) [markets], and 50% [growth] in Europe,” the report noted.

https://youtu.be/IIPs0Pqa7RE

German agro PV trial shows up to 186% land use efficiency

Renewables Now — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 15:02:00 GMT

A project in Germany testing the agrophotovoltaic (APV) concept has shown a land use efficiency of 160% in 2017 and as much as 186% in 2018, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE said Friday.

The “Agrophotovoltaics – Resource Efficient Land Use (APV-RESOLA)” project evaluated the benefits of producing both solar power and crops on arable land near Lake Constance. The partners in the project installed a solar system of 194 kW on a five-meter-high structure on land used to grow winter wheat, potatoes, clover and celery. Land use efficiency was very high in 2018 because the partial shading provided by the PV panels helped boost the agricultural yield in the very hot summer. Solar power generation also grew because of the abundance of sunlight.

In 2018, the yields from three of the four crops grown under the panels were above the reference yield. For celery and winter wheat the project showed gains of 12% and 3%, respectively, compared to the reference, while for clover there was a reduction of 8%.

“We can assume that the shade under the semi-transparent solar modules enabled the plants to better endure the hot and dry conditions of 2018,” agricultural scientist Andrea Ehmann explained. Her colleague Axel Weselek said that the project confirms the potential for APV in arid regions, while calling for trials in other climate regions and with other types of crops.

Solar irradiation beneath the PV system was roughly 30% less than the reference field. In spring and summer, the soil temperature was lower than on the reference field, while the temperature of air remained the same. In the hot and dry summer, the soil moisture in the wheat crop was higher than the reference field, while in the winter months, it was lower.

Fraunhofer ISE is already working on several projects to bring the APV concept to threshold and developing countries, as well as to find new applications. It said cutting evaporation has helped achieve up to 40% higher yields for tomatoes and cotton crops in a project in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

Besides reducing evaporation and helping lower temperatures, PV modules can also help harvest rainwater. At the same time, in order to make agriculture even greener, the solar power produced by APV systems can be used to charge electric vehicles (EVs), whose use at farms is growing. Fully battery-electric operated tractors are already available.

Financing for the APV-RESOLA project came from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and FONA. Fraunhofer ISE partnered in it with BayWa re Solar Projects GmbH, Electrizitaetswerke Schoenau, Demeter farm cooperative Heggelbach, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Regional Association of Bodensee-Upper Swabia, and the University of Hohenheim.

SMA posts €175 million loss for 2018

PV Magazine — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 06:19:00 GMT

German inverter manufacturer SMA Solar Technology AG saw its sales drop from €891.0 million in 2017 to €760.9 million last year. The company partly attributed its poor performance to China’s abrupt policy change in late May 2018, claiming that the shift has exacerbated price pressure in the global PV market. As a result, it registered a net loss of €175.5 million for last year, down considerably down from the net profit of €30.1 million it posted a year earlier.

The company stated that it still has high net liquidity of €305.5 million and a credit line of €100 million from German banks. But it also explained that the policy change in China was not solely responsible for its grim results.

“Having started the fiscal year with a high order backlog, the continuing shortage of electronic components meant that in the first half of the year, we were only able to supply our customers to a limited extent, particularly in the commercial PV systems segment,” said SMA CEO Jürgen Reinert.

In the second half of 2018, SMA identified policy changes in China — as well as price pressure in all market segments — as key factors that negatively impacted its results. But it also said that many project developers and investors have postponed their PV projects in anticipation of further price declines. “In addition, storage technology growth was affected by the limited availability of battery-storage systems,” said Reinert.

Last year, SMA launched a cost-cutting program to help it ramp up sales and quickly return to profitability. The subsequent decision to sell off its Chinese subsidiaries has already been completed, Reinert said. Efforts to reduce its workforce in Germany were designed to be more socially acceptable through a “volunteer program,” leading it to announce plans in mid-December 2018 to cut 425 full-time jobs throughout the world by 2020. The cuts amount to around 13% of all jobs in the company.

It remains unclear whether SMA will be able to pull off a quick turnaround. In the first quarter of 2019, the company’s board said that it expects sales of €160 million to €170 million, which is slightly below the previous year’s total. It also expects an Ebidta of between -€5 and €0 million, on top of an anticipated profit of €17.5 million.

At the end of January, SMA’s board also confirmed its forecast for the current financial year. It is aiming for sales of between €800 million and €880 million, with an Ebitda ranging from €20 million to €50 million.

Shunfeng is selling Wuxi Suntech

PVTECH — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 07:04:00 GMT

Diversified renewables firm Shunfeng International Clean Energy (SFCE) is close to an agreement to sell its manufacturing operations, which include Wuxi Suntech, as well as other international operations, including power plant monitoring firm, meteocontrol to reduce debts of RMB12,295.3 million (US$1.83 billion).

A new deal has been struck with major shareholder in SFCE and Hong Kong property tycoon, Kin Ming Cheng for RMB 3,000 million (US$446.94 million). Two previous valuations had put the purchase price at US$760 million in mid-2016, lowered to RMB4.7 billion (US$684.24 million), in 2018.

However, the new Sale and Purchase Agreement will include part of a loan facility provided by Sino Alliance to SFCE that was assigned to manufacturing operations, including Wuxi Suntech. Kin Ming Cheng’s new business entity is expected to assume HK$1,200 million (US$152.8 million) of the total debt of HK$ 2,500 million (US$318.5 million).

The agreement includes a total of 500MW of solar wafer production capacity, 4,900MW of solar cell capacity and 3,000MW of module assembly capacity. Also included are PV power plants in four countries outside China with a total capacity of 21.09MW.

PV Tech recently reported that SFCE expected to report a loss in 2018 of approximately US$254 million, due to PV product ASP declines and impairment charges to its manufacturing operations.
SFCE had losses of RMB 67.2 million (US$10.65 million) in 2017, down from RMB 1,717.6 million in 2016.

The deal is subject to an EGM being held.

Shunfeng forecasts $255m loss for 2018

PV Magazine — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 16:24:00 GMT

Hong Kong-based solar manufacturer Shunfeng International Clean Energy – which suffered a $125 million loss during the Chinese solar boom in 2017 – has warned shareholders to brace themselves for losses of $255 million from last year.

The anticipated result is based on the company’s preliminary review of its unaudited results for 2018. The Hong Kong-listed group said a 16.8% year-on-year jump in sales of its solar equipment was offset by a 12.6% decline in the average selling price of products. Shunfeng described competition in the PV market as “intense”.

“The board resolved to recognize a provision for impairment of approximately RMB777.7 million [$116 million] for the property, plant and equipment and the goodwill of the solar products manufacturing segment,” Shunfeng said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The PV manufacturer and project developer added solar panel production unit Wuxi Suntech Power will probably not bring in enough taxable income over the near term. The parent will therefore recognize a reversal of deferred income tax assets of about $11 million for the year.

In September, Shunfeng reported a hefty net loss of around $172 million for the first half of 2018. Sales of its PV products throughout the first six months reached approximately 1.9 GW, said the company. Shunfeng followed its dismal earnings announcement by signalling plans to sell manufacturing subsidiary Jiangsu Shunfeng Photovoltaic Technology to Asia Pacific Resources Development Investment.

European PV market grew 36% to reach 11 GW in 2018

PV Magazine — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 16:31:00 GMT

New solar installations in the European Union reached around 8 GW last year, marking a 36% increase on 2017, when the bloc installed 5.9 GW.

The wider continent, including Turkey and Russia, also increased the rate of installation, to hit 11 GW, up 20% from the 9.2 GW recorded a year earlier, according to a statement by trade association Solarpower Europe.

“It is good to see Europe fully embracing solar again,” said Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of the body. “With solar being the most popular energy source among EU citizens, the most versatile and often also the lowest-cost power generation source, and with cost reductions continuing, we are only at the beginning of a long upward trend for solar in Europe.”

According to the association’s policy director, Aurélie Beauvais, the upwards trend is the result of the EU’s 2020 renewable energy targets. She also lauded Clean Energy Package legislation as a policy framework which can set the stage for significant solar growth.

Removing the minimum import tariff applied to Chinese solar panels also helped reduce the cost of solar, making it the solution of choice for member states to meet national climate and energy plans, said Beauvais.

Germany and Spain will jostle for dominance

Last year, Germany was the biggest market in Europe, with 2.96 GW of new solar installed, an annual increase of 68%. Turkey ranked second, with 1.64 GW, after 2.59 GW in 2017, but new tenders have been postponed. Companies participating in the latest 1 GW procurement have asked to postpone the exercise against the backdrop of a severe currency devaluation which puts financing at risk.

The Netherlands has warmed to the notion of renewables after an EU report said Dutch clean energy lagged its peers in 2017. Last year, the Netherlands joined the ‘gigawatt club’ with around 1.4 GW of new solar – annual growth of almost 100%. PV made up 72% of the autumn round of the country’s SDE+ renewable energy stimulation program – for around 3.7 GW of capacity.

The European market is bound for bigger growth this year as the wave of subsidy free projects washing southern Iberia – helped by low equipment prices – is expected to lift Spain into the driving seat of Europe’s solar market. France has also recently committed to a more ambitious renewable energy development plan, and forecasts almost 3 GW per year for the next six years.

Analysts at IHS Markit have just released a report in which they estimate the European market will grow to 18 GW of installations this year.

Fire risk from rooftop PV

PV Magazine — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 08:31:00 GMT

Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency has warned homeowners of fire risks from residential PV systems.

In a report published by its Consumer Safety Investigation Commission, the agency said 127 fire accidents related to rooftop solar systems were recorded in the years 2008-2017. Seven led to burnt roofs, after installations were laid on surfaces which included combustible materials, the report revealed. According to the report, an estimated 110,000 residential PV system owners in Japan – of around 2.4 million in total – have deployed installations on rooftops which include combustible materials, and they should conduct continuous inspections.

The report also highlighted specific fire incidents, showing pictures of burnt cable, panels and roofs. According to the study, however, the fire came from modules or cables in only 13 cases.

The Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA) told pv magazine it will take the matter seriously and will hold a press conference on Tuesday. “[The] JPEA has to deal with this as carefully as possible so that Japanese people should not bear [a] negative image in mind about solar PV generation, and in view of solar PV users’ protection,” the association stated.

The JPEA has also published a document containing instructions on avoiding fire incidents. The industry body added, the fire risk issue should not be used as an argument against Japan’s transition towards clean energy. “Some media are exaggerating the matter, too much,” it said.

China installed 44.1 GW of solar in 2018, according to official NEA data

PV Magazine — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 09:09:00 GMT

The Chinese PV market saw the deployment of around 44.1 GW of capacity according to official data published over the weekend by the National Energy Administration (NEA).

That is around 500 MW more than the 43.6 GW announced by the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) last week.

The NEA revealed China’s cumulative installed PV capacity reached around 174.63 GW at the end of December, while that of wind power surpassed 184.2 GW. The authority reports nuclear power reached 44.66 GW capacity, thermal power 1,143.6 GW and hydro 352.36 GW.

In 2017, the volume of newly installed PV capacity was a record 52.83 GW, according to NEA figures.

In presenting its own statistics last week, the CPIA said that of the 43.6 GW of solar deployed in 2018, around 10 GW was represented by distributed generation.

2019 PV installations to hit 123 GW, global balance shifting, says IHS Markit

PV Magazine — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 07:47:00 GMT

Overall, it sees new capacity additions growing 18% on 2018 to reach 123 GW next year, which is more positive than PV InfoLink’s recent estimates that the market will see 112 GW added.

While China currently comprises around half of the global market, its dominance is set to diminish, says Edurne Zoco, research director, solar and energy storage, with predictions that two thirds of new capacity will be located outwith its borders.

Instead, she sees either the revival or emergence of several other markets. These comprise Argentina, Egypt, South Africa, Spain and Vietnam, which are set to account for 7% of the 2019 market, or 7 GW of new capacity.

“PV is becoming more distributed geographically, with annual PV installations growing by more than 20 percent in 45 country markets,” she writes.

In the United States, which is currently the second largest solar PV market, Zoco says that installations will grow an impressive 28% next year, as developers scramble to roll out project pipelines in time for the 30% investment tax credit deadline next December.

“An even larger share of the pipeline will only be partially initiated through module shipments in order to meet the safe harbor requirements that extend the 30 percent ITC if at least 5 percent of the components have been procured,” she believes.

Looking to the manufacturing side, which has been heavily impacted by China’s 31/5 policy change, IHS Markit says that there will be limited capacity announcements across the supply chain. Instead, higher utilization rates are expected, which should help ease the current overcapacity situation.

In terms of prices, while they collapsed in the second half of this year, thanks to continued strong demand from outside of China, particularly in Mexico, Vietnam and Spain, price erosion for shipments in the first half of 2019 is said to have slowed.

“Many international developers have advanced their procurement, fearing that the upcoming new solar policy in China could affect module availability from tier-one players in the international market,” said Zoco.

Speaking to pv magazine recently, Jenny Chase head of solar analysis at BloombergNEF said that average global module prices are currently around 23-26 U.S. cents per W. “We expect a drop of 10-15% by the end of 2019 due to oversupply and cost pressure, with an average price paid by developers of utility-scale plants of about 23 cents,” she added.

ΠΟΛ 1221/2018 - Απόσβεση κόστους συναφούς με την ενεργειακή απόδοση ή εξοικονόμηση νερού

Fri, 14 Dec 2018 10:13:00 GMT

Καθορισμός των προϋποθέσεων, των όρων, των διαδικασιών και κάθε άλλης αναγκαίας λεπτομέρειας για την εφαρμογή των διατάξεων της παραγράφου 10 του άρθρου 24 του ν. 4172/2013 (ΦΕΚ 167 Α΄).

ΟΙ ΥΠΟΥΡΓΟΙ ΟΙΚΟΝΟΜΙΚΩΝ -
ΠΕΡΙΒΑΛΛΟΝΤΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΝΕΡΓΕΙΑΣ -
Ο ΔΙΟΙΚΗΤΗΣ ΤΗΣ ΑΝΕΞΑΡΤΗΤΗΣ
ΑΡΧΗΣ ΔΗΜΟΣΙΩΝ ΕΣΟΔΩΝ

Έχοντας υπόψη:

Α) Τις διατάξεις:

1. Της περίπτωσης γ’ της παραγράφου 10 του άρθρου 24 του ν. 4172/2013 (Α΄ 167), όπως αυτές προστέθηκαν με τις διατάξεις της παραγράφου 1 του άρθρου 117 του ν. 4549/2018 (Α΄ 105).

2. Του π.δ. 70/2015 (Α΄ 114) «Ανασύσταση των Υπουργείων [...] και του Υπουργείου Παραγωγικής Ανασυγκρότησης, Περιβάλλοντος και Ενέργειας σε Υπουργείο Περιβάλλοντος και Ενέργειας. Μεταφορά της Γενικής Γραμματείας Βιομηχανίας στο Υπουργείο Ανάπτυξης και Τουρισμού».

3. Του π.δ. 73/2015 (Α΄ 116) «Διορισμός Αντιπροέδρου Κυβέρνησης, Υπουργών, Αναπληρωτών Υπουργών και Υφυπουργών».

4. Του π.δ. 125/2016 (Α΄ 210) «Διορισμός Υπουργών, Αναπληρωτών Υπουργών και Υφυπουργών».

5. Του π.δ. 132/2017 «Οργανισμός Υπουργείου Περιβάλλοντος και Ενέργειας» (Α΄ 160), όπως ισχύει.

6. Του π.δ. 142/2017 (Α΄ 181) «Οργανισμός Υπουργείου Οικονομικών», όπως ισχύει.

7. Του άρθρου 1 (παρ. 26) του ν. 3065/2002 «Μεταφορά αρμοδιοτήτων του Υπουργικού Συμβουλίου σε άλλα κυβερνητικά όργανα» (Α΄ 251).

8. Του «Κώδικα Νομοθεσίας για την Κυβέρνηση και τα κυβερνητικά όργανα», όπως αυτός κυρώθηκε με το άρθρο πρώτο του π.δ. 63/2005 (Α΄ 98) «Κωδικοποίηση της νομοθεσίας για την Κυβέρνηση και τα κυβερνητικά όργανα».

9. Του Κεφαλαίου Α΄ «Σύσταση Ανεξάρτητης Αρχής Δημοσίων Εσόδων» του ν. 4389/2016 (Α΄ 94) και ειδικότερα του άρθρου 7, της παραγράφου 1 του άρθρου 14 και του άρθρου 41 αυτού, όπως ισχύουν.

Β) Την υπ’ αριθμ. Υ 198/2016 (Β΄ 3722) απόφαση του Πρωθυπουργού «Ανάθεση αρμοδιοτήτων στον Αναπληρωτή Υπουργό Περιβάλλοντος και Ενέργειας, Σωκράτη Φάμελλο» και την υπ’ αριθμ. Υ72/2018 (Β΄ 4201) τροποποίηση αυτής.

Γ) Την υπ’ αριθμ. ΥΠΟΙΚ 0010218 ΕΞ 2016 (Β΄ 3696) απόφαση του Πρωθυπουργού και του Υπουργού Οικονομικών «Ανάθεση αρμοδιοτήτων στην Υφυπουργό Οικονομικών Αικατερίνη Παπανάτσιου».

Δ) Την υπ’ αριθμ. Δ. ΟΡΓ. Α 1036960 ΕΞ 2017/10.3.2017 (Β΄ 968 και Β΄ 1238) απόφαση του Διοικητή της Ανεξάρτητης Αρχής Δημοσίων Εσόδων «Οργανισμός της Ανεξάρτητης Αρχής Δημοσίων Εσόδων (Α.Α.Δ.Ε.)», όπως ισχύει.

Ε) Την υπ’ αριθμ. 1 της 20.1.2016 (Υ.Ο.Δ.Δ. 18) πράξη του Υπουργικού Συμβουλίου «Επιλογή και διορισμός Γενικού Γραμματέα της Γενικής Γραμματείας Δημοσίων Εσόδων του Υπουργείου Οικονομικών», σε συνδυασμό με τις διατάξεις του πρώτου εδαφίου της παραγράφου 10 του άρθρου 41 του ν. 4389/2016, όπως ισχύουν και την αριθμ. 39/3/30.11.2017 (Υ.Ο.Δ.Δ. 689) απόφαση του Συμβουλίου Διοίκησης της Α.Α.Δ.Ε. «Ανανέωση της θητείας του Διοικητή της Ανεξάρτητης Αρχής Δημοσίων Εσόδων».

ΣΤ) Την υπ’ αριθμ. Δ6Α 1015213 ΕΞ 2013/28.1.2013 (Β΄ 130 και Β΄ 372) απόφαση του Υπουργού και του Υφυπουργού Οικονομικών «Μεταβίβαση αρμοδιοτήτων στο Γενικό Γραμματέα της Γενικής Γραμματείας Δημοσίων Εσόδων του Υπουργείου Οικονομικών», όπως συμπληρώθηκε, τροποποιήθηκε και ισχύει, σε συνδυασμό με τις διατάξεις της υποπαραγράφου α’ της παρ. 3 του άρθρου 41 του ν. 4389/2016, όπως ισχύουν.

Ζ) Το γεγονός ότι από τις διατάξεις της παρούσας απόφασης δεν προκαλείται δαπάνη σε βάρος του κρατικού προϋπολογισμού,

αποφασίζουμε:

Άρθρο 1

1. Σύμφωνα με τις διατάξεις της περ. α’ της παραγράφου 10 του άρθρου 24 του ν. 4172/2013, το συναφές με την ενεργειακή απόδοση ή εξοικονόμηση νερού κόστος αποσβένυται με τους συντελεστές του πίνακα της παραγράφου 4 του ίδιου ως άνω άρθρου προσαυξημένους κατά ποσοστό εκατό τοις εκατό (100%), ενώ σε περίπτωση που ο αρχικός συντελεστής απόσβεσης είναι ανώτερος του 10%, ο προσαυξημένος συντελεστής δεν δύναται να υπερβαίνει τις 10 ποσοστιαίες μονάδες.

2. Για την εφαρμογή των διατάξεων της παραγράφου 10 του άρθρου 24 του ν. 4172/2013 τα ποσά των προσαυξημένων αποσβέσεων αφαιρούνται από τα καθαρά φορολογητέα αποτελέσματα των νομικών προσώπων ή νομικών οντοτήτων και των φυσικών προσώπων που ασκούν επιχειρηματική δραστηριότητα με τη δήλωση φορολογίας εισοδήματος του φορολογικού έτους εντός του οποίου αφορούν. Ειδικότερα, ο υπολογισμός τους άρχεται από τον επόμενο μήνα εντός του οποίου χαρακτηρίζονται ως υπαγόμενες στις διατάξεις αυτές οι συναφείς με την ενεργειακή απόδοση ή εξοικονόμηση νερού δαπάνες.

3. Σε περίπτωση που μετά την αφαίρεση των ως άνω αποσβέσεων προκύψουν ζημίες, αυτές μεταφέρονται με βάση τις διατάξεις του άρθρου 27 του ν. 4172/2013.

Άρθρο 2

1. Για την εφαρμογή των διατάξεων της παραγράφου 10 του άρθρου 24 του ν. 4172/2013, τα συναφή με τη βελτίωση της ενεργειακής απόδοσης στοιχεία ενεργητικού είναι:

α. από την κατηγορία «Κτίρια κατασκευές εγκαταστάσεις...» του Πίνακα του άρθρου 24 του ν. 4172/2013 τα εξής:

- θερμομόνωση

- αεροστεγάνωση

- κουφώματα

- υαλοπίνακες

β. από την κατηγορία «Μηχανήματα εξοπλισμός εκτός Η/Υ και λογισμικού» του Πίνακα του άρθρου 24 του ν. 4172/2013 τα εξής:

- αντικατάσταση συστήματος θέρμανσης/ ψύξης/κλιματισμού/μηχανικού αερισμού

- θερμοστατικές κεφαλές

- λέβητας συμπύκνωσης φυσικού αερίου (Φ.Α.)

- Συμπαραγωγή Ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας και Θερμότητας Υψηλής Απόδοσης (ΣΗΘΥΑ)

- συστήματα παραγωγής ενέργειας από ανανεώσιμες πηγές ενέργειας για κάλυψη των αναγκών ενέργειας της επιχείρησης:

• αντλίες θερμότητας υψηλής απόδοσης

• ενεργειακά αποδοτικοί λέβητες βιομάζας

• ηλιοθερμικά συστήματα

• φωτοβολταϊκά και λοιπά συστήματα ανανεώσιμων πηγών ενέργειας για ηλεκτροπαραγωγή, υπό σχήμα ενεργειακού συμψηφισμού ή αυτοπαραγωγής.

- φωτισμός (αναβάθμιση φωτισμού με αντικατάσταση λαμπτήρων υψηλής ενεργειακής απόδοσης (πχ. LED))

- Συστήματα και Αυτοματισμοί Διαχείρισης Ενέργειας (BEMS)

γ. λοιπές παρεμβάσεις που αφορούν εξοικονόμηση ενέργειας στις διεργασίες παραγωγής.

2. Τα τεχνολογικά χαρακτηριστικά των συστημάτων που εγκαθίστανται ή αναβαθμίζονται καθώς και η τεκμηρίωση της εξοικονόμησης ενέργειας γίνεται με έκθεση μηχανικού, από την ημερομηνία υπογραφής της οποίας οι σχετικές δαπάνες χαρακτηρίζονται ως υπαγόμενες στις διατάξεις της παρούσας απόφασης. Η επιχείρηση οφείλει να αποστείλει την έκθεση μηχανικού στη Διεύθυνση Ενεργειακών Πολιτικών και Ενεργειακής Αποδοτικότητας του ΥΠΕΝ και να τηρεί τα παραστατικά των σχετικών δαπανών, την έκθεση μηχανικού και αποδεικτικό αποστολής αυτής.

Άρθρο 3

1. Για την εφαρμογή των διατάξεων της παραγράφου 10 του άρθρου 24 του ν. 4172/2013, όπως τροποποιήθηκε με την παράγραφο 1 του άρθρου 117 του ν. 4549/2018, τα συναφή με την εξοικονόμηση νερού στοιχεία ενεργητικού είναι:

α. από την κατηγορία «Κτίρια κατασκευές εγκαταστάσεις...» του Πίνακα του άρθρου 24 του ν. 4172/2013 τα εξής:

- εγκαταστάσεις συστημάτων συλλογής και χρήσης όμβριων υδάτων

- εγκαταστάσεις συστημάτων διαχείρισης υγρών αποβλήτων με σκοπό την επαναχρησιμοποίηση/ανακύκλωσή τους

- εγκαταστάσεις συστημάτων ποιοτικής αναβάθμισης νερού με σκοπό την εξοικονόμηση

- κατασκευή / αντικατάσταση δικτύων μεταφοράς νερού με σκοπό τη μείωση διαρροών (ή την εξοικονόμηση) νερού

- οποιαδήποτε άλλη εγκατάσταση εξυπηρετεί το σκοπό της εξοικονόμησης νερού

β. από την κατηγορία «Μηχανήματα εξοπλισμός εκτός Η/Υ και λογισμικού»

- μηχανολογικός ή άλλος εξοπλισμός ο οποίος συμβάλλει στην εξοικονόμηση νερού ή συνδέεται με τις εγκαταστάσεις της παραγράφου 1α.

- συστήματα ελέγχου και μείωσης των διαρροών.

γ. από την κατηγορία «Εξοπλισμός Η/Υ, κύριος και περιφερειακός και λογισμικό» του Πίνακα του άρθρου 24 του ν. 4172/2013, εξοπλισμός ο οποίος συμβάλλει στην εξοικονόμηση νερού ή συνδέεται με τις παραγράφους 1α και 1β.

δ. λοιπές παρεμβάσεις εξοικονόμησης νερού σε αντικατάσταση υφιστάμενων συστημάτων που βεβαιώνονται μέσω της τεχνικής έκθεσης εργασιών της παραγράφου 2.

2. Η υλοποίηση των έργων / παρεμβάσεων εξοικονόμησης του νερού βεβαιώνεται μέσω τεχνικής έκθεσης εργασιών που υπογράφεται από μηχανικό, γεωτεχνικό ή περιβαλλοντολόγο και το νόμιμο εκπρόσωπο της δραστηριότητας, η οποία περιγράφει τα τεχνολογικά χαρακτηριστικά των συστημάτων που εγκαθίστανται ή αναβαθμίζονται και τεκμηριώνει την εξοικονόμηση νερού. Η τεχνική έκθεση εργασιών τηρείται με τα παραστατικά των σχετικών δαπανών. Από την ημερομηνία υπογραφής της τεχνικής έκθεσης εργασιών, οι σχετικές δαπάνες χαρακτηρίζονται ως υπαγόμενες στις διατάξεις της παρούσα απόφασης.

Άρθρο 4

Η απόφαση αυτή ισχύει από τη δημοσίευση του ν. 4549/2018 στην Εφημερίδα της Κυβερνήσεως, ήτοι από τις 14.6.2018 και εφεξής.

Η απόφαση αυτή να δημοσιευθεί στην Εφημερίδα της Κυβερνήσεως.

ΦΕΚ Β’ 5597/12.12.2018

Αθήνα, 26 Νοεμβρίου 2018

Ο Διοικητής της Ανεξάρτητης Αρχής Δημοσίων Εσόδων
ΓΕΩΡΓΙΟΣ ΠΙΤΣΙΛΗΣ

Οι Υπουργοί

Υφυπουργός Οικονομικών
ΑΙΚΑΤΕΡΙΝΗ ΠΑΠΑΝΑΤΣΙΟΥ

Περιβάλλοντος και Ενέργειας
ΓΕΩΡΓΙΟΣ ΣΤΑΘΑΚΗΣ

Αναπληρωτής Υπουργός
Περιβάλλοντος και Ενέργειας
ΣΩΚΡΑΤΗΣ ΦΑΜΕΛΛΟΣ

Μελέτη: Πως η βελτίωση της ενεργειακής αποδοτικότητας των κτιρίων θα ωφελήσει την Ελληνική οικονομία

IOBE — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 05:38:00 GMT

Στις προτάσεις πολιτικής που καταλήγει η μελέτη, επισημαίνονται μεταξύ άλλων τα εξής:

Η προσφορά φορολογικών κινήτρων θα μπορούσε να κινητοποιήσει ιδιωτικούς πόρους για επενδύσεις στην ενεργειακή αναβάθμιση κτιρίων. Έχει μάλιστα ιδιαίτερη σημασία το γεγονός, ότι μεγάλο μέρος των ιδιωτικών αποταμιεύσεων στην Ελλάδα βρίσκεται πλέον σε μορφή μετρητών που διακρατούν τα νοικοκυριά. Οι αποταμιεύσεις αυτές είναι οικονομικά αδρανείς. Συνεπώς, η παροχή φορολογικών κινήτρων θα μπορούσε ενδεχομένως να κινητοποιήσει πρόσθετους αδρανείς οικονομικούς πόρους, διεργασία που ισοδυναμεί με εξωγενή διαταραχή στην οικονομία και προκαλεί πολλαπλασιαστικές επιδράσεις με τους μηχανισμούς που αναφέρθηκαν στο προηγούμενο κεφάλαιο.
Ένα κατάλληλο φορολογικό κίνητρο θα μπορούσε να είναι η προσφορά έκπτωσης φόρου, ανάλογης με το ύψος της δαπάνης για εργασίες ενεργειακής αναβάθμισης κτιρίων. Υποθέτοντας ότι η προσφορά ενός τέτοιου κινήτρου θα ωθήσει ιδιώτες επενδυτές να αξιοποιήσουν αδρανείς αποταμιεύσεις για τη χρηματοδότηση εργασιών ενεργειακής αναβάθμισης κτιρίων, και λαμβάνοντας υπ’ όψη τις πολλαπλασιαστικές επιδράσεις τέτοιων επενδύσεων, είναι φανερό ότι η αρνητική επίδραση στα δημόσια έσοδα λόγω της έκπτωσης φόρου θα αντισταθμιστεί εν μέρει, ή και εξ ολοκλήρου, από τη θετική επίδραση στα δημόσια έσοδα λόγω της τόνωσης της οικονομικής δραστηριότητας που θα επιφέρουν οι επενδύσεις στην ενεργειακή αναβάθμιση κτιρίων.
Παραδείγματος χάριν, αν μία έκπτωση φόρου ύψους 20% της δαπάνης για εργασίες ανακαίνισης κινητοποιήσει ιδιωτικές επενδύσεις του ύψους που περιγράφεται στο φιλόδοξο σενάριο για αναβαθμίσεις κατοικιών, τότε τα δημόσια έσοδα κατά τα πρώτα έτη εφαρμογής του μέτρου καταλήγουν να είναι ελαφρώς αυξημένα (κατά περίπου €12 εκατ., ή 3% της δαπάνης για ανακαινίσεις). Ωστόσο, αυτή η θετική δημοσιονομική επίδραση αμβλύνεται βαθμιαία. Από το 2023 και μετά η τελική επίδραση στα ετήσια έσοδα του Δημοσίου γίνεται αρνητική. Σε σωρευτικούς όρους, η προσφορά της έκπτωσης φόρου οδηγεί σε αυξημένα δημόσια έσοδα κατά τα έξι πρώτα έτη εφαρμογής του μέτρου (τα σωρευτικά επιπλέον δημόσια έσοδα λόγω της τόνωσης της οικονομικής δραστηριότητας υπερβαίνουν την σωρευτική απώλεια φορολογικών εσόδων λόγω της έκπτωσης φόρου για κάθε έτος στην περίοδο 2018-2025). Εντούτοις, από το 2026 και μετά δημιουργείται σωρευτικά δημοσιονομικό κενό, το οποίο βαίνει αυξανόμενο (φτάνοντας τα €560 εκατ. το 2030, ή 4% του σωρευτικού κόστους των παρεμβάσεων ανακαίνισης).
Αν υποτεθεί ότι η έκπτωση φόρου 20% επί της δαπάνης για ενεργειακές αναβαθμίσεις δεν επαρκεί για να κινητοποιηθούν οι ιδιωτικοί πόροι που απαιτούνται για τις ανακαινίσεις που προβλέπονται από το φιλόδοξο σενάριο, αλλά θα χρειαζόταν έκπτωση φόρου 50% επί της δαπάνης για αυτόν τον σκοπό, προκύπτει ότι το Δημόσιο θα είχε απώλεια εσόδων με την εφαρμογή ενός τέτοιου μέτρου, ήδη από το πρώτο έτος εφαρμογής του μέτρου, με το εν λόγω δημοσιονομικό κενό να βαίνει αυξανόμενο. Εντούτοις, η απώλεια δημοσίων εσόδων από την προσφορά έκπτωσης φόρου 50% επί της δαπάνης για ανακαινίσεις αντιστοιχεί στο 27% της δαπάνης αυτής κατά το πρώτο έτος εφαρμογής του μέτρου, φτάνει το 30% της δαπάνης, σε σωρευτικούς όρους το έτος 2024, ενώ δεν ξεπερνά το 34% της σωρευτικής δαπάνης το έτος 2030. Η τελική απώλεια δημοσίων εσόδων είναι σημαντικά μικρότερη του ποσού που προσφέρεται ως έκπτωση φόρου, ακριβώς λόγω των θετικών επιδράσεων στα δημόσια έσοδα που προκύπτουν από την τόνωση της οικονομικής δραστηριότητας που επιφέρουν οι εργασίες ανακαινίσεων. Στους ακόλουθους πίνακες παρουσιάζονται τα δημοσιονομικά αποτελέσματα διαχρονικά, για διάφορα επίπεδα έκπτωσης φόρου, και για διαφορετικές υποθέσεις σχετικά με το αν η εκάστοτε έκπτωση φόρου κινητοποιεί αρκετούς ιδιωτικούς πόρους για την υλοποίηση των επενδύσεων που προβλέπονται σε καθένα από τα τρία σενάρια για ενεργειακές αναβαθμίσεις κατοικιών.
Προκειμένου να διασφαλιστεί η αποτελεσματικότητα του μέτρου της έκπτωσης φόρου είναι σημαντικό η έκπτωση να καλύπτει όσο το δυνατόν ευρύτερο φάσμα φορολογικών υποχρεώσεων των πολιτών, πέραν του φόρου εισοδήματος (π.χ. ΕΝΦΙΑ). Θα ήταν επίσης σημαντικό οι δικαιούχοι της έκπτωσης φόρου να μπορούν να μετακυλήσουν τυχόν υπόλοιπο της έκπτωσης που δικαιούνται σε επόμενα φορολογικά έτη, αν η έκπτωση φόρου που δικαιούνται είναι μεγαλύτερη από τις φορολογικές τους υποχρεώσεις το έτος της επένδυσης. Με τους τρόπους αυτούς η έκπτωση φόρου θα αποτελέσει κίνητρο για περισσότερα νοικοκυριά, και ιδιαίτερα για νοικοκυριά με χαμηλά εισοδήματα, τα οποία συχνά έχουν και πιο επείγουσες ανάγκες ενεργειακής αναβάθμισης των κατοικιών τους.
Αξίζει να σημειωθεί ότι η προσφορά κινήτρων από την πλευρά της Πολιτείας, όπως η έκπτωση φόρου για ενεργειακές αναβαθμίσεις κατοικιών, μπορεί να αποφέρει πρόσθετα δημοσιονομικά οφέλη. Πράγματι, οι συναλλαγές που θα γίνουν στο πλαίσιο της εφαρμογής του μέτρου μεταξύ νοικοκυριών και συνεργείων αναβάθμισης θα είναι νόμιμα καταγεγραμμένες (συναλλαγές έναντι των οποίων θα εκδοθούν τα νόμιμα παραστατικά), φέρνοντας στο φως ένα μέρος της οικονομικής δραστηριότητας που διαφορετικά θα ανήκε στην παραοικονομία, με όσα επακόλουθα οφέλη αυτό συνεπάγεται, τόσο σε ό,τι αφορά την φορολογία εισοδήματος των επιχειρήσεων όσο και την έμμεση φορολογία (ΦΠΑ).
Μπορείτε να διαβάσετε την πολύ σημαντική μελέτη του ΙΟΒΕ, εδώ.
Μπορείτε να διαβάσετε την παρουσίαση του ΙΟΒΕ, εδώ
.

IHS revises up outlook for Chinese solar to 40 GW after underestimating demand

PV Magazine — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 05:31:00 GMT

New PV systems with an aggregate capacity of 34.5 GW were connected in China in the first nine months of this year. As a result, China’s cumulative installed solar capacity has reached 165 GW.

That is 1.5 GW more than IHS Markit analysts had predicted and, as a result, they have raised their 37 GW estimate for newly installed capacity this year to 40 GW.

China’s National Energy Agency (NEA) is discussing raising its 2020 solar expansion targetfrom its current 105 GW to as much as 210-270 GW. IHS Markit expects China’s cumulative PV capacity to reach 255 GW by the end of 2020. Its assumption is based on a further 40 GW of new annual capacity over the next two years.

IHS says further clarifications could be made by its analysts once the government announces a decision.

At the end of May, the Chinese government decided to curb the expansion of PV by reducing solar incentives. That led to reduced project development in the second half, IHS analysts noted, with China having installed 53 GW during a record-busting 2017.

Demand stil fuels Chinese dragon

However despite this year’s policy setback, a decline in module prices has continued to drive demand more than anticipated by analysts.

IHS Markit believes China may even double its 2020 target, as a consequence of its determination to be the world leader in renewable energy development.

That determination also applies to the production of solar cells and modules and the challenge will be to design a policy able to reduce PV project costs, especially in the regions of China which have high demand, the analysts wrote.

It will be Beijing’s goal to avoid any increase in public subsidy payments currently at around $17 billion, and IHS Markit expects further support for decentralized PV systems for self-consumption, tenders or low feed-in tariffs – as well as other Top Runner, quality-focused programs – as part of the new 2020 expansion target.

Lazard, LCOE – what’s the cheapest energy?

PV Magazine — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 10:47:00 GMT

For instance, Indiana finalized their plans to shut down coal plants and exchange them renewable facilities because its “the most viable option for customers”. Colorado recently voted for retiring Xcel’s coal-fired Comanche Generating Station ten years early, which represents 660 MW of total capacity for two separate units at the site – again, for economic reasons. Carbontracker.org noted that all of the wind bids for the above Xcel RFP were cheaper than coal, and 74% of the solar bids were.

Yesterday, Lazard released its Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) analysis version 12.0 for Energy (.pdf), and Version 4.0 for Energy Storage (.pdf). The document shows that utility scale wind, solar offer the cheapest absolute electricity pricing – without subsidies. When federal tax subsidies are applied, essentially politically palatable forms of a carbon tax, we see all thin film solar cheaper than all gas, and the majority of crystalline silicon solar cheaper than gas.

Rooftop solar for residential and commercial, with its broad price ranges representing the broad classes of projects they cover, shows higher pricing. However, this analysis doesn’t consider the additional benefits including avoided costs achieved with behind-the-meter installations, and as such it isn’t a pure apples-to-apples comparison.

Nonetheless, even with this calculations handicap – unsubsidized rooftop commercial and industrial solar power is quite comparable to almost all new coal construction, cheaper than most nuclear, and even touches on the upper costs of combined gas. When considering federal, and state incentives where available, we start to see why rooftop corporate procurement was a growing solar sector in a mostly flat first half of 2018.

The document does make reference to emissions once – in the slide Cost of Carbon Abatement Comparison. The costs considered in the document were not pollution, health or social costs – but instead carbon avoidance costs. The document defined these values as ‘$26 – $34/Ton vs. Coal and $10 – $25/Ton vs. Gas Combined Cycle’. Lazard hypothesized, that if policy makers were to apply these market values to utility scale wind or solar, they would be great drivers toward renewable deployments.

The document notes a much lower price per kilowatt-hour (kWh), after applying carbon avoidance costs, of wind between 6.3-15.1¢/kWh lower vs gas and coal, respectively, and 2.5-11.7¢/kWh lower for solar vs gas and coal, respectively. These numbers are for unsubsidized wind and solar.

The analysis above assumes 60% debt at 8% interest rate and 40% equity at 12% cost. The document does describe its fundamental values that fed its calculations on the page, “Levelized Cost of Energy Comparison—Sensitivity to Cost of Capital“.

The Levelized Cost of Energy Storage 4.0 (.pdf) version gave significant information about how it came to its current form, and the assumptions that it used in determining the valuation. Additionally, significant time was spent differentiating across the various utility regions in the United States, as each of them have many nuances driving energy storage revenue.

The point that first jumped out from the above unsubsidized analysis was that, over the long term, flow and lithium ion pricing is much closer than headlines showing off projects being deployed are. This probably has much to do with lithium ion product availability due to intertwining nature with electric vehicles. This ought give us insight into a brewing competition that will benefit the industry, and might provide us with complementary technologies offering contrasting benefits – much like wind and solar.

All of these costs come from a history that Lazard also shows. One thing to note is that utility scale solar power is catching up with the ultra low pricing of wind power. Over the last decade the three cost leading energy sources – wind, solar and combined cycle gas – saw price decreases of 69%, 88% and 30%, respectively.

These Dutch microgrid communities can supply 90% of their energy needs

World Economic Forum — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 16:16:00 GMT

The power to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources could rest in the hands of local communities. New research suggests decentralized, smart microgrid systems are capable of providing most, if not all, of our future energy needs.

The Netherlands is pioneering a new approach to generating and sharing energy which could mean neighborhoods of the near future could produce their own renewable power.

The Aardehuizen: a neighbourhood microgrid

A study commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency is monitoring the performance of three microgrid projects in Amsterdam and one in Olst.

Microgrids connect a neighborhood to a localized energy network that operates independently of the mains supply, to share local energy between households. The grid communities are decentralized and owned and run by each village or neighborhood.

The system combines several compatible technologies, including rooftop solar panels, electric vehicles, heat pumps and storage batteries, to intelligently harvest and distribute clean energy to the community.

Using real-world data, researchers found that microgrid technologies could make local communities 90% energy self-sufficient, with potential to become fully self-reliant in the future.

If optimized effectively, the grids could serve as a focal point in the country’s drive to adopt renewable energies.

The report’s author, Florijn de Graaf, predicts almost half of all EU households will generate renewable energy by 2050, with a third of these working as part of a local energy community.

Meeting climate targets

As part of the Paris Agreement, the Dutch government has pledged to reduce the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions by 80-90% by 2050, with plans to switch 14% of energy output to renewable sources by 2020.

This figure is below the EU target of converting 20% of member countries’ output to renewables by 2020.

SSweden leads the charge among EU countries with 53.8% of its energy output generated by renewable sources, already surpassing its 2020 target of 49%. The Netherlands is some way behind with a current total of 6%, but there is room for optimism.

Optimized properly, microgrids could play a vital part in supporting efforts to transition to renewable energy systems and meet climate targets.

“As time progresses, costs go down and climate awareness goes up, more and more people will start owning one or more of these technologies,” De Graaf explains.

The future of microgrids

Currently, microgrids power individual appliances – like cars or heat pumps – in isolation, which places heavy demands on the system; much like an electricity power socket overloaded with too many plugs. As more appliances are added, expensive upgrades may be required to sustain the power supply.

The future of microgrids lies in what the report labels SIDE systems: Smart Integrated Decentralized Energy.

A SIDE network uses an intelligent management system to integrate different components and balance local supply and demand, reducing costs. For example, solar panels collect energy when the sun shines and charge electric vehicles; any surplus power is either stored in a battery or sent by the system to power other houses in the community.

The study data shows SIDE systems are less expensive in the long run than conventional grid-powered systems and don’t require expensive infrastructure upgrades.

Germany plans 20% FIT cut for commercial and industrial solar

PV Magazine — Fri, 02 Nov 2018 11:59:00 GMT

Following the heads of Germany’s CDU, CSU and SPD parties – who form a governing coalition – agreeing to expand renewable energy generation, a related draft bill by the Federal Ministry of Economics has been made public.

The proposed bill includes planned changes in Germany’s renewable energy law – the EEG – and much more, including a 20% FIT cut for rooftop PV systems of 40-750 kW in scale, a segment that was decisive for this year’s strong growth in renewables. If confirmed, the FIT reduction would come into force from January 1.

The proposal has surprised the industry as it targets the segment largely responsible for Germany having hit its 2.5 GW annual new renewable capacity target for the first time in five years this year.

“Prices for photovoltaic modules and photovoltaic systems have dropped sharply in recent months,” said the German government, in a document supporting the proposed FIT cut. “[The] reasons for the drop in prices are persistent oversupply in the world market, and the expiry of the EU anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on Chinese photovoltaic modules. This has led to an oversupply situation for larger photovoltaic rooftop systems.”

Half the new solar capacity will be hit

The FIT for commercial and industrial PV installations up to 750 kW in size was €0.1068/kWh last month. The proposed reduction would reduce that to €0.0833/kWh from January 1.

“This announcement has been made and, as a result, the over-subsidy is to be corrected by January 1, 2019, by adjusting the value to be applied for … solar [systems] up to and including an installed capacity of 750 kW,” adds the supporting document to the bill. “This value was 10.68 cents per kilowatt-hour in October 2018. The value is lowered to the level of the ground-mounted systems. This value will be set at 8.33 cents per kilowatt-hour on January 1, 2019.”

According to German solar association the BSW, around half the annual newly installed PV capacity will be affected by the proposed reduction.

Existing mechanism already regulates FIT price

“A modest adjustment of the solar power remuneration for new plants would have, in the next few months, [been provided] by the [section] 49 EEG degressive mechanism … itself. The amount of the [newly] planned cuts is incomprehensible,” said the association.

The BSW has urged the government to significantly increase solar targets.

“Germany will only be able to achieve its climate protection goals and avoid penalties for excessive CO² emissions if the federal government significantly increases its photovoltaic expansion, not only for ground-mounted projects but also for rooftop PV,” the association added.

UK Energy Minister Claire Perry took a swipe at the German government on Wednesday, accusing it of preaching about the need to stop using coal and nuclear while still utilizing both power sources.

Solar Frontier changes ownership

PV Magazine — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 11:33:00 GMT

Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd announced it has finalized the deal to merge with Japan-based oil producer Showa Shell Sekiyu, which is also the parent company of Japanese Copper/Indium/Selenium (CIS) thin film PV module manufacturer, Solar Frontier.

Idemitsu agreed to acquire Showa Shell trough a share exchange to be implemented on April 1, 2019, in which Idemitsu Kosan will distribute its shares to shareholders of Showa Shell and acquire all of the issued shares of Showa Shell, Idemitsu said in its official statement. According to Reuters, this transaction may be worth approximately US$5.6 billion. The preliminary agreement for the merger of the two companies was closed in July.

The new integrated company resulting from the operation will maintain the name Idemitsu, while Showa Shell shares will be delisted.

Although the oil business will remain the main source of income and activities of the new entity, it will also actively promote various renewable energy power sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal power generation, said Idemitsu in a statement.

“In the solar panel business, the New Integrated Company will provide products leveraging its unique thin film solar cell technologies and make efforts to develop a self-consumption model as distributed energy resources,” it added, without providing further details or directly citing Solar Frontier.

Idemitsu also said, however, that due to the current expansion of energy demand worldwide, it will make efforts to maintain and improve the value of existing petroleum and coal resources, and develop gas fields in Asia, with coal being defined as a “stable and inexpensive energy source.”

Solar Frontier has embarked upon a number of strategic changes over the past two years. In early January, it transferred part of its business to RS Renewables, a new unit that was created through an incorporation-type company split. The new company is responsible for selling PV modules and developing solar projects in markets outside of Japan.

Furthermore, it adjusted its manufacturing strategy. In November, it revealed plans to consolidate production at its flagship 900 MW Kunitomi facility in Japan’s Miyazaki prefecture, as part of this shift.

In February, meanwhile, the company said it was seeking new opportunities in the Japanese market, where the self-consumption of electricity is becoming increasingly important in the residential solar segment, offering “higher added value” than those in more competitive overseas markets.

For this segment, the company conceived it SmaCIS solar panels, which are said to provide greater coverage on the uniquely shaped rooftops of detached homes in Japan.

Study: High-risk through water use in solar sector

PV Magazine — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 06:07:00 GMT

Market intelligence and consulting firm, Bridge to India has released a new report laying out the effects of solar PV deployment across India on regional water management. While the technology is often lauded for requiring little water compared to thermal energy generation (0.1 m³/MW against 2.2m³/ MW), Bridge to India says the former’s impact is exacerbated by the fact that solar plants are predominantly built in arid and remote regions.

In addition to the fact solar gravitates towards arid regions, as they promise higher irradiation levels, the market intelligence provider also found that India’s solar installations appear somewhat concentrated. As such, five states comprise 70% of the country’s installations, it says. For example, Karnataka accounts for 23% of solar installations, Telangana for 14% and Rajasthan for 12%, demonstrating the strong clustering of installations in these regions.

As water availability between, for example, Karnataka and Rajasthan varies greatly, so does the way solar O&M contractors handle water in these regions. While in Karnataka water is used more generously for module cleaning, contractors in Rajasthan are thriftier. Speaking with a range of O&M contractors from these regions, Bridge to India revealed that water use levels per module per cycle range between slightly above one liter, and can go as high as four liters.

According to the report, soiling effects can reduce a plant’s performance by as much as 3-6%, putting at risk the site’s economic viability. To reduce the effects to just 1% of operating assumptions, around two cleaning cycles per month are necessary to remove dust, dirt and bird droppings.

Resulting from this estimation, in conjunction with the installed capacity and knowledge of water availability in different states, the authors have mapped the state of water scarcity incurred by solar PV across India.

It estimates that 94% of India’s solar capacity is exposed to medium to high level water risk. Rajasthan, for example, is estimated to require 600,000 m³/year for module cleaning. The state is highly arid, and this water use reportedly further exacerbates the situation.

While Karnataka is located in a considerably more humid region than Rajasthan, the higher installation capacity here also requires more water use for cleaning. The 1,000,000 m³/year for module cleaning still places the state at medium to high risk, according to the scale established by Bridge to India.

Price hikes

Water scarcity in these regions has led to massive price hikes over the last years. In Rajasthan, prices for water have doubled over the last three to four years, due to rising demand. In Karnataka, meanwhile, water tariffs for industrial use reportedly multiplied 100 times in 2018.

Currently, the solar industry uses about 4,000,000 m³/year for 25 GW of installed solar capacity. However, India is on the path to increasing installations at a rate of about 10 GW per year. Bridge to India calculates that by the time the country has installed 65 GW, water consumption will have risen to 12,000,000 m³/year, which will further aggravate the problem.

Though solar PV is not the sole culprit here, the adverse effects for the industry are significant, as cleaning accounts for 26-35% of total O&M costs.

Resulting from the analysis, the authors elevate water mitigating cleaning solutions, such as robotic cleaning and anti-soiling coating to an imperative position. Reportedly, in India, around 3 GW of installations are eyeing various types of robotic cleaning, which is said to reduce water need by 50-100%.

By Bridge to India’s estimations, robot cleaning solutions would add around US$0.016/W, which translates into a CAPEX increase of 3%. This would be offset by virtue of a more stringent cleaning regime, however, resulting in 1-2% generation gains per year. The gain in conjunction with the reduced water use would result in amortization of the extra CAPEX in two to three years.

Anti-soiling coatings could pose a viable solution to the issue, according to the authors. Previously, “after-market” solutions have not received much popularity over concerns of assumed efficiency losses, and durability of the coating. Nowadays integrated solutions with a lifetime warranty are catching attention. Module costs could increase by around $0.005/W, and water consumption could be reduced by up to 35-50%. The authors highlight that there could be 1-2% increase of incremental power output depending on the location.

Proceedings available online for ISES Solar World Congress 2017 / IEA SHC Solar Heating and Cooling Conference 2017

ISES — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 06:36:00 GMT

The proceedings for the joint conference of the ISES Solar World Congress 2017 and the International Conference on Solar Heating and Cooling for Buildings and Industry are now available online.

The successful joint conference took place in Abu Dhabi during the week of 29 October – 2 November 2017 when nearly 500 renewable energy practitioners, researchers, project developers, academics, decision-makers and advocates representing 58 countries gathered to share the latest in technology advances, best practices, and case studies.

The proceedings of this exciting conference are now available online - they are open-access, uniquely searchable, each have their own DOI number and now are also part of ISES's proceedings database for all past conferences and events.

Find the proceedings here: SWC 2017/SHC 2017 Proceedings

India registered 21 GW installed solar capacity at the end of March

Photon Mag — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 07:27:00 GMT

A total of around 69,784 MW of renewable energy capacity has been installed in India as on March 31, 2018. This includes around 34,145 MW from wind, around 21,651 MW from solar, around 4,486 MW from small hydro power and around 9,502 MW from bio-power. These figures were provided by Shri R.K. Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) Power and New & Renewable Energy in reply to a question in Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the Parliament of India).

In the financial year 2016-17 (April 1 to March 31), aggregate capacity of around 11,322 MW of renewable energy was installed in the country, and in FY 2017-18, aggregate capacity of around 11,887 MW was installed. »Thus, renewable energy installations in the country are progressively increasing and do not appear to be facing any major challenges at present,« says Singh. According to the minister, »the renewable energy sector in India is consistently growing and continues to remain attractive for investors from across the world.« Solar tariffs in India saw the lowest ever level of IND 2.44 ($0.035) per kWh in reverse auctions carried out by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in May 2017, for 200 MW and again in July, 2018, for 600 MW.

The Government has set a target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by the year 2022 which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from biomass and 5 GW from small hydro capacity. So far, 71.33 GW of renewable energy capacity has been installed in the country up to June 2018. To achieve the balance target of 103.67 GW, investment of around $76 billion has been estimated at present capital cost which includes $53.20 billion as debt and $22.80 billion as equity for the debt-equity ratio of 70:30 as per Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) norms.

Furthermore, the Indian Government has set a target of installing 40 GW of grid connected rooftop solar capacity in the country including Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) by the year 2022. As per the Delhi Solar Policy, 2016 notified by Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, the target has been set for installation of 1 GW of solar power by year 2020 and 2 GW of solar power by year 2025 in Delhi, said Minister Singh to a question in Lok Sabha (»House of the People«, the lower chamber of India's parliament).

Solar glass: European PV module manufacturers fear being “taken hostage”

PV Magazine — Sat, 21 Jul 2018 14:31:00 GMT

Currently, nearly all producers across the entire value chain find themselves facing fierce competition. In the face of massive overcapacity, and China’s announcement to slow down its PV market, prices have come under heavy pressure. Cutting costs and finding lucrative sales channels are, consequently, a must.

European producers in particular, have to go to great lengths to assert themselves in the market. And now they face another challenge: solar glass.

Tarrifs

Since 2014, the EU has imposed 80-100% tariffs on solar glass imports from China, to offset dumping and subsidies. These tariffs will be in force until at least mid-May 2019, and render solar glass from China economically uninteresting for European module makers. Now, a new anti-dumping proceeding against solar glass producers from Malaysia, is underway. The application was submitted by EU Prosun Glass.

Martin Holzbecher, Vice President of the association, confirmed to pv magazine that “massively ramped up imports from Malaysia to the EU at dumping prices” are the basis upon which the motion was filed. In his view, there are approximately 10 solar glass producers currently left in Europe.

Risk

However, module makers see the risk that Luxemburg-based Interfloat will build a monopoly through its solar glass making German subsidiary, GMB Glasmanufaktur Brandenburg GmbH. European manufacturers pointed out that the company is the last remaining solar glass producer that can deliver reliably.

Reportedly, Saint Gobain also produces solar glass intermittently, but is not as reliable. Meanwhile, Belgian-based solar glass producer, Ducatt had to declare bankruptcy in the wake of SolarWorld’s first insolvency in May 2017. If tariffs are now imposed on Malaysian solar glass, European module makers will be “taken hostage” by the remaining European companies, several module manufacturers told pv magazine.

They add that they do not see any alternatives to this scenario. Aside from GMB, only producers from China and Malaysia are currently capable of delivering solar glass of sufficient quality for mass production.

Interfloat declined to make a public statement on the allegations following a pv magazinerequest. Martin Holzbecher, who was an authorized signatory at GMB until August 2015, explains, “With 10 suppliers a monopoly situation is unlikely. The petition aims to eliminate unfair trade practices. Competitors should be playing on a level field again.”

Whether EU Prosun Glass will also file a motion to extend the existing tariffs on Chinese solar glass until after 2019, will not be decided before the end of the year.

However, the time is ticking for European manufacturers. Additionally, they claim to be disadvantaged by the fact that they have to pay tariffs on Chinese solar glass, but that such tariffs are not be imposed on Chinese module imports to the EU.

One of Germany’s biggest module manufacturers quantifies the pricing disadvantage, stating that this would cost between €1.40 and €1.50 per module, and thus between 0.5 and 0.75 euro cents per Watt. The CEO, who wishes to remain anonymous, explains further that he does not believe GMB will further increase its prices if anti-dumping tariffs against Malaysian solar glass are introduced.

He does, however, point out that the price gap is already very significant and that GMB quasi-obliges European module makers to make long-term commitments to GMB, as prices would be even higher otherwise.

Bernhard Weilharter, CEO of CS Wismar says, “Hitherto, we have omitted the use of glass from China because the punitive duties make its use uneconomical. Malaysia would have been an option – which we have not used so far – but is rendered moot now anyway.”

In general, he believes that the current legal framework is not very helpful for module makers in Europe. “The price gap between European and Asian producers has emerged largely from artificially expensive BOM (bill of materials). Due to the high degree of automation, the cost of labor does not have much of an impact on the module price.”

Looking at procurement costs of upstream products, Weilharter takes issue with the fact that the minimum import price of modules was reduced drastically, but remained high for cells. He talks specifically about polycrystalline PV modules. The minimum import price for modules has dropped by 13 euro cents per Watt over the last months. For cells, however, the minimum import price dropped by just 3 cents.

Against the backdrop of an internationally raging trade conflict, European module producers might face additional artificial price hikes. Import tariffs for aluminium and steel could also be raised, which would further increase the cost of modules.

Top 10 crystalline PV module manufacturer ranking

Pv Magazine — Sat, 21 Jul 2018 04:33:00 GMT

Record-breaking years seem to have become business as usual in the PV industry, and 2017 was no exception with global installations for the year brushing the 100 GW mark. Demand for new installations surpassed the expectations of most analysts, meaning supply conditions were tight across the supply chain, with prices even rising at some points during the year.

These conditions played into the hands of the biggest silicon module manufacturers, who after being rocked by oversupply conditions in 2016, were able to take advantage of stable prices and strong demand to improve their position, and plan major capacity expansions.

“The module market in 2017 worked to suppliers’ advantage,” comments Jade Jones, Senior Analyst, Solar Markets at GTM Research. “Strong demand in the China region, as well as Southeast Asian supply tightness due to the Section 201 threat [from the U.S.], allowed suppliers to capture healthy margins.”

The top 10

JinkoSolar maintained its place as the largest module manufacturer in 2017, producing just over 6.5 GW, an increase of more than 1 GW on the previous year. In spite of this increase, the company’s gross profit fell 22.7%, from CNY 3.87 billion ($583 million) to CNY 2.99 billion ($451 million). JinkoSolar cited lower module prices and higher material costs as the main reasons for this. “Our gross margin was 11.3% for the year, compared to 18.1% in 2016, partially as a result of increased collaboration with OEM partners to meet surging market demand, especially in the first half of 2017, and higher raw material costs,” states JinkoSolar CEO, Kangping Chen, commenting on the company’s 2017 financial results.

For the most part, 2017 was a stable year for the largest five manufacturers. While Jinko and other top-tier manufacturers were able to absorb these lower margins without too much trouble, there were casualties at the other end of the table. Yingli Green Energy hung on in ninth place, managing to ship more than 3 GW in full year 2017. In spite of this, the company posted a net loss of $510 million, and total liabilities of $3.2 billion. While it has persuaded many of these creditors to wait for the time being, Yingli’s 2017 financial reporting came with a notice stating, “Given the Company’s financial position, substantial doubt exists as to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

Technology trends

Having entered the ranking in ninth place last year, Longi Solar was able to climb all the way to fifth. As the company only produces mono c-Si products, this could be seen as a sign of market preference for the technology, which has quickly gained market share in recent years. Mono c-Si is strongly preferred in China’s Top Runner Program, and economies of scale achieved through this have allowed mono manufacturers to close the price gap.

“Mono’s market share will approach 50% this year,” says Corrine Lin. “But since the price gap between multi and mono is still too large, some non-Chinese demand has returned to mono c-Si modules recently.”

Also on the technology front in 2017, manufacturers focused on reducing cell-to-module losses. This meant that half-cut cell technology achieved a particularly fast ramp-up. And other module level innovations are still waiting in the wings, such as bifacial; five, six, or multi-busbar modules; as well as shingled modules.

“Although most of these technologies have been known for years, it has not been until recently that they have started to become mainstream and evolve into mass production,” says Karl Melkonyan. “In the next three years, both bifacial and half-cell modules have a chance to gain a significant share of the total module market, combined with new cell technologies, like passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) or n-type technologies including heterojunction (HJT) and interdigitated back contact (IBC).

And there is no sign of PV manufacturers’ push for higher efficiency solar modules ending any time soon. “Demand for higher efficiency products keeps increasing year-over-year despite the relatively higher manufacturing costs and prices of high efficiency modules,” continues Melkonyan. “In addition to policy drivers, such as the Chinese Top Runner Program, high efficiency products are also required for most of the residential and small commercial segments in premium markets such as Japan, the United States, as well as many European countries.”

The driving force

China, of course, is the leading player here both in terms of supply and demand. “In 2017 China reached its peak in global market share accounting for around 53%,” explains Karl Melkonyan, Senior Analyst, Solar Demand at IHS Markit. “Module manufacturers continued expansions in the country, bringing online nearly 10 GW of additional capacity during 2017.”

The 2017 installation boom in China led to supply shortages further up the supply chain, which in turn kept prices stable and capacities expanding. “In 2017, demand in China was much higher than module manufacturers anticipated, so there were a lot of capacity additions announced across the entire supply chain,” explains independent analyst Corrine Lin. “Chinese manufacturers were not ready for this boom. In Q2 and Q3 there were shortages further up the supply chain in polysilicon, wafer, and other module materials.”

Chinese installations were led by a rush to meet the June 30 cut-off date to receive the 2017 FIT rates. Unlike the previous year, when the same cut-off date caused a drop off in demand, and a major oversupply situation, 2017 installations continued into the second half of the year. China’s distributed generation segment also received a major kick-start in 2017, growing 255% over the previous year to install around 15 GW in the first three quarters alone, according to figures from Asia Europe Clean Energy Associates (AECEA).

Despite the tight supply conditions, China’s manufacturers were able to keep pace with this increase in demand, “During Q1 to Q3 2017, China achieved exceptionally high growth rates in terms of production output along its upstream supply chain. “According to the China PV Industry Association, module output increased 43%,” states AECEA’s September 2017 briefing paper. “[This suggests] that approximately 80% of domestic module output stays within China.”

USA

Though demand from China is the biggest factor in global module supply-demand stability, major events in other markets still played a significant role. The threat of tariffs served to shape demand in the U.S. over the year.

Since January 2018, a 30% tariff has been placed on crystalline silicon PV imports to the U.S., with a 2.5 GW exemption for cell imports. Anticipating this announcement, project developers began hoarding modules in the second half of 2017, further compounding the already tight supply conditions.

This exemption for cell imports has already spurred the announcement of several new module facilities in the U.S., and still leaves room for more. “The current 2.5 GW quota in place is enough for the current domestic suppliers without internal cell capacity,” explains Jade Jones. “It also leaves room for U.S. producers to expand module capacity or for foreign firms to build small module fabs in the next four years, with imported cells typically around 500 MW per year.”

Hanwha Q Cells recently announced plans for a 1.6 GW module facility in Georgia, to open in 2019 – which would be the largest such facility in the U.S. Earlier in the year, JinkoSolar announced that it would be opening a new 400 MW factory in Jacksonville, Florida; LG Electronics has plans for a 500 MW high efficiency line in Alabama; and several expansions have been announced by domestic U.S. producers including Mission Solar and SolarTech Universal. pv magazine estimates that around 4 GW of new module capacity has been announced for the U.S. since January.

“The 201 tariffs have had a couple of main effects: There has been more investment in U.S. manufacturing, mostly by foreign companies. Most of this investment wouldn’t have been possible without the threat or the imposition of tariffs,” says Jones.

Jones also points out that the recent acquisition of SolarWorld USA by SunPower likely would not have happened without the tariff announcement, and that, although module prices in 2018 are tumbling in the wake of China’s May 31 announcement, trade tariffs will prevent the U.S. seeing such low prices. “The Section 201 tariffs have given a lifeline to SolarWorld USA, one of the Section 201 petitioners. The company was acquired by SunPower, conveniently after SolarWorld backed SunPower’s IBC product exemption from 201 tariffs. They also place a fundamental floor on how low module prices can fall in the U.S. Module prices will fall in response to industry oversupply, but prices in the U.S. will continue to be the highest in the world.”

India

Though now firmly established as a solar world leader, and set to overtake the U.S. to become the world’s second-largest market in the near future – IHS Markit forecasts India to be responsible for 11% of solar demand by 2021, from its current level of 8% – India has remained well behind the East Asia region in terms of manufacturing.

“There was some capacity growth in India, from small additions (e.g. BHEL’s 200 MW cell and module ramp) to larger gigawatt expansions like that of Adani,” continues Jade Jones. “While many major Chinese suppliers have previously expressed interest in expanding manufacturing in the region, most held off in 2017.”

Given its huge appetite for solar, and the recent trade issues that have slowed its growth somewhat, most analysts expect Indian module manufacturing to ramp up over the coming years. This will most likely be led by the established Chinese manufacturers spreading their activities further afield.

“India’s domestic production capacity is not enough, and the market has had problems with trade war,” says Corrine Lin. “I think building a module manufacturing group is important. Chinese manufacturers will want to open factories, or start further cooperation with local producers.”

Indian manufacturer Adani announced plans to increase its capacity from 1.2 to
2 GW earlier this year, and leading mono c-Si producer Longi announced plans in early 2018 for 2 GW of new manufacturing capacity in India.

“Longi is making modest capacity investments in select markets to hedge against the risks of trade protectionism, while remaining focused on the Chinese domestic market,” stated Wenxue Li, President of Longi Solar, announcing the plan for production in India. “According to preliminary estimates, the new expansion will support $380 million in annual sales and roughly $19 million in net profit every year.”

Taiwan

Though they still have some advantages in terms of their reputation for quality, Taiwan’s cell and module makers have struggled to keep up with the price reductions achieved over in mainland China.

Previously a major exporter of high efficiency cells, Taiwanese companies have had to change strategy in order to survive. This change is evidenced in the upcoming merger between three of Taiwan’s largest PV manufacturers, Neo Solar Power, Gintech, and Solartech, to form a new company under the name United Renewable Energy Company (UREC).

This new company, along with other Taiwanese manufacturers, is expected to focus on its own domestic market, where significant solar ambitions combined with a lack of suitable land for project development likely mean high efficiency modules can be sold at higher prices. “The establishment of UREC will allow Taiwan’s solar cell industry to get rid of its role as foundries and further urge the green energy industry to root and grow strongly in Taiwan,” reads an October press release announcing the planned merger.

https://16iwyl195vvfgoqu3136p2ly-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/07023_Top_10-solar_module_manufacturers_20171-page-001.jpg

Tariffs in Greece’s PV tender hit €62.97 per MWh

PV Magazine — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 17:31:00 GMT

The winner in the first of a series of renewable energy auctions that will take place in Greece as part of its renewable energy plan, is the European Union’s policy.

It is the bloc that insisted on EU members’ auctioning renewable energy capacity above 500 KW; and Greece, which adopted the new policy belatedly and rather reluctantly, today bears the fruits.

Monday’s solar PV auction was split in two categories: The first concerned projects larger than 500 KW and up to 1 MW of capacity; and the second, projects larger than 1 MW and up to 20 MW of capacity.

Successful bidding prices in the first category ranged from €75.87 per MWh up to €80 per MWh, with the tender awarding a total of 53.48 MW of PV capacity across 83 projects.

The second auction category reduced the price for the generated power from sun in Greece further, with the lowest successful bid coming in at €62.97 per MWh, and the highest, €71 per MWh. Overall, the second category awarded a total 52.92 MW of new solar PV capacity over eight projects.

There was also a third auction category concerning wind energy projects. Overall, 170.92 MW of new wind power capacity was awarded across seven projects. The lowest successful bid in this category was €68.18 per MWh.

Winning projects

In more detail, the first auction category, comprising PV projects up to 1 MW, was dominated by Greek firm, Egnatia Energia. Egnatia Energia won around 34 MW of capacity across 46 projects, out of a total 53.48 MW awarded.

All but two of Egnatia’s successful bids were awarded a comparatively high tariff of €79 per MWh. The remaining two projects, meanwhile, saw tariffs of €77 and €76 per MWh, respectively.

In the second solar PV tender category, out of a total of eight projects, Germany’s ABO won five, worth around 45 MW of capacity, out of a total 52.92 MW been awarded.

ABO’s involvement is the reason Greece’s tender produced its lower bidding prices. The company can secure financing abroad, with low interest rates, and then invest in Greece.

Specifically, the tariffs for ABO’s winning bids ranged between €62.97 and €62.99 per MWh. The tariffs for the remaining three successful bids, which didn’t involve ABO, came in at €67.06, €69 and €71 per MWh, respectively.

The bidding price caps in the tender’s first and second categories were €85 per MWh and €80 per MWh, respectively.

Mixed feelings

Overall, Monday’s solar PV tender generated mixed feelings.

The tender was a success in that it produced lower prices than those seen in the pilot tender in December 2016.

It can also be considered a success when compared to the high feed-in tariff rates being awarded in Greece a few years ago (and which the government then retroactively cut).

However, the tender has failed to attract the stunning prices seen elsewhere around the globe recently. This is not strange given the country has been battered by an economic and political crisis for almost a decade, while the current government came close to leaving the European Union three years ago.

Even today, three years after the so-called Grexit crisis, Greece’s government still restricts the flow of capital.

Red tape

Under these circumstances, Greece has only one way forward now: To ensure red tape is restricted, so investors can quickly gather all the necessary documentation, so they can participate in the next tenders; and attract as many foreign investors as possible, allowing the new tenders to lower the bidding prices even further.

In September, the Greek regulator will announce the details of the next renewable energy tender, which is expected to take place by the end of the year. The required level of participation in the tender, set by the regulator, should remain the same.

The country’s forthcoming auctions should see lower bids than the ones experienced this week, to reflect the level of cost reductions seen elsewhere in the world. This won’t be possible via local financing alone.

Η επίσημη λίστα με τους επιλεγέντες και απορριφθέντες συμμετέχοντες στους διαγωνισμούς ΑΠΕ

Global solar investment drops due to low project costs, China policy change

PV Magazine — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 17:18:00 GMT

Wind and energy smart technologies, like electric vehicles and batteries are attracting increasing shares of the clean energy investment pie, with wind snapping up US$57.2 billion of the $138.2 billion invested in 1H 2018 – a 33% increase on the previous year – and energy smart technologies receiving $5.2 billion, up 64%.

While solar’s share is still substantial, at $71.6 billion, it saw investment fall 19% YoY, due to both “significantly” lower capital PV project costs, which result in less cash spent per MW installed; and China’s reductions to its PV feed-in tariffs and capacity allowances.

Out of the top 10 top investments, solar comprised the second largest – $881 million in debt for the 110 MW EIG Atacama 1STEG plant in Chile – and the second last – $112 million in VC- Series B / Second round to scale C&I finance solutions.

The China effect

Looking at China specifically, which accounts for the largest share of solar investments, finances dropped 29% from 1H 2017, to $35.1 billion. The second half of this year is expected to show the full effects of the decision, however, which include new global capacity additions falling for the first time in solar’s record.

Pietro Radoia, senior solar analyst at BNEF, commented, “It [the policy change] will also mean overcapacity in solar manufacturing globally, and yet steeper price falls.

“Before the Chinese announcement our team was already expecting a 27% fall in PV module prices this year. Now we have revised that to a 34% drop, to an end-2018 global average of 24.4 U.S. cents per watt.”

He added to pv magazine, “We anticipate a 22% PV supply glut even after polysilicon producers reduce their utilization rates and possibly halt of some less competitive capacity due to the sluggish demand.”

Regarding projects, Radoia told pv magazine that BNEF has seen project developers postponing and renegotiating their contracts, on the back of expectations that module prices will fall further.

“We heard of developers locking into $0.27/W module contracts for delivery in 3Q and 4Q in India and EU even before the policy headwinds in China. 4Q 2018 might turn out to be a hot market in terms of contract negotiations,” he said.

Overall, clean energy investment slipped 1% in the first six months of 2018, compared to the previous year, Q2 saw figures rise 8% to $76.7 billion. The top five investors, by country, were: China, the U.S., Europe, India and Australia.

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IRENA: EU can increase the share of renewables in its energy mix up to 34 percent by 2030

IRENA — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 07:20:00 GMT

For more than two decades, the European Union (EU) has been at the forefront of global renewable energy deployment. The adoption of long-term targets and supporting policy measures has resulted in strong growth in renewable energy deployment across the region, from a 9% share in gross final energy consumption in 2005 to 16.7% in 2015.

The REmap study by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), prepared in co-operation with the European Commission, identifies cost-effective renewable energy options for all EU Member States, spanning a wide range of sectors and technologies.

Key findings:

The EU could double the renewable share in its energy mix, cost effectively, from 17% in 2015 to 34% in 2030.
All EU countries have cost-effective potential to use more renewables.
Renewables are vital for long-term decarbonisation of the EU energy system.
The European electricity sector can accommodate large shares of solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind power generation.
Heating and cooling solutions account for more than one third of the EU’s untapped renewable energy potential.
All renewable transport option, including both electric vehicles and biofuels, are needed to realise long-term EU decarbonisation objectives.
Biomass will remain a key renewable energy source beyond 2030.

Tapping the additional renewable energy potentials identified in the study would propel the EU further on a decarbonisation pathway compatible with the ‘well-below’ 2°C objective established in the Paris Agreement. The importance of both an EU-wide target and national-level commitments are critical, as is the faster deployment of renewables, feasible with today’s technology. Finally, substantial socio-economic and environmental benefits across the EU would be garnered from additional renewables deployment.

The study forms part of IRENA’s global REmap analysis, which sets out a practical roadmap for doubling renewables in the global energy mix.

https://irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2018/Feb/IRENA_REmap_EU_2018.pdf

Ενεργειακές Κοινότητες,NetMetering

Thu, 18 Jan 2018 07:53:00 GMT

Υπερψηφίστηκε επί της αρχής το ν/σ για ενεργειακές κοινότητες

Σχέδιο Νόμου μετά την ψήφιση των άρθρων

Τροπολογία 1444/167 16.1.2018 για την επέκταση του net metering στις υπόλοιπες τεχνολογίες ΑΠΕ

Irena: Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2017

IRENA — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 07:32:00 GMT

Broadly, the study finds:

Renewable power generation costs continue to fall and are already very competitive to meet needs for new capacity.
Competitive procurement – including auctions – accounts for a small fraction of global renewable energy deployment. Yet these mechanisms are very rapidly driving down costs in new markets..
Global competition is helping to spread the best project development practices, reducing technology and project risk and making renewables more cost-competitive than ever before.
In developed countries, solar power has become cheaper than new nuclear power.
The levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) from solar photovoltaics (PV) decreased by 69% between 2010 and 2016 – coming well into the cost range of fossil fuels.
Onshore wind, whose costs fell 18% in the same period, provides very competitive electricity, with projects routinely commissioned nowadays at USD 0.04/kWh.
As installation accelerates, the cost equation for renewables just gets better and better. With every doubling of cumulative installed capacity for onshore wind, investment costs drop by 9% while the resulting electricity becomes 15% cheaper.
Solar PV module costs have fallen by about four-fifths, making residential solar PV systems as much as two-thirds cheaper than in 2010.

The IRENA Renewable Cost Database includes 15000 data points for LCOE from projects around the globe, representing over 1000 gigawatss (GW) of power generation capacity. An additional auctions database encompasses over 7,000 projects with nearly 300 GW of capacity.

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China’s capacity additions approach 50 GW mark in 2017

PV Magazine — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 08:47:00 GMT

The country’s cumulative total represents a year-on-year increase of about 67%, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said in an online statement this week The figures indicate that around 23.97 GW of solar was completed from July to the end of November 2017, bringing total capacity additions for the first 11 months of the year to about 48.4 GW.

PV projects throughout the country generated a record 106.9 billion kWh of electricity in the January-November period, up 72% year on year, the NEA said. Utility-scale PV projects generated about 93.2 billion kWh of electricity, while distributed-generation solar installations produced 13.7 billion kWh.

The NEA noted that distributed-generation PV development expanded significantly in the first 11 months of 2017, with 17.2 GW of new capacity additions. The pace of deployment fell in the northwestern part of the country, where the curtailment of PV projects remains a problem, the government agency said. However, it claimed that deployment continued to rise in eastern and central China throughout the first 11 months of the year. It also said that it was satisfied by progress under its Top Runner program, as it has contributed to technological advancements and cost reductions.

In August, the NEA said that China had installed 24.4 GW of solar in the first six months of 2017. More recently, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) estimated that Chinese PV developers had completed roughly 43 GW of PV capacity in the nine months to the end of September.

In December, the Chinese government revealed its new feed-in tariffs (FIT) for different kinds of solar projects, effective from the beginning of this month.

India’s impressive solar achievements in 2017

PV Magazine — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 08:43:00 GMT

A capacity addition of 27.07 GW of renewable energy has been reported in India during last three and a half years, including 12.87 GW of solar, 11.07 GW of wind, 0.59 GW of small hydro and 0.79 GW of biomass.

In particular, the solar sector is on an exponential growth path, with PV installs reaching over 16.6 GW, including 863.92 MW from solar roof top projects.

The government has set an ambitious target of achieving 40% cumulative electric power through renewable energy sources by 2030, and an installation of 175 GW of renewable energy source by 2022 (predominantly solar and wind).

To achieve this, the government has enacted a number of measures, and is playing an active role in promoting them. These include generation-based incentives, capital and interest subsidies, viability gap funding, concessional finance and fiscal incentives.

Major installation programs for solar parks, solar roof top systems and solar pumps, among others, have also been launched in past two years.

Increasing demand

As the economy is prospering, the country’s energy demand is increasing. Out of the total power generation capacity installed – 331.95 GW – renewable energy contributes to around 60.98 GW.

A milestone, India recorded its biggest ever PV power capacity addition of 5525.98 MW in 2017, of which solar rooftops contributed 1.7 GW.

If realized, the 10 GW target set for 2017-2018 will take cumulative capacity over 20 GW by March 31, 2018 (financial year end).

As of December 2017, 23.65 GW had been tendered, out of which letters of intent for 19.34 GW have been issued.

Around 35 solar parks totaling 20 GW have been approved in 21 states. The target under the country”s Development of Solar Parks and Ultra-Mega Solar Power Projects scheme has also been increased to 40 GW, from 20 GW.

The Kurnool solar park in Andhra Pradesh emerged as the world’s largest, with the commissioning of 1 GW of capacity at a single location.

The competitive solar market also saw a decline in solar PV tariffs, to lowest level of INR 2.44 ($0.04)/kWh. The tariff increased slightly after that in other auctions, but stayed under INR 5 ($0.08)/kWh in 2017.

Furthermore, India has installed 63 solar micro grids totaling 1.89 MW under the country’s Solar Off-Grid and Decentralized Applications program. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has provided financial support for up to 30% of the costs of micro/mini-grids systems for installation in rural areas.

In the PV rooftop arena, 1.76 GW of capacity has been approved, with around 863.92 MW installed.

The government has taken many steps to boost PV rooftop installations. For example, in 2017, it unveiled its rent a roof policy, under which solar developers install PV arrays on rented roof space, and then offer leases to households to feed solar power to grid.

Concessional loans up to $1375 million have further been made available for PV rooftop projects. These loans have been offered from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the New Development Bank, and made available to the State Bank of India, the Punjab National Bank and the Canara Bank.

Overall in 2017, India achieved new milestones and a concrete footing for the further development of its renewable energy sector. If the momentum continues, it will easily achieve its goals.

Information about household energy prices in European Union

Eurostat — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 11:55:00 GMT

Across the EU Member States, the highest increase in household electricity prices in national currency between the first half of 2016 and the first half of 2017 was registered by far in Cyprus (+22.0%), followed by Greece (+12.8%), Belgium (+10.0%), Poland (+6.9%), Sweden (+5.5%) and Spain (+5.1%). In contrast, the most noticeable decreases were observed in Italy (-11.2%), Croatia (-10.2%) and Lithuania (-9.3%), well ahead of Luxembourg (-4.9%), Austria (-4.1%), Romania (-4.0%) and the Netherlands (-3.6%).

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/8489679/8-29112017-AP-EN.pdf/600c794f-c0d8-4b33-b6d9-69e0489409b7

Australia hits 1GW in 2017 as small-scale records tumble

PVTECH — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 11:33:00 GMT

https://www.pv-tech.org/images/made/assets/images/editorial/Screen_Shot_2017-12-11_at_14.51.20_750_415_s.png

Australia has commissioned 1GW of solar this calendar year in its quickest ever time, according to analysis from consultancy firm SunWiz, while multiple other small-scale PV records have been broken.

Data shows 893MW of sub-100kW PV commissioned in 2017 so far with an expected 1.05GW by the end of the year. Meanwhile, more than 114MW of systems over 100kW have already been commissioned in 2017. Combined these figures tally to more than 1GW by the end of November. This means Australia is “certain” to exceed its previous best of 1.058GW in 2012, said SunWiz.

A record amount of C&I rooftop solar has been installed, with 285MW by November and this already surpasses the previous best of 228MW of 2016.

The country has also seen the record number of sub-100kW solar systems registered in a month, with 122MW of STCs in November alone.

New South Wales saw its largest ever amount of PV registered in any month, while the average size of sub-100kW systems in Australia has grown to 6.7kW, which SunWiz said indicates the increasing proportion of commercial solar in the mix – yet another record.

Other records included:

Proportion by volume of system in the 75-100kW range
Commercial system sizes in every sub-range

To finish it all off, Australia has also seen the world's largest battery installed in record time.

Italy installed 323 MW of solar in first nine months of 2017

PV Magazine — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 07:07:00 GMT

Italy saw the addition of 323 MW of new PV systems in the first nine months of 2017, according to provisional numbers released by the Italian renewable energy association Anie Rinnovabili, which relies on data provided by the country’s grid operator Terna.

This result represents a 13% growth compared to the same period in 2016 and a 31% increase from the first nine months of 2015. In the third quarter of this year, new additions totaled 89.9 MW, up 6% from the same quarter of 2016.

In September, approximately 32.2 MW of new PV systems were connected to the grid in Italy, up from 26.3 MW in August.

September’s result still gives the category for PV plants over 1 MW the largest share in this year’s ranking with around 66.9 MW of newly installed power, followed by PV systems with a capacity between 4.5 kW and 6 kW (47.4 MW), PV systems ranging in size from 20 kW to 100 kW (44.9 MW), solar installations with a power of 10 kW to 20 KW (42.1 MW) and solar power generators with a capacity between 100 kW and 200 kW (32.5 MW).

The region with the largest share so far this year is Lazio, where several new large-scale PV plants are located, with 81.4 MW, followed by Lombardia (41.9 MW), Veneto (30.5 MW) and Emilia Romagna (30.5 MW).

According to the latest official statistic released by the energy agency Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE), Italy had approximately 19.28 GW of installed PV capacity at the end of 2016. This means that the country should have reached approximately 19.6 GW of installed solar capacity at the end of September.

India has installed 810 MW rooftop solar to date

PV Magazine — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 07:06:00 GMT

The committee shared the rooftop status and initiatives at the meeting of Consultative Committee of Members of Parliament for Ministry of Power and New & Renewable Energy, chaired by MNRE minister RK Singh held in Guwahati on October 31.

About 810 MW of solar rooftop systems had been installed as of October 31, and 2,363 MW aggregate capacity have been sanctioned in the country so far. The installations came in residential, industrial, commercial and institutional sectors.

The government has targeted to install 5 GW of grid-connected solar rooftops by 2017-18. However, the current installations stand approximately 83% behind the target.

The committee has proposed a new rooftop scheme considering the poor performance in this sector, which aims at removing the existing operational difficulties.

The Government of India had pledged to install 40 GW grid-connected solar rooftops by 2022, and in revision, it has scaled-up the budget from INR 6 billion ($93 million) during the 12th Five Year Plan to INR 50 billion ($773 million) to be installed up to 2019-20. This will provide financial assistance for the installation of about 4200 MW solar rooftops in the country (2100 MW with subsidy and 2100 MW without subsidy)”.

The government also provided a 30% subsidy for the residential and institutional (hospitals, educational institutions etc.) rooftop sectors. However, still it is seriously behind the target values, and it asked to revise the rooftop targets.

Therefore, earlier in July, the standing committee on Energy gave a serious viewpoint on the Ministry’s 40 GW of grid-connected rooftop solar PV projects. The group concluded to reconsider the target, conduct public awareness programs, simplify the process of subsidy distribution, mandate compulsory roof-top solar on new buildings, and adopt a single window clearance system for approvals like connectivity, net-metering, electricity inspection, limitation in sanctioned load, etc.

They also singled out the net-metering policy as the key driver for solar roof-top systems, as it reduces aggregated technical and commercial (AT&C) losses and needs for large tracts of land. It even helps DISCOMs to avoid buying expensive peak power. Therefore, the concept of cross-subsidy should be reconsidered so that net-metering for all users will make more financial sense, clear installation guidelines, and proper implementation training of DISCOM’s staff should be devised.

However, it is still in discussion, and there is no decision on target revision yet. It seems government is ambitious about the target, and would implement new schemes to raise the rooftop sector in India.

Solar fastest growing energy source in 2016, finds latest IEA report

PV Magazine — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 16:32:00 GMT

The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) has today published a new report that states solar PV was the world’s fastest-growing energy source in 2016.

Regularly criticized for its conservative estimates on renewable energy deployment and forecasted growth, the IEA has, in its Renewables 2017 report, suggested that renewable energy can reach 1,000 GW globally by 2022 – equalling half of the world’s current coal power capacity and doing so in a vastly shorter timescale.

The report found that solar PV capacity grew by 50% in 2016, driven by sustained growth in China, the U.S. and India. Based on this strong performance, the IEA has raised its renewables forecast for 2017 by 12% on last year. “What we are witnessing is the birth of a new era in solar PV,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol. “We expect that solar PV capacity growth will be higher than any other renewable technology through 2022.”

The IEA expects China, the U.S. and India to continue dominating the renewables landscape, and forecasts that two-thirds of all new renewable capacity through 2022 will be installed in these three nations. By 2022, installed renewable electricity will reach more than 8,000 terawatt hours, the IEA said – the equivalent of the power consumption of China, India and Germany combined.

This growth will mean that renewables meet 30% of the world’s power needs by 2022, up from 24% in 2016. “The growth in renewable generation will be twice as large as that of gas and coal combined,” said the report. However, despite the IEA suggesting that renewables will continue to close the generation gap with coal by half in five years, many climate experts still feel that the IEA continues to underestimate renewables’ potential.

“2016 was another record high year of renewable installs and unexpectedly large renewable energy cost deflation, again highlighting the IEA’s continued underestimation of both these two trends driving the increasingly global market transformation,” said Tim Buckley, director of energy finance studies at IEEFA, an Australian energy analyst.

Paolo Frankl, the IEA’s head of renewable energy, warned that despite the tumbling costs of solar and wind power, there remains a risk that record-low prices could prove off-putting for developers, and thus the IEA continues to err on the side of caution.

“Renewables may well become even cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives over the next five years,” Frankl said. “However, be careful because this does not automatically mean they are competitive and investment will flow. That depends on the risk of investment and whether remuneration flows make a project bankable or not.”

On the same day of the report’s publication, France’s EDF was part of a consortium that won a tender in Saudi Arabia to develop a solar project for just $0.0178/kWh – by far the lowest price ever seen for PV. A further six bids accepted were all under $0.03/kWh for solar, suggesting that there remains strong appetite to develop PV as cheaply as possible, provided the conditions are suitable.

India, China and the U.S.

The contrasting fortunes of the three largest solar markets – Japan being edged from the top table by India this year – highlight how the solar industry ebbs and flows. The IEA report found that China accounted for almost half of 2016’s global solar PV expansion, with data showing a similar story this year. China’s solar thirst is driven by concerns about air pollution and capacity targets set out in the country’s 13th five-year plan to 2020. Grid integration remains a key challenge for China, the IEA added.

India’s eye-catching growth is spurred by the National Solar Mission, which has targeted a goal of 100 GW of solar by 2022. “India’s move to address the financial health of its utilities and tackle grid-integration issues drive a more optimistic forecast,” said the IEA. “By 2022, India’s renewable capacity will more than double. This growth is enough to overtake renewable expansion in the EU for the first time.”

In the U.S., current political uncertainty stemming from the Suniva Section 201 case could, the IEA said, alter the economic attractiveness of renewables, thus hampering growth out to 2022. Frankl, though, believes that the vastly reduced cost of solar and wind will likely limit the impact wrought by President Trump. “There is a risk that the U.S. ITC imposes tariffs on imports of Chinese solar panels,” Frankl said. “But at the moment our forecast remains strong.”

https://www.iea.org/newsroom/news/2017/october/solar-pv-grew-faster-than-any-other-fuel-in-2016-opening-a-new-era-for-solar-pow.html

http://www.iea.org/renewables/

Lithium-ion predicted to dominate even in ‘longer duration’ global market

Energy Storage News — Wed, 09 Aug 2017 06:22:00 GMT

There is a global trend towards longer duration energy storage and even in this segment, lithium-ion batteries are expected to dominate the market over flow batteries and other technologies, an I.H.S Markit analyst has told Energy-Storage.News.

The research firm issued its bi-annual Grid-Connected Energy Storage Tracker to its clients at the end of July, predicting the rise of grid-connected systems from an installed base of less than 4GW today to hit 52GW by 2025.

The company found that 1.3GW was deployed worldwide in 2016, expected to rise by 2020 to 4.7GW and then 8.8GW by 2025, corresponding to annual revenues of US$1.5 billion rising to US$7 billion in that time, a compound annual growth rate of 16%.

Leading regional markets

I.H.S Markit identified three leading regions that are driving forward in energy storage deployment fastest: California, where subsidies such as the SGIP (Self-Generation Incentive Program) and a mandate for investor-owned utilities to procure 1.35GW of energy storage, coupled with a corresponding growth in PV and other distributed energy technologies have lead the way; South Korea, where utilities, many government-owned, have been procuring large-scale frequency regulation projects directly and are moving on to renewables-integration projects, with I.H.S expecting more than 300MW annual growth from 2018 onwards; the much-talked about Australian market, where high electricity costs and relatively low grid reliability have pushed the solar PV market forward and energy storage is now following, with large-scale storage tenders and high profile projects such as Tesla’s in South Australia and Lyon Group’s 640MWh tender.

By country, six leaders were picked out for now and for the near future: the US, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Australia and the UK. The former will enjoy compound annual growth rates of 21% between 2017 and 2025, with 1.2GW of grid-connected systems forecast to be deployed in 2020.

Technology trending towards long(er) duration energy storage

In general terms, after a recent period of growth in single-application energy storage deployments, from frequency regulation and other grid-balancing and ancillary services markets to self-consumption of solar PV generation, I.H.S is expecting to see an increase in uptake of solar-plus-storage projects and utility deployment of dispatchable resources to meet capacity requirements.

One knock-on effect of this increase in dispatchable solar PV, in particular, will be a rise in the duration requirements of energy storage plants.

“At the moment it’s mainly around somewhere between 2-6 hours, that’s where a lot of growth is going to be,” Jansen said.

“It’s interesting because in the past we’ve attributed that opportunity specifically to non-lithium-ion technologies. But what we’ve seen over the past year or so is that for four hour systems, lithium-ion is becoming competitive.”

The tracker refers to a 70% drop in lithium battery prices since 2012, predicting that sub-US$200/kWh systems will be on the market by 2019. This price drop, coupled with some recent real-world examples of lithium being used for capacity projects with longer durations, mean that while flow batteries and other long duration energy storage technologies might seem the natural fit for such projects, in practise, lithium-ion will likely continue to dominate. Jansen gave the example of the Aliso Canyon procurements in the US, where several energy storage projects have been deployed to help deal with capacity shortfall and energy security issues. As Jansen pointed out, the majority of those projects sit in the four-hour duration segment of the market.

These peaking capacity projects “showed lithium-ion can be active in that type of segment”, Jansen said. Meanwhile, other installations and tenders in locations like Hawaii and Australia point in a similar direction, with dispatchable solar enabled by utility-scale battery energy storage in various projects.

“In a sense, that scale of project is something that flow batteries and other technologies haven’t achieved yet. So if you can prove that the four-hour systems there are working well and competitively, then it points in the direction that in the long term, lithium-ion will also in that four hour segment be the dominant technology – that’s what we’re forecasting,” Jansen said.

Energy-Storage.News asked if this was a quirk of the market – whether better informed customers might take more time in choosing between lithium-ion and other alternatives, especially when flow battery makers have long touted the suitability of their systems to provide much longer durations of energy storage than even four hours, at a theoretically lower cost over the lifetime of the systems. One CEO of a flow energy storage manufacturer, Scott McGregor of RedT, even said recently that the optimum installations would be hybrids that combine the power capabilities of lithium with the energy capacity of redox flow.

“I think the main thing at the moment is that it’s more competitive on price,” Jansen said of lithium's dominance.

“If you actually look at some of the earlier barriers for storage development, let’s say even [for] lithium-ion, a lot of the problems were companies not being bankable, warranties not being guaranteed.

“The only technology at the moment moving into a space where you’re able to get secure funding, bankable projects because you have big companies behind it, you’re starting to have warranties and actually re-insurance of warranties. The only technology that can currently achieve that is lithium-ion.

“So if you’re an investor, or project developer or even a utility that’s going to buy the electricity, you’ll want a guarantee that you’ll get 20 years of electricity at that price, the likelihood is that you’re going to go for a proven lithium-ion battery manufacturer and a proven integrator who ideally have a big company behind them rather than going for a start-up style flow battery company that has been struggling for the past five years to get projects and get anyone to insure the system.”

Ultimately, Jansen said, it was likely to be natural that investors and utilities would be somewhat risk-averse in taking on new technologies and suppliers and would see lithium-ion as a relatively safe choice.

Spain’s auction allocates 3.5 GW of PV capacity

PV Magazine — Thu, 27 Jul 2017 05:59:00 GMT

Around 3,516 MW of solar projects were selected in Spain’s renewable energy auction for large-scale solar and wind power plants held by the Spanish Ministry of Energy, Tourism and the Digital Agenda.

According to provisional data provided to pv magazine by Elisa Noli, the spokeswoman of Spanish solar association UNEF, the share of wind power, which is traditionally Spain’s largest renewable energy source, was just 720 MW.

Cobra, a unit of Spanish industrial group ACS, achieved the largest share of PV with 1.55 GW of assigned projects, followed by X-Elio (455 MW), Endesa (338 MW), Forestalia (316 MW), Gas Natural Fenosa (250 MW), Solaria Energía (250 MW), Prodiel (182 MW), Greenalia (133 MW) Alter (50 MW), Gestamp Wind (24 MW) and Alten (13 MW). Projects selected in the auction must begin delivering power to the country’s grid on Jan. 1, 2020. More details about the auction will likely be provided by the ministry tomorrow.

Overall, the Spanish government has allocated around 4.22 GW through the auction, although it was originally planned to assign 3 GW of contracts. This was due to the auction’s bidding rules, which allow for an increase in allocated capacity in the case of bids being tied between developers. However, this must not come at an additional cost for the government.

“This is an historical day for the PV sector,” commented UNEF president Jorge Barredo. “PV has obtained this result thanks to the high levels of competitiveness that its technology has reached. Not only solar energy is a key ally against climate change, but it also contributes to reduced power prices for consumers. For this reason, the result of today’s auction is very important.”

Unlike the previous 3 GW auction, which was held in May and had unfavorable rules for PV that made wind prevail in the case of a tie between the bids, this auction has made possible the contracting of PV power projects as the Spanish government accepted to raise the maximum discount that can be offered by project developers for both wind and solar projects. As a result, PV has likely won more projects in the latest auction due to the fact that the discounts haven’t reached the maximum allowable value.

In May’s auction, which was the first of its kind for renewable energies in Spain, 99% of the allocated capacity was for wind power projects.

Iris Hellas

EC proposes new minimum import price scheme for Chinese PV

Renewables Now — Fri, 21 Jul 2017 14:42:00 GMT

The European Commission (EC) has arrived at a new mechanism for setting the minimum price for solar imports from China through September 2018, and has proposed separate rates for mono- and multi-crystalline cells and modules.

Taking into account feedback from interested parties, the EC has accepted the fact that the current minimum import price (MIP) for photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, adjusted quarterly, is no longer adequate. The new measure of choice is a variable duty MIP, distinguishing between mono- and multi-crystalline products, according to a statement on Wednesday.

The commission is proposing starting rates, which will be gradually converging to current solar prices, based on data by Taiwanese market intelligence agency PV Insights. The EC noted that most of the interested parties that helped in its review have mentioned PV Insights as a reliable source of price statistics, with SolarWorld (ETR:SWV) being an exception.

The table shows the proposed starting MIPs for separate products in a draft released by the EC. The level for the quarter to September 2018 corresponds to global prices in the first quarter of 2017.

Rates in EUR/W

to Sept ‘17 Q4‘17 Q1‘18 Q2 ‘18 Q3 ‘18

multi-crystalline modules 0.415 0.394 0.372 0.351 0.330

mono-crystalline modules 0.463 0.442 0.421 0.400 0.380

SolarPower Europe on Thursday attacked the proposal, saying that the MIP level proposed for July 2018 is still well above today's world market prices. It is not happy with the full time lag of 18 months for reaching the "true market price of solar" in Europe, said Christian Westermeier, president of the trade group.

According to the EC, the aggressive drop in solar prices could not be sustained for much longer. It expects that prices in September 2018 would not be significantly lower than currently, but will still provide some residual protection to the solar industry in the EU.

“[..] the mechanism allows the convergence towards world market prices in a relatively short timeframe,” the EC states in the proposal.

SolarPower Europe’s Westermeier further warns that the new MIP plan could slow all solar investment in Europe, as developers could be tempted to delay projects until the end of the measures.

Netherlands to extend net metering to 2023

pv Magazine — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 08:19:00 GMT

The Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Henk Kamp has announced that the net metering scheme for residential renewable energy power generators will likely be extended to 2023.

In a letter sent to the local Parliament, the minister has submitted a possible route towards stimulation of residential solar in the Netherlands beyond 2020-2023, which is based on a study conducted by the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (Ministerie van Economische Zaken).

The study has provided five different scenarios for the future of net metering, and is intended to showcase the effects these would eventually have on tax income levels for the state budget, long-term sustainability of a new scheme, and the relative impact on possible residential market development in years to come.

One of the authors of the report, Marc Londo, who is professor at the University of Utrecht, a senior consultant at ECN Policy Studies and a substantive strategist at the NVDE (the Dutch Association for Renewable Energy), told pv magazinethat in all the scenarios presented by the study, self-consumption will remain permitted, and that a new cabinet, which is currently being formed following the elections that were held in mid-March, will have to decide which option to choose among the five alternatives proposed by the research institute.

Under a first scenario (A), which will maintain the current situation and full net metering policy, electricity that is fed into the grid and consumed at a latter stage has the same value, equal to the full consumer price. This means that it does not matter whether electricity is self-consumed directly or first fed into the grid: both have the same value. A second scenario (A1) would allow the maintaining of net billing on the fiscal part of the power price but would allow utilities to pay a price lower than the retail price for electricity fed into the grid, with the the market authority allowing this buy-back price to be 70% of the utility’s retail price.

Under a third scenario (B), the fiscal net metering would be limited to a certain percentage of all electricity fed into the grid and consumed in a later stage. Above this limitation, the value of the produced electricity is only the buy-back price of the utility.

Under a fourth scenario (C), net metering would be fully abolished, both in the utility’s price and in the fiscal part. Instead, the PV owner gets a governmental buy-back subsidy on top of the utility’s buy-back price. A final scenario (D) would envisage that net metering would also be fully abolished, but that the PV owner would get an investment subsidy.

“Net metering will be maintained until 2023,” said Marc Londo, “but thereafter scenarios C and D seem to be the most appropriate instruments to provide a stable incentive for solar-PV in households, balancing the various interests that are at stake.”

According to Peter Segaar, owner of solar website www.polderpv.nl and analyst of Dutch solar market trends, the scheme, in its basic principles, would remain the same as the original mechanism introduced in the new Electricity Law introduced in July 2004. “It is important to keep in mind,” Segaar told pv magazine, “that on average, taxation income by the Dutch State involves over 70% of the variable kWh price in residential contracts (excluding the fixed grid costs for customers with a small grid connection, and also the yearly, fixed energy tax return provided by the Ministry of Finance). This is the main reason why, with the strong residential market (already over 1 GW of capacity by the end of 2015, and this year approaching a level of 1.5 GW), net metering has become a political issue in the public discussions.”

According to official statistics released by the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), approximately 1,051 MW of the 1,515 MW of PV power connected to the grid in the country at the end of 2015 consists of residential PV capacity, 69% of total accumulated market volume. “The exact volume of non-residential net-metering solar installations, however, remains unknown,” explained Segaar.

Other provisional figures released by the CBS in May of this year confirm that Netherlands solar market had its largest growth last year, and that it hit the 2 GW milestone at the end of December.

Newly installed PV capacity for 2016 was approximately 525 MW. This compares to 477 MW in 2015, 302 MW in 2014 and 377 MW in 2013. Cumulative PV capacity installed at the end of December 2016 reached 2,040 MW.

China added 24 GW PV capacity in H1 2017

Photon Mag — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 08:14:00 GMT

China added in the first half of 2017 PV capacity of about 24.4 GW, an increase of 9 percent year over year, according to the consultancy Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory Co. Ltd. (AECEA), citing the China PV Industry Association (CPIA). During Q2 2017 approximately 17.19 GW were added, in June alone 13.15 GW. During H1 2017 cell production output increased by 28 percent compared to the first half of previous year, reaching 32 GW, whereas module output increased by 25.9 percent reaching 34 GW.

Total installed solar PV power generation capacity amounts to 101.82 GW, made up of 84.39 GW (utility-scale) and 14.73 GW (distributed) solar PV. As of today, China is just approximately 3 GW away from its 13th Five-Year-Plan (2016-2020) target of 105 GW, says the consultancy.

http://www.aecea.com.de/mediapool/134/1345433/data/2016_04_10_China_Briefing_Paper_Solar_Market_Development_Frank_Haugwitz_AECEA.pdf

Indian rooftop solar market growing at over 80% annually

BRIDGE TO INDIA — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 14:07:00 GMT

BRIDGE TO INDIA has released its latest edition of the India Solar Rooftop Map report. As per the report, India added 678 MW of rooftop solar capacity in FY 2016-17, growing at 81% Y-o-Y. Total installed rooftop solar capacity reached 1.4 GW as of March 2017. Strong market fundamentals including falling costs and improving debt financing mean that the market will continue strong growth trajectory for many years to come.

• Commercial and industrial customers (C&I) remains the biggest market segment as economic viability is most pronounced for such customers;

• OPEX model has been gaining market share, doubling from 12% in FY 2014-15 to 24% last year and large public sector procurement programs will drive further growth in this market in the next few years;

• Yearly capacity addition is expected to scale up to over 2 GW by 2019 and over 3 GW by 2020 presenting attractive growth opportunities for all market participants;

With 65% of total installed capacity, C&I remains the biggest market segment. These consumers account for more than 50% of India’s total power demand and make savings of up to 50% through rooftop solar systems as their grid tariffs are typically between INR 7-10 (US₵ 11-16)/ kWh. Public sector segment is also expected to show robust growth in the coming years because of a strong government push combined with 25-30% capital subsidy. In contrast, the residential segment is expected to grow relatively slowly because of poor economic viability and lack of financing solutions.

OPEX (or BOOT) business model, where a third-party investor owns and builds the system under a long-term PPA with the site occupant, saw new capacity addition of 162 MW in FY 2016-17, accounting for 24% of total market (up from 12% in FY 2014-15 and 19% in FY 2015-16). This market is fairly consolidated as access to capital remains tight and on-the-ground execution is challenging. Top five developers account for over 60% market share - CleanMax Solar (24%), Cleantech Solar (12%), Azure Power (11%), Amplus Solar (8%) and Rattan India (5%). Going forward, we believe that this model will continue to grow but will be increasingly driven by tender-based public sector projects.

As seen previously, EPC for rooftop solar continues to be highly fragmented with over 1,000 registered installers and 35 largest players accounting for less than 35% market share. Only three companies have more than 2% market share - Tata Power Solar (6.4%), Sure Energy (2.5%) and Fourth Partner (2.2%).

In the inverter market, just two companies account for over 60% market share - Delta Electronics (36%) and SMA (including Zever Solar, 25%). ABB, KACO and Fronius are other noteworthy suppliers with about 5-6% market share each. An increasing market share for ABB and entry of companies such as SolarEdge and Huawei may result in minor changes in the leaderboard in future.

Overall, we believe that rooftop solar market in India is beginning to realize its potential. Annual market size greater than 1 GW in the current year will be an important milestone for the market. We expect India to build a total rooftop solar capacity of 13.2 GW by 2021.

Brazil to surpass 13GW of solar under government’s 10-year forecast

PVTECH — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 13:26:00 GMT

Brazil has released its long-awaited 10-Year Energy Expansion Plan proposition, PDE 2026, projecting the country to reach more than 13GW of solar PV deployment by 2026.

Brazil’s energy agency EPE and the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) unveiled the draft, which is up for public consultation until 6 August.

There was no PDE publication last year due to changes in both the government and EPE. The industry has been in great anticipation of the government energy projections given that they direct how much capacity will be procured in forthcoming renewable energy auctions and other related policies.

Ultimately, EPE expects non-hydro renewables to reach up to 48% of the energy mix by 2026.

Under a reference scenario, the new PDE plans for large-scale solar to reach 9,660MW by 2026, up from just 21MW in 2016. Combining this 9,660MW with the deployment of 3.5GW of distributed generation PV, the overall installations for solar would surpass 13GW by 2026.

Previous PDE’s had projected just 7GW overall by 2024, so the new plan delivers a more positive outlook for the sector, Rodrigo Sauaia, president of Brazilian solar association, ABsolar, told PV Tech.

However, rather than the 13GW of government projections, ABsolar is still recommending that the target be 14GW of utility-scale PV, plus the additional capacity of up to a million distributed generation PV systems.

The new PDE also includes different projections under various scenarios for the first time. For example, under a scenario of significant reduction in investment costs for solar in the coming years, the government nearly doubles its annual deployment expectations from 1GW to 1,877MW from the year 2023 onwards. This change would bring additions of large-scale PV to a huge 10.5GW just between the years 2020 to 2026.

As PV tech has already outlined, Brazil is expected to surpass 1GW of installations this year. PDE 2026 also projects the country to reach more than 2GW by the end of 2018.

Sauaia said: “This would really put Brazil on the map in terms of being one of the strongest emerging markets in the world for solar energy.

“There was a lot of uncertainty and tension in the air regarding this document, and the results so far seem positive for the solar sector. They are not exactly what the sector expected, but Brazil is also facing a complex macroeconomic scenario, which affects all electricity sources. But what we see very clearly is that this coming decade will be the decade whereby PV will be ramped up in the Brazilian electricity mix.”

Sauaia also said the PDE offers more clarity in the medium term by setting the annual additions figures at a steady 1GW, which will benefit the PV supply chain. However, he again cited ABsolar’s preferred goal of 2GW of additions per year instead of 1GW. Actual solar additions will depend on policy, regulations, taxation, financing availability and electricity prices in Brazil, he added.

Discovering the third generation of bioplastics

NanoWerk — Wed, 05 Jul 2017 07:44:00 GMT

The ongoing revolution in packaging is the use of 100% organic materials obtained from the leftovers of agricultural production. An expert from the Italian National Research Council (CNR) says that in the early 2020s these bioplastics may become as competitive as traditional ones, even if not suitable for all uses.

What if we could turn the waste from the world’s crops into a biomaterial suitable for packaging? This is not science fiction. Today plastics can be made with the waste from tomato production, for example. Or with the unused organic elements of coffee, spinach or cauliflower plants. In this way, oil derivatives and other first-generation organic polymers can be replaced by renewable and sustainable 100% organic raw materials.

These bio-materials are being studied by the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) based in Genoa, Italy. “The main advantage is their biodegradability, in addition to the opportunity offered to stimulate the process of a circular economy,” explains Giovanni Perotto, researcher at the Smart Materials lab of IIT. “One possible result could be a shopping bag similar to traditional polyethylene ones, but which is organic and sustainable. If we think about it, it does not make sense today to use plastic that lasts for millennia for a product we use for only five minutes”.

The innovation doesn’t involve producing a completely organic polymer, but rather to use materials that would otherwise be wasted. “This is the third generation of bioplastics,” says Mario Malinconico, research director of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and scientific coordinator of the association Assobioplastiche. “We are talking about a kind of production that has not yet become an industrial reality, but for which we already have a lot of prototypes. Wherever there is an agri-food chain with a large amount of process waste, the production of polymers could possibly be introduced.”

But how can these materials become competitive? “To analyse this, it is necessary to evaluate the whole lifecycle, from raw material flows to management costs, taking into account the additional recycling and decontamination issues associated with traditional plastics,” continues Malinconico.

Although bioplastic still costs 50% more to produce, two main factors will narrow the gap with traditional plastic: firstly, economies of scale once large plants for organic polymeric packaging and the associated logistics chains are set up; and secondly, regulations on non-degradable plastics will be increasingly stringent at a time when oil extraction costs go up year-on-year.

According to Malinconico, “the cost differential will ultimately be cancelled out, and biodegradable polymers could overtake traditional plastic in a few years, probably in the early 2020s”.

But which features do these 100% bioplastic prototypes have? Observing closely, one first notices their delicate smell, which is the perfume of the plant from which the material has been obtained.

“The process we have implemented at IIT is completely water-based,” explains Perotto, “And it takes up to half a day. After optimising the process, it will take just a few hours from waste organic material to obtain the bioplastic.” One of the added values of this process is the sustainability of the production, which is not always taken for granted when dealing with organic materials.

The durability of these plastics can be extended to a few months or even years if they are put in a drawer. However, they degrade in a few weeks in the soil or in the sea.

The first and most simple application remains non-food packaging, since a little more research needs to be done to verify food safety.

At present, regulations are less stringent when food is not involved. Moreover, these bioplastics are edible and can be cooked, but they cannot be used at high temperatures, for example as baking paper or for hot beverages.

In this context, at the 2017 global food innovation summit Seeds & Chips, held in Milan, the Italian company Metalvuoto (SAES group) presented an active packaging able to extend shelf lifeand avoid the use of preservatives.

A water-based layer, applied on the plastic surfaces of fresh food packaging, is capable of absorbing gases and substances that can quickly deteriorate foods. “New packaging must above all be safe and environmentally friendly,” claims managing director Stefano Tominetti, “But it must also have high performance and be lightweight in order to reduce logistical costs. It is thus possible to pass on significant benefits to consumers, distributors and even to the environment”.

With the high standards required by the food packaging industry, the most likely scenario will be the coexistence of different types of plastics in the next years. In particular, traditional plastics will still be more suitable in those cases where compostability is not a fundamental feature, such as packaging for reuse or recycle, and in high-temperature environments.

Source: Bioeconomy Awareness and Discourse Project

Air Pollution Casts Shadow over Solar Energy Production

Photon Mag — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 08:32:00 GMT

Global solar energy production is taking a major hit due to air pollution and dust.

According to a new study, airborne particles and their accumulation on solar cells are cutting energy output by more than 25 percent in certain parts of the world. The regions hardest hit are also those investing the most in solar energy installations: China, India and the Arabian Peninsula.

The study appears online June 23 in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.

"My colleagues in India were showing off some of their rooftop solar installations, and I was blown away by how dirty the panels were," said Michael Bergin, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Duke University and lead author of the study. "I thought the dirt had to affect their efficiencies, but there weren't any studies out there estimating the losses. So we put together a comprehensive model to do just that."

With colleagues at the Indian Institute of Technology-Gandhinagar and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Bergin measured the decrease in solar energy gathered by the IITGN's solar panels as they became dirtier over time. The data showed a 50-percent jump in efficiency each time the panels were cleaned after being left alone for several weeks.

The researchers also sampled the grime to analyze its composition, revealing that 92 percent was dust while the remaining fraction was composed of carbon and ion pollutants from human activity. While this may sound like a small amount, light is blocked more efficiently by smaller man-made particles than by natural dust. As a result, the human contributions to energy loss are much greater than those from dust, making the two sources roughly equal antagonists in this case.

"The manmade particles are also small and sticky, making them much more difficult to clean off," said Bergin. "You might think you could just clean the solar panels more often, but the more you clean them, the higher your risk of damaging them."

Having previously analyzed pollutants discoloring India's Taj Mahal, Bergin already had a good idea of how these different particles react to sunlight. Using his earlier work as a base, he created an equation that accurately estimates the amount of sunlight blocked by different compositions of solar panel dust and pollution buildup.

But grimy buildup on solar panels isn't the only thing blocking sunlight—the ambient particles in the air also have a screening effect.

For that half of the sun-blocking equation, Bergin turned to Drew Shindell, professor of climate sciences at Duke and an expert in using the NASA GISS Global Climate Model.

Because the climate model already accounts for the amount of the sun's energy blocked by different types of airborne particles, it was not a stretch to estimate the particles' effects on solar energy. The NASA model also estimates the amount of particulate matter deposited on surfaces worldwide, providing a basis for Bergin's equation to calculate how much sunlight would be blocked by accumulated dust and pollution.

The resulting calculations estimate the total loss of solar energy production in every part of the world. While the United States has relatively little migratory dust, more arid regions such as the Arabian Peninsula, Northern India and Eastern China are looking at heavy losses -- 17 to 25 percent or more, assuming monthly cleanings. If cleanings take place every two months, those numbers jump to 25 or 35 percent.

There are, of course, multiple variables that affect solar power production both on a local and regional level. For example, a large construction zone can cause a swift buildup of dust on a nearby solar array.

The Arabian Peninsula loses much more solar power to dust than it does manmade pollutants, Bergin said. But the reverse is true for regions of China, and regions of India are not far behind.

"China is already looking at tens of billions of dollars being lost each year, with more than 80 percent of that coming from losses due to pollution," said Bergin. "With the explosion of renewables taking place in China and their recent commitment to expanding their solar power capacity, that number is only going to go up."

"We always knew these pollutants were bad for human health and climate change, but now we've shown how bad they are for solar energy as well," continued Bergin. "It's yet another reason for policymakers worldwide to adopt emissions controls."

This work was supported by the US Agency for International Development and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research at Duke University.

"Large reductions in solar energy production due to dust and particulate air pollution," Mike Bergin, Chinmay Ghoroi, Deepa Dixit, Jamie Schauer, Drew Shindell. Environmental Science & Technology Letters, June 26, 2017. DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.7b00197

http://pratt.duke.edu/about/news/solar-pollution

New market for solar modules: Double yields from fields

PVEurope — Fri, 23 Jun 2017 08:32:00 GMT

In 2016, the cultivated land surrounding the agriculture community of Heggelbach near Lake Constance was turned into the first test site for agrivoltaics. A total of 194 kilowatts of solar panels were installed five metres off the ground. Bifacial solar panels by Solarworld were used. The structural elements were manufactured by the Austrian supplier Hilber Solar. 95 percent of the land underneath the solar array can be put to agricultural uses. The solar panel array is 25 metres wide and 136 metres long. The project was planned by Baywa r.e. and they also take care of monitoring operations.

So it took 35 years for an old idea by Adolf Goetzberger to be implemented. In a presentation back in 1981, Goetzberger had preached his vision of getting twice the energy out of farmland: both in the form of solar energy and as food.

A vision has become real

This vision has now at last been realised. In Heggelbach, the struts of the supporting structure are spaced far enough apart that agricultural machinery such as tractors and combine harvesters can easily pass between them. “This way, we can alleviate the use conflict for a given piece of land,” Tabea Obergfell explains. She has been a research associate at the Fraunhofer ISE for the last five years, prior to which she studied in Tübingen and Kassel. She is a member of the project team that seized upon Goetzenberger’s idea and turned it into a reality. “This allows farmers to lower their energy costs. They can even sell the electricity to their neighbours.”

Although this pilot installation is located at Lake Constance, the actual market is far further south: “The solar panels partially shade the ground,” Obergfell elucidates. “And in some arid and hot regions, this is what will make agriculture viable.”

Prevent further desertification

Large areas of the world are threatened by aridification and the salinisation of the soil that goes along with it. Climate change is exacerbating this effect; deserts are spreading. Many high-yield crops cannot be cultivated under the bright sun in the latitudes between 35 degrees north and 35 degrees south. Only millet will grow, and sparsely at that. Without irrigation, the soil is almost barren, which explains the chronic food shortage in many areas of the world. “We can use the power from the solar panels to run irrigation pumps,” Tabea Obergfell adds.

In the hot and dry areas of the world, also known as semi-arid or arid, electricity mostly means one thing: water. And water means agriculture, or in other words: life. The Heggelbach installation is not the first attempt to combine solar energy and agriculture. In France, 50 kilowatts have been installed as a test, in Italy as much as three megawatts. China has as much as 700 megawatts’ worth of such installations, Chile 15 kilowatts and Japan 50 kilowatts. Some of these systems are designed chiefly for greenhouses or non-mechanically harvested crops. Huawei in China has mounted their panels at three metres off the ground. In Italy, some arrays are mounted on heliostats.

Testing under real-life conditions

What all of the above projects are not, however, is accompanied by scientifically rigorous research. “The installation near Lake Constance will be closely monitored and evaluated both from the farming side and with an eye to the solar technology,” Obergfell predicts. “We are testing the solar installation under the real-life conditions of a Demeter-certified farm.”

Prior to the installation of the arrays, extensive simulations were undertaken to determine the most practical shading of the ground. Assuming a panel array of 100 by 100 metres, the scientists simulated various panel orientations, different substructures and distances between the panel rows. “If the arrays are oriented due south, the shading on the ground is unevenly distributed,” Tabea Obergfell explains. “If oriented towards the southwest, i.e. turned by 45 degrees, the irradiation is more even and thus much better for the crops.”

However, in this case the panels generate about five percent less electricity. “We see that as rather negligible.” The key was to find a good compromise: the happy medium between a solar park without agriculture and a farm without a photovoltaics.

Potatoes like the shade

But first results from the trials near Lake Constance are already indicating that these are two sides of the same coin. For instance, if one defines the spacing of the panel rows according to the amount of light that reaches the ground, 2.8 panel widths have proven effective. “This allows 60 percent of the light to come through,” Obergfell analyses.

In our latitudes, this powerful combination of PV and agriculture is most suitable for crops that thrive in shade. Potatoes are very suitable, while on the other hand rape seed requires more sun and is thus less well-suited. Maize also requires a lot of direct sunlight to ripen and does not get along well with PV. “The greatest challenge for farmers is to establish the crop rotation that brings the highest yields,” Obergfell says.

The Heggelbach installation covers about a third of a hectare. The panels are installed at a height of 5.5 metres. Because they are mounted overhead, glass-glass panels were used. Glass-foil panels are not approved for such an application.

The supports are spaced 19 metres apart, enough space for a combine harvester to pass through. The installation’s total output is 250 kilowatts. Of course, the costs for such a complicated substructure are much higher than for a standard solar park. Furthermore, the installation requires a long cable to the grid-connection point. Tabea Obergfell confirms: “That is why the costs are adding up to 3,400 euros per kilowatt.”

50 gigawatts in Germany

3,400 euros per kilowatt. When PV got going 20 years ago, the kilowatt cost more than 6,000 euros. On the other hand, agrivoltaics is a huge market for: In Germany alone there would be enough potential agricultural land for 50 gigawatts in solar output. In contrast to solar parks, this land could still be used for agriculture.

Currently, there is no feed-in tariff for these solar yields, because farmland is not covered by the Renewable Energy Law (EEG). Also, fields lose their EU subsidies, if they are put to use for PV. But there is one decisive advantage that will soon outweigh all these difficulties: By making the diesel generators used for electricity generation obsolete, the solar electricity is already economical.

The electric tractor

Agrivoltaics provides a charging point anywhere on the field, no matter how extensive it might be. Fully electric tractors and combine harvesters will be on the market very soon. John Deere, for example, are already working on this.

In combination with large batteries, solar energy will be able to be tapped anywhere and at any time. And: The shade that the arrays provide will be what will actually make agriculture feasible in many parts of the world. A vision even older than Adolf Goetzberger’s suggestion from 1981 is becoming possible: Bringing new life to the desert. (Heiko Schwarzburger)

France adds 78 MW of PV capacity in Q1 2017

PV Magazine — Wed, 07 Jun 2017 06:26:00 GMT

France had reached a cumulative installed PV capacity of 7,220 MW at the end of the first quarter of 2017, according to the latest statistics released by the Ministry of Energy, Ecology and Sustainable Development.

In the first quarter, 3,883 new PV systems totaling 78 MW were connected. For comparison, in the first quarter of 2016 the country saw the addition of around 183 MW of installed PV power. This latest quarter’s result is also down from 105 MW registered at the end of 2016.

Of the new capacity recorded in the first quarter of this year, 3 MW came in the form of PV systems up to 3 kW, while another 37 MW comes from PV installations exceeding 250 kW in size.

Commenting on this considerable drop in new installations, the head of French solar association SER-SOLER Xavier Daval explained to pv magazine that, for most tenders, the delay between bid-allocation and construction is generally two years, and that, prior to the tender CRE-4 (for PV projects exceeding 500 kW), France was having one big tender every 20 months with this big-swing effect on connection. Before CRE-4, the French government had closed the CRE-2 in April 2014 (with limit of construction 1/4 of 2016), while the CRE-3 was held December 2016 with connection deadline set for December 2018.

Of the current cumulative capacity, 6,853 MW is located in the French mainland, while the remaining 367 MW is installed in France’s overseas territories. Around 767 MW of all the cumulative power is represented by small PV systems not exceeding 3 kW.

Another 3,654 MW comes from installations exceeding 250 kW of power, while PV systems with a power range between 100 kW and 250 kW reach a total of 1,027 MW. Installations ranging in size from 3 kW to 100 kW account for the remaining capacity.

The French mainland’s regions with the highest amount of installed solar power are Nouvelle Aquitanie (1,753 MW), Occitanie (1,495 MW), Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (951 MW) and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (718 MW).

Among France’s overseas territories, La Réunion had the largest share with 181 MW, followed by Guadeloupe (67 MW), Martinique (63 MW), Guyane (42 MW), and Mayotte (13 MW).

Taiwan confirms plan to reach 20 GW of cumulative solar by 2025

PV Magazine — Thu, 18 May 2017 07:08:00 GMT

Taiwan’s Bureau of Energy (BOE), part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MoEA), has confirmed its plans to increase the country’s installed PV capacity from approximately 1.34 GW currently to 20 GW by 2025. Taiwan’s previous solar strategy targeted a cumulative capacity of 8.7 GW by 2030.

According to a press release from BOE, the solar strategy announced last summer will now be implemented thanks to an overall investment of NT$ 992.8 billion ($32.9 billion). As intermediate solar targets the government has set around 1.52 GW of cumulative solar by the end of 2018 and 6.5 GW by 2020.

The new plan is expected to help the country increase the share of renewables in its electricity mix from around 4.8% currently to 20% by 2025, while the share of coal is planned to be reduced from 45.5% to 30%. Of the planned cumulative 20 GW, 17 GW is expected to come from ground-mounted projects, while the remaining 3 GW is forecast to come in the form of rooftop PV installations.

According to the the International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power System Programme (IEA PVPS), Taiwan installed 368 MW of new PV systems in 2016.

In a report released in November 2016, market research company EnergyTrend said the country will have to install about 2-3 GW per year from 2018 to hit 20 GW by 2025, noting that issues related to financing and the acquisition of land as well as grid and transmission constraints threaten to cap Taipei‘s ambitions.

The government will offer even more attractive rates for distributed-generation projects in remote areas, EnergyTrend said, noting that such policies will significantly boost rooftop build-out through 2018.

Additionally, EnergyTrend found that the island‘s PV module production capacity, which at the time stood at roughly 1.8 GW per year, would be sufficient to meet anticipated domestic demand over that period.

Solar in the Netherlands crosses 2 GW mark

pv Magazine — Tue, 16 May 2017 06:45:00 GMT

Provisional figures released by the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) confirm that Netherlands solar market had its largest growth last year, and that it hit the 2 GW milestone at the end of December.

Overall, solar was able to cover 1.30% of the country power demand last year with over 1,555 GWh.

According to Peter Segaar, owner of solar website www.polderpv.nl and analyst of Dutch solar market trends, this year the Dutch solar market will exceed last year’s performance.

In a statement to pv magazine, Segaar expained: “”Although recent, accurate statistical data for the Dutch solar market remain a nightmare, the first update for 2016 by CBS confirms an earlier prognosis by Polder PV in the Solar Trend Report 2017 published in January. The new year growth record established in 2016 will certainly be overhauled in 2017. Many extra big installations on rooftops and a few ground-mounted will see the light of day, supported by (recent) SDE subsidies. This, on top of a lot of activity in several other sectors including the fundament of the classical residential market, the rental housing and the building sectors, and the many energy cooperatives.”

According to the CBS, approximately 1,051 MW of the 1,515 MW of PV power connected to the grid in the country at the end of 2015 consists of residential PV capacity, 69% of total accumulated market volume. “The exact volume of non-residential net-metering solar installations, however, remains unknown,” explained Segaar.

In early April, the Dutch Ministry of Economy has announced it has pre-qualified PV projects with a combined capacity of 2,647 MW in the first phase of the 2017 SDE+ (Stimulering Duurzame Energieproductie) program for large-scale solar and renewable energy power projects. Solar accounts for 69.4% of the total preassigned capacity. So far, at least 430 MW of PV capacity was installed under the SDE+ scheme since it was launched in 2008.

SolarSkin: Απέσπασε το 1ο βραβείο «καινοτομίας φωτοβολταϊκών» στην έκθεση MENA New Energy 2017

Iris Hellas — Tue, 09 May 2017 08:24:00 GMT

Η Iris Hellas στα πλαίσια του ετήσιου συνεδρίου και της έκθεσης MENA (Middle East & North Africa) new Energy 2017, πρώην MENASOL, που πραγματοποιήθηκε στο Dubai μεταξύ 25 & 26 Απριλίου, έλαβε το 1ο βραβείο στην κατηγορία «PV Technology Innovation» με τη λύση νανο-τεχνολογίας SolarSkin.

Τα βραβεία, που απονέμονται για 9η συνεχόμενη χρονιά από μια επιτροπή επαγγελματιών της βιομηχανίας φωτοβολταϊκών, διοργανώθηκαν από την FCBI Energy Ltd σε συνεργασία με τα περιοδικά New Energy Update, CSP Today & PV Insider. Στους βραβευμένους των προηγούμενων ετών συγκαταλέγονται η First Solar, η Siemens, η ACWA Power κ.ά.

Tο βραβείο αυτό έρχεται να συμπληρώσει την κατάταξη του SolarSkin στις 30 πλέον καινοτόμες τεχνολογίες φωτοβολταϊκών για το έτος 2017 από το περιοδικό PV Magazine International.

Η λύση νανο-τεχνολογίας SolarSkinTM, βασισμένη στην τεχνολογία HyDRoP της BFP Advanced Technologies, αποτελεί την πλέον ολοκληρωμένη λύση για φωτοβολταϊκούς και ηλιοθερμικούς σταθμούς α) ελαχιστοποιώντας της ενεργειακές απώλειες και αυξάνοντας παράλληλα την ενεργειακή τους απόδοση, β) προστατεύοντας τη γυάλινη επιφάνειά τους και κατ’ επέκταση την επένδυση και γ) μειώνοντας το ενεργειακό αποτύπωμα της συντήρησής τους μέχρι και 70%.

THE TRUE COMPETITIVENESS OF SOLAR PV. A EUROPEAN CASE STUDY

ETIP — Tue, 09 May 2017 08:21:00 GMT

This report compares the levelised cost of PV electricity (PV LCOE) with retail electricity prices in different European countries and market segments.

The report shows that PV electricity is already cheaper than retail electricity in all market segments and with all realistic interest rates in many European countries like Italy, Germany, the UK, Spain, Portugal and Greece. Even in countries with moderate solar irradiation and low retail electricity price like Finland and Sweden, PV will become competitive in 5-10 years.

Download the Report

Greece: Manufacturers Exporting More Each Year

SolarThermalWorld — Thu, 04 May 2017 14:00:00 GMT

Despite shrinking markets in Europe, Greece’s collector and tank manufacturers have increased their exports two times in a row. In 2015, the solar thermal industry delivered 7 % more collector area abroad and in 2016, the figure even rose by 14 % compared to the year prior and totalled 330,000 m² (231 MWth). Main export markets were in Southern Europe, North Africa and the Gulf region. Domestic sales have remained at the same level since 2014, at around 270,000 m² (189 MWth).

The 20 EBHE members from Greece’s solar thermal industry collected domestic and export sales figures for 2016 during their first assembly meeting of this year on 27 January 2017.

The key success factors for last years’ growing exports had been competitive products and flexible manufacturers earning a reputation as reliable suppliers, said Costas Travasaros, General Manager of Greek absorber manufacturer Prime Laser Technology and EBHE’s representative at the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation. “Greek manufacturers have had long-standing expertise in solar thermal, something that is recognised by resellers worldwide,” confirmed Miriam Martinez, Export Coordinator at Sole. In the past, nearly all of Sole’s exports had been thermosiphon systems, although project business has been growing as of late.

“The financial crisis in the country has made our products even more competitive, meaning we were able to optimise our export business,” explained Georgios Xanthopoulos, Export Area Sales Manager at Calpak-Cicero Hellas. Overall, Greek manufacturers have become increasingly confident about international business, prompted by their accomplishments in the global marketplace. Travasaros said that export statistics showed a rise in the number of tanks, which confirmed that thermosiphon systems were still dominating sales to customers abroad.

Australian solar capacity now 6GW, to double again by 2020

REneweconomy — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 07:14:00 GMT

Australia’s total solar power capacity has reached 6GW and is expected to double over the next few years as Australian households continue to invest in rooftop panels to reduce electricity bills, and the large-scale solar sector takes off after years of promise.

The latest industry analysis on installed capacity – released by the Australian Photovoltaic Institute – shows that rooftop solar capacity has now reached 5.6GW and large-scale solar capacity is now at 496MW, and growing fast.

The leading state in rooftop solar remains Queensland, with 1.72GW of rooftop solar – that makes it, as we reported here, bigger than the state’s largest coal generator. NSW and Victoria also have more than 1GW of rooftop solar capacity, with South Australia having the highest penetration (32 per cent) among residential dwellings.

As of April 2017, there was a total of 1.67 million PV installations in Australia, covering 21 per cent of suitable rooftops, which is the highest penetration of rooftop solar in the world. In total, these solar installations collectively generate 8,400 gigawatt hours of electricity each year, which meets approximately 3.3 per cent of Australian demand.

The data suggests that the rate of installation of rooftop solar is also accelerating. After establishing a record March quarter, the rate of installations for the year to date is up significantly in all the major states.

Interestingly, the biggest growth is coming from Western Australia, which has installed 43MW so far this year, outstripping Victoria, as locals prepare for the likely imminent removal of the state-based subsidy that has hidden the true cost of electricity from consumers.

The subsidy accounts for around one-third of the cost of power, and the new Labor government has flagged its removal to help it address the state’s soaring budget deficit. That is likely to make rooftop solar even more attractive – which explains the 71 per cent jump in installations so far this year.

The Sunwiz data – sourced from the Clean Energy Regulator – also highlights the solar hotspots in Australia, including the towns and suburbs where households without rooftop solar are in the minority.

For example, two-thirds of all households in Baldivis in Western Australia and Elimbah in Queensland now have rooftop solar. (See our story here on sister site One Step Off The Grid).

“With batteries now readily available on the market, many people are taking this opportunity to install both solar and batteries – or to upgrade the size of their existing solar systems,” says Sunwiz analyst Warwick Johnston. “The price of solar has dropped low enough, and power prices are rising high enough, for this to make economic sense for many commercial operators, too.”

APVI chair Dr Renate Egan said Australian homeowners, commercial businesses and large-scale solar farms had all contributed to an extra 1GW of solar being added to the grid over the past year.

“Solar power now makes up 11 percent of our country’s total electricity generation capacity with more solar added to the system in 2016 than any other fuel type,” Egan said in a statement.

By 2020, the total is expected to double again, with Sunwiz forecasting at least 800MW of rooftop solar to be installed this year and following years, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecasting more than 3,000MW of large scale solar to meet the legislated renewable energy target as solar matches wind power on costs (see graph above).

By 2040, the amount of solar capacity could have risen 10-fold from its current levels. BNEF, as this graph to the right illustrates, is predicting 33GW of rooftop solar and 27GW of large-scale solar as solar power becomes the primary source of electricity generation in Australia.

It could increase even further, if plans to create “solar export fuels”, using renewables such as solar and wind to create hydrogen and then “green ammonia” to supply Asian economies such as South Korea and Japan, hungry for clean fuels to replace imported coal and LNG.

In any case, by 2040 the nature of the grid will have changed dramatically, and will have become more “distributed” – as predicted by the new head of the Australian Energy Market Operator Audrey Zibelman.

The key features will be localised and flexible generation. Batteries – and BNEF predicts there will be at least 15GW of them – will provide a large amount of flexibility, but so too will other forms of flexible generation, including demand response.

Coal capacity might have reduced to just 5GW by that time, with gas also taking a role in delivering flexible generation, although this will largely depend on the future cost of batteries, with some already suggesting that the combined cost of large-scale solar and battery storage is already beating gas, and could be “well under” $100/MWh – and current wholesale electricity prices – within a few years.

Developers of large-scale solar projects already report fierce competition for power purchase agreements, with bidding under $70/MWh in some cases and heading towards $60/MWh.

Those developers that have the equity behind them, and access to low-cost finance, are choosing to go the “merchant” route, where they can tap into high wholesale electricity prices and – for a few years more at least – high prices for large scale renewable energy certificates.

Consumers – both household and business – are facing the opposite problem, landed with not just the increased costs of wholesale power, but the high price of transport (networks) and retail margins. Hence their huge interest in rooftop solar and storage.

http://reneweconomy.com.au/australian-solar-capacity-now-6gw-to-double-again-by-2020-2020/

IEA PVPS: At least 303 GW of solar PV are now installed world-wide

IEA — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 11:44:00 GMT

Preliminary market numbers show that the PV market grew significantly in 2016. In total, about 75 GW of PV capacity were installed in the IEA PVPS countries and in other major markets during 2016.

Rapid PV development in China, America and India

The total installed capacity in the IEA PVPS countries and key markets has risen to at least 303 GW. These are the main outcomes of the latest IEA PVPS “Snapshot of Global Photovoltaic Market 2016” report, published on 18 April 2017.

Solar PV technology continued to expand in 2016 thanks to the rapid development in China, America and India. The 50% growth reported in 2016 came from these countries, with disparities in other markets.

Japan and Europe contributed less than in 2015 and emerging countries contributed in the same way. In other words, the global PV market outside of China grew by 5 GW to 40 GW while China drove the global numbers up to at least 75 GW.

Progress in developing countries

Once driven by financial incentives in developed countries, PV has started to progress in developing countries, answering a crucial need for electricity. Whereas in several developed countries, PV comes in direct competition with existing plants from incumbent utilities and in emerging countries, PV already helps to satisfy a growing need for energy in general and electricity in particular, pushed by declining prices.

In a decade, PV has become a major source of electricity at an extremely rapid pace in several countries all over the world. The speed of its development stems from its unique ability to cover most market segments; from the very small individual systems for rural electrification to utility-size power plants (today over 1 GWp).

From the built environment to large ground-mounted installations, PV finds its way, depending on various criteria that makes it suitable for most environments.

Italian solar market expected to grow by another 1.5 GW by 2020

pv Magazine — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 10:40:00 GMT

Italy’s government-owned energy agency Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE), which manages all the five Conto Energia incentive schemes for PV, is expecting that a further 1.5 GW of new PV installations will see the light by 2020. The announcement was given on the occasion of the presentation of the fairs Key Storage e Key Solar, which will take place in Rimini, northern Italy, in November.

Gianni Silvestrini, which is the director of the scientific committee of both events and of non-profit Italian organisation Kyoto Club, said at the meeting that the country’s solar sector is currently offering good business opportunities such as, among others, the revamping and repowering of existing PV installations.

Silvestrini added that Solar-plus-storage solutions could also offer good opportunities, if the government would remove some hurdles that are preventing this segment from further flourishing. Silvestrini, however, believes that storage projects will attract interest in Italy this year. According to IEG, which is the organizer of both fairs, approximately €150 million will be invested in Italy in the storage segment by 2025.

Meanwhile, the local renewable energy association Anie Rinnovabili has published a white paper on the development of electrochemical storage solutions in Italy. The study, which was conducted in partnership with Enel Produzione, Enel Green Power and the Polytechnic University of Milan, provides insight on the existing business opportunities for electrochemical storage systems in the local electricity market.

According to the report, electrochemical batteries will offer the chance to better manage network settings in a power system that is seeing an increasing share of prosumers. Furthermore, the study reveals that the gap between the costs for installing a storage system and the investment returns is decreasing. Under the current market mechanisms, however, investments in storage still don’t seem sustainable, in particular for big systems that have to be integrated in industrial or photovoltaic projects, the study concludes.

If the 1.5 GW of new solar announced by the GSE is to be achieved, this result would confirm the growth trend registered in Italy over the past three years. In 2016, around 369 MW of new PV systems were registered in the country, while in the previous two years more than 300 MW annually was installed. Italy had reached a cumulative installed PV capacity of approximately 19.2 GW as of the end of 2016.

AEG Power Solutions’ insolvency plan unanimously approved

PV Magazine — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 10:39:00 GMT

The German power supply and control products manufacturer AEG Power Solutions announced that its insolvency plan under the so-called protective shield proceedings (Schutzschirmverfahren) has been unanimously approved and accepted by the District Court of Arnsberg, Germany.

International law firm Denton reported on Friday that all the company’s creditors have approved the plan without any dissenting votes or abstentions. Denton said that the approval of the plan was the main hurdle for its survival and reorganization. Once the plan is legally valid, Denton added, the related insolvency proceedings will be closed.

The plan establishes that all creditors will have to provide substantial restructuring contributions. Furthermore, the plan includes corporate measures, which will reduce the share capital to zero. As a result, the current stakeholder will withdraw from the company. Through a new capital increase, the new shares will be transferred to AEG Power Solutions B.V., which is another subsidiary of AEG Power Solutions’ parent company 3W Power.

The company filed for insolvency under protective shield proceedings in November 2016. The court named Rainer Eckert as trustee administrator. The court of Arnsberg opened the insolvency proceedings involving the company’s assets in February. Andreas Ziegenhagen and Dirk Schoene from Denton were awarded general power of attorney (Generalhandelsvollmacht) for the restructuring process. They are now responsible for negotiation and implementation of personnel actions, restructuring of debt capital measures, as well as for takeover agreement with the new owner and the draft of the insolvency plan.

Japan Reduces FiT Rates for PV Systems, Down to 21 Yen per kWh

EnergyTrend — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 07:25:00 GMT

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has released the new Feed-in Tariffs (FiT) scheme for renewable energy resources for fiscal year 2017. The FiT rates for solar PV systems will be reduced as planned with a reduction rate above all other resources.

The new FiT scheme for solar PV systems for fiscal year (April 1, 2017 ~ March 31, 2018), as well as future rates till fiscal year 2019, are as following: Image

Residential PV systems with capacity under 10kW will receive FiT subsidy for 10 years, other types will receive subsidies for 20 year. Besides, non-residential PV systems with capacity above 2MW shall be arranged through solar tenders since October 2017 with bid price up from 21 yen/kWh, 2017’s FiT rate for non-residential PV systems.

As for PV projects that have filed while been unable to interconnect, METI requires PV projects that applied for grid connection after August 1, 2016 to finish interconnection within three years, or METI will cancel FiT subsidy by month.

Slight reduction for wind and biomass, up for hydropower

For onshore wind power systems with capacity above 20kW, the FiT rate will be reduced from 22 yen/kWh to 21 yen/kWh since September 2017. FiT scheme for hydropower system with capacity of 1~5MW will be increased from 24 yen/kWh to 27 yen/kWh. Biomass generation systems above 20MW will receive FiT subsidy of 21 yen/kWh since September 2017, lower than current’s 24 yen/kWh; on the contrary, biomass systems below 20MW will still enjoy a subsidy rate of 24 yen/kWh.

FiT scheme for traditional geothermal power generations will not be changed until fiscal year 2019. Meanwhile, METI adds new FiT schemes for geothermal power projects using innovate, different facilities.

It is noticeable that FiT reduction ratio of PV systems is larger than other renewable segments. METI notes, Japanese government has arranged up to 3.7~4 trillion yen budget for renewable energy FiT scheme in order to increase their capacity share to 22~24% by 2030. By the end of 2017, the budget will be consumed over a half.

Electricity Tax

Japan’s nationwide electricity tax rate has also been revealed along with the new FiT scheme. For fiscal year 2017, electricity bill for home-use will charge 2.64 yen/kWh as electricity tax. The average annual tax payment will be 8,233 yen for each household, calculating through average month power consumption of 260kWh of a conventional Japanese family. The average tax payment is lower than 2016’s 9,504 yen each family.

The electricity tax is calculated according to FiT subsidies, electricity fed into the power grid, and other related financial figures.

UK installs over 1.94 GW of PV in 2016

PV Magazine — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 11:07:00 GMT

The UK saw the addition of 1.94 GW of new PV systems in 2016, according to provisional statistics released by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Last year’s result represents a significant decline on 2015, when 4.13 GW of new solar installations were connected to the grid. In 2014 and 2013, the new installed PV capacity came in at 2.55 GW and 1.09 GW, respectively.

The BEIS reports that the UK had reached a cumulative installed PV capacity of 11.49 GW by the end of January 2017. Most of this capacity was in the form of PV projects larger than 25 MW (1,409 MW), PV plants with a power range of 5 MW to 25 MW (4,116 MW) and systems ranging in size from 50 kW to 5 MW (2,703 MW). As for the residential and commercial segments, PV installations with a power of up to 4 kW represented the largest share with 2,412 MW, while PV systems with a power range of 4 kW to 50 kW account for the remaining capacity.

BEIS specified that the cumulative capacity registered at the end of 2016, namely 11,490 MW, also comprises the first PV plant installed under the country’s Contracts for Differences (CfD) scheme, the Charity solar farm (11.9 MW).

The BEIS also stressed that, within the last 12 months, the largest increase in capacity was registered in March 2016 (1,183 MW), just before the Renewable Obligation (RO) scheme for large-scale renewable energy projects was closed to installations smaller than 5 MW. The RO grace period for certain qualifying installations, ranging in size from 50 kW – 5 MW, will close at the end of this month.

BEIS notes that the numbers for January 2017 are only provisional and that these are “likely to be revised upwards as further data are received on newly operational sites.” However, new additions for the first month of this year reached a very disappointing 9 MW. This comprised 3,192 installations, most of which were rooftop PV systems with a capacity of up to 4 kW. In January 2017, newly installed PV capacity came in at 203 MW.

The UK Solar Trade Association believes that this low level of development is mainly due to the ROC program being wound up and the design of the CfD program, which is not favorable to large scale PV.

“It makes no sense for the Government to curtail solar to this extent,” Nick Wood from the STA told pv magazine, “particularly as it requires very little support in the UK. Alongside onshore wind large-scale solar is already the cheapest renewable, almost competitive with gas, and with a stable market would be the cheapest of all technologies by the mid-2020s. Shutting out our cheapest generation is not good for competition or for consumers.”

Many of the UK’s renewable energy and solar associations claim that the new CfD scheme large-scale renewable energy power projects has not been particularly beneficial to solar and that it has been an inadequate replacement for the RO program.

Italy: New rules for PV system component replacement - exchange of solar modules may increase performance

PVEurope — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 08:43:00 GMT

The authorities responsible for the processing of the solar power supply in Italy, the Servici Energetici (GSE), has finally published the regulations for the exchange of defective system components. The New Energy Projects consultancy in Munich, which specializes in the Italian photovoltaic market, shares this view. The plant operators have already been waiting for more than a year for the concrete definition of the regulations since July 2015.

Increase performance up to five percent

The central component of the now published Decree "Impianti fotovoltaici in esercizio Interventi di manutenzione e ammodernamento tecnologico" is the regulation that the exchange of defective modules may increase the original plant output. If the power of the generator was once up to 20 kilowatts, it could increase by up to five percent by replacing defective modules. For systems with a capacity of more than 20 kilowatts, the increase in power that may result from the replacement of modules is limited to one percent. In doing so, the system operator must ensure that the modules, which he reinstates instead of the defective panels, comply with the regulations of Conto Energia 5. Only in exceptional cases it is sufficient if they comply with the Conto Enerrgias, that funded the system.

Inverter replacement – compliance with current standards

This regulation also applies if inverters are to be replaced. In the case of the exchange of power electronics, the system operator must also ensure that the current industrial standards as well as the currently applicable connection conditions as prescribed by the Authority for Electricity, Gas and Water Supply (Autorità per l'Energia Elettrica, il Gas e il Sistema Idrico) are complied with. In addition, the new inverters must comply with the current operating regulations of the network operators.

Reporting deadline of 60 days

The exchange of modules must be communicated to the GSE within 60 days after completion of the repair work, unless the plant is smaller than three kilowatts. The exchange of all other components can be communicated. However, it is recommended to make any changes to the generator of the GSE. The necessary forms are attached to the decree. The authority wants to have all the data of the components including the data on the type plate. The decree also contains provisions for the temporary exchange of modules and changes in the electrical configuration of the system as well as the mains connection. It also prescribes how changes to building-integrated systems have to be dealt with and also sets the rules for the repowering of the plants

With the publication of the Decree, the phase of uncertainty among the operators of solar plants in Italy ends. "Compliance with the rules is very important in the event of changes to existing photovoltaic plants so that the subsidy tariff is not canceled or reduced," emphasizes Andreas Lutz, Managing Director of New Energy Project. (SU/HCN)

Turkey adds 571 MW of solar PV in 2016

PV Magazine — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 09:07:00 GMT

According to data published by Turkey’s ministry of energy and natural resources, the country added 571 MW of new solar PV systems in 2016, up from a cumulative 248.8 MW of solar PV capacity in the end of 2015. This is a 230% year-on-year growth.

Most of Turkey’s PV installations come through the so-called ‘unlicensed’ fragment of the market, concerning projects up to 1 MW each. The only exception is two projects installed last year in Eastern Turkey: a 8 MW solar farm in Elazig owned by local firm Akfen Renewable Energy and a 5.3 MW farm in Erzurum owned by Turkey’s Halk Enerji. The two projects belong to a separate category of 600 MW of large-scale PV been tendered in various phases in the past years.

Based on the same set of data, Turkey added a total 5.9 GW of new power capacity last year. Of this, fossil fuel power plants (3.531 GW) comprised the larger portion. Solar PV and wind systems added 1.246 GW, hydro systems added 789 MW, while geothermal, biomass and waste power plants installed 320 MW.

Overall, Turkey’s installed electricity capacity has now reached 78.49 GW and the national target for solar PV technology is 5 GW of installations by 2023.

2017 will also be strong

Ates Ugurel, founder, Turkish Solar Energy Society Solarbaba, told pv magazine that 2017 will be also a good year for Turkey’s solar PV because unlicensed projects need to be connected to the grid within two years of being approved.

Ugurel expects the cumulative capacity of approved non-licenced projects to be something between 1.5 GW to 2.5 GW at most.

Uncertainties in 2018 onwards

However, growth in 2018 onwards might be at risk due to recent changes in the fee all unlicensed projects pay to the power distribution companies for transporting the generated solar power.

This fee was 0.76 kurus per distribution unit in 2016 and increased to 2.56 kurus per unit in 2017 and 10.25 kurus per unit in 2018 (1 Turkish lira is 100 kurus and 1 USD is 3.75 Turkish liras). This was an indirect way to reduce the feed-in tariff (FIT) for the unlicensed projects from 0.130 USD per kWh in 2016 to 0.126 USD per kWh in 2017 and down to 0.103 USD per kWh in 2018. “That means almost the end of the non-licenced market as we know it,” commented Ugurel.

Apart from the unlicensed projects, the sector is eagerly waiting to see when and whether the tendered 600 MW of large-scale PV projects will materialise. Tendered projects must be connected to the grid by the end of 2019.

Similarly, the PV sector is curious about the progress of the tender for a mega 1 GW PV plant in Konya, central Turkey. The tender date is postponed to 20 March 2017 but few market stakeholders expect it to actually happen before summer. Whether the project ever materialises is also a valid question.

India to double solar park 2020 capacity goal to 40 GW

PV Magazine — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 19:21:00 GMT

The makeup of India’s 100 GW solar goal by 2022 has shifted shape this week following the confirmation by the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) that the target for solar park capacity has doubled from 20 GW to 40 GW.

This target capacity increase was first outlined in the new budget at the turn of the year, but the confirmation from government also included further details of how the target is to be reached.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) will oversee the development of this goal, working closely with respective state governments to see through project development of ultra-mega solar power plants across the country.

A total of 50 solar parks will now be built between 2019-2020, backed by central government financing of $1.2 billion. Park developers will receive a grant of up to INR 2.5 million (around $37,000) to draw up draft project reports prior to each park’s construction, after which the government will release Central Financial Assistance of up to INR 2 million ($29,800), or 30% of the project and grid connection costs (whichever is lowest), to each developer.

Prior to the CCEA confirmation, India had begun planning or building 34 solar parks across 21 states as it inched slowly towards that earlier 20 GW target. Raj Prabhu, Mercom Capital Group CEO, has previously warned of the difficulties some developers face in bringing their plans to fruition, with many running into difficulties concerning poor and lacking infrastructure in or near identified development sites.

“The issues around solar parks are typical to the Indian solar sector,” Prabhu said. “Most policies are well-intentioned with top-down goal setting, but the problem usually is on the execution side.”

The hope this time is that central government financing will be available a good time in advance, enabling developers and state governments to properly clear any hurdles that may hamper construction plans.

Speaking at a media briefing with the CCEA yesterday, Indian minister for power, coal, mines and new and renewable energy Piyush Goyal said that the decision to double the nation’s solar park capacity will “contribute to long-term energy security of the country”.

Pressed on whether foreign manufacturers would be permitted to supply these solar parks, Goyal responded: “I am in continuous dialogue with the manufacturers of solar equipment in India and […] there is now quite a significant interest to set up solar manufacturing in India,” Mint reported. “We will shortly bring out a new policy to promote manufacturing of entire solar power generation equipment in India,” Goyal added.

Analysis by Mercom Capital Group has found that India currently has 5.2 GW of operational module manufacturing capacity, of which only around 3 GW is “working” capacity. The recent budget failed to address local manufacturers’ concerns regarding a lack of subsidy or incentive to develop fabs, and unclear support at state level.

MESIA forecasts 5.7 GW solar power to be delivered across the MENA region

Photon Mag — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 09:43:00 GMT

In 2016, Middle East and North Africa solar trade association MESIA witnessed in Middle East 885 MW(ac) solar parks in operation, 3,610 MW(ac) under execution and 1,300 MW(ac) under tender. In 2017, MESIA expects above 4,050 MW in the pipe for the PV sector and 1,310 MW for the CSP sector including some hybrid plant PV and CSP. Furthermore, Middle East reached record low tariffs below $0.03 per kWh, in September 2016 price went below $0.0245 per kWh.

According to MESIA’s »Annual Solar Outlook Report«, Egypt is aiming for 2,650 MW of PV capacity in operation by 2020. Morocco will have about 500 MW of CSP and 600 MW of PV in operation by 2019, while Jordan has 540 MW of PV projects under construction and is set to award 200 MW (4 farms à 50 MW) in the course of 2017. In UAE, 2016 saw Phase III awarded (Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park) with 800 MW for delivery over three phases until 2020 at $0.0299 per kWh.

The Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) has tendered out a minimum 350 MW Sweihan solar power plant. In Saudi, SEC is currently tendering a 100 MW PV project across two sites in the northern region of the Kingdom while in Oman, the RFP for first utility scale PV projects is expected to be launched by the tendering authority by mid-2017. The project size will be around 200 MW. Pakistan is seeing the construction of the second phase of the project Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park (QASP) in Punjab – installing 300 MW.

Rooftop solar kicked off in the UAE with approximately 6 MW up and running by the end of 2016, says MESIA. The company expects the rooftop market in the UAE could reach 70 MW in 2017.

»We see a pipeline of more than 5.7 GW of upcoming projects throughout the MENA region,« says Wim Alen, Secretary General of MESIA and Senior Vice-Present Business Development – Middle East, South & Central Asia, and Turkey, at ENGIE.

MESIA Solar Outlook Report 2017

The PV Market Alliance (PVMA) estimates global photovoltaic (PV) installations at 75 GW in 2016 and possibly a stable market in 2017.

Photon Mag — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 11:41:00 GMT

After 50 GW of PV installations in 2015, the global PV market reached 75 GW in 2016, a 50% YoY growth, with now a total capacity installed globally crossing the 300 GW mark.

China, leading the PV market since 2013, installed in 2016 an absolute world record of 34 GW, representing an increase of 126% YoY and 45% of total global deployment. Given China’s total installed capacity of 77 GW, PVMA estimates that China will have exceeded the 100 GW mark by the end of 2017, if not even earlier.
Japan has installed about 8.6 GW of PV in 2016, down 10.8 GW in 2015. 2017 might show a further decrease but the market is expected to reach 7.5 to 8.5 GW, due to current project pipelines.
The US market experienced major growth with installations possibly reaching 13 GW, however PVMA anticipates significant uncertainties for the coming years.
Europe installed around 6.5 GW, driven primarily by the UK market, Germany, Turkey and France. A relatively low deployment has pushed Europe’s global PV market share to below 10%.
India experienced significant growth with 5 GW installed in 2016, up from 2 GW in 2015 and is expected to add up to 8 to 9 GW in 2017.
As anticipated, several emerging markets on all continents started to contribute significantly to the global growth with at least 7 GW installed. Other American and Asian countries contributed significantly while the Middle-East and Africa start to deliver.

2017 could become a challenging year with at least 65 GW installed in a pessimistic scenario (a market drop of 13%). Reasonably, a similar level of installations as in 2016 could be reached if established markets maintain a reasonable level of development. A declining or stable market is likely to cause that module prices will continue to remain under pressure with new production capacities coming online, thus increasing further the gap between supply and demand.

These numbers are DC numbers and refer to grid connected PV systems, not installations and not shipments of PV components which can deliver slightly different results.

SECI announces winners of 500 MW rooftop auction in India

PV Magazine — Wed, 04 Jan 2017 08:47:00 GMT

As part of India’s relentless drive towards solar PV deployment, the government has been promoting schemes for rooftop solar installations, with none so wide reaching as the 500 MW rooftop solar auction that was launched in April 2016. Now that the bids have all come in, SECI has released a list of the winners within the scheme, which proves that prices have been continuing to fall.

The bidding was open to companies for projects across all Indian states and territories under CAPEX and RESCO models. Within the list of auction winners, prices and locations have been included, however, detailed capacity information has not, which means that it is unclear exactly how much PV capacity has been awarded.

Amongst the biggest winners were Hero Solar Energy Pvt, who won projects in 13 states, and Bosch Limited that won projects across 11 states. Some of the winners were only awarded projects in a single location.

The lowest price entered amongst the winners was Rs. 3 (USD0.0442) per kWh, which is a record low, while the highest was Rs. 6.17 (USD0.0909) per kWh. Of course, the nature of the projects and their locations can account for the great divergence in prices. Offering further analysis, Mercom Capital outlined that SECI had tendered a total of 1,500 MW of rooftop solar in 2016, which is a huge figure, and will hopefully all be installed.

India to install more than 9 GW of solar in 2017, forecasts Mercom Capital

PV Magazine — Wed, 04 Jan 2017 08:45:00 GMT

The Indian solar sector is likely to add more than 9 GW of new capacity in 2017 according to a forecast by market analysts Mercom Capital Group.

Published today, the latest Mercom quarterly report on the Indian solar sector finds that the nation will have installed more than 4 GW of solar capacity in 2016, bringing India’s cumulative capacity for large-scale and rooftop solar to 9.6 GW.

In growing a further 9 GW in 2017, India will entrench itself firmly at the top table of solar markets, joining the likes of China, the U.S. and Japan. Indeed, some forecasts see India edging out Japan to become the world’s third-largest market this ear.

However, despite a solar development pipeline of more than 14.2 GW, and some 6.3 GW of PV projects tendered and pending auction, headwinds up ahead could disturb India’s plain solar sailing. “There are significant headwinds in terms of transmission and evacuation issues that could threaten the pace of growth,” warned Mercom Capital Group CEO Raj Prabhu.

Auction activity, for example, has slowed in the last three months, with just 1,311 MW of the 3,781 MW tendered between September and December last year auctioned off. Despite the average selling prices (ASPs) of Chinese solar modules declining 10% since August and around 30% over the past year – delivering a timely pricing boost for developers that won projects at low bids and had been struggling with the economics – there are growing concerns relating to transmission, evacuation, curtailment, timely payments and the outcome of the goods and services tax (GST), Prabhu says.

“Solar park development is experiencing some setbacks due to incomplete infrastructure,” said Prabhu. “In some cases, developers are incurring expenses to clean the land, build roads, and are waiting for power to be evacuated after commissioning. All of this is having negative effect on project costs and profitability.”

Solar accounted for 16.7% of new power generating capacity added in 2016 (up to November), and between April-October (FY 2016-2017) solar met close to 1% of India’s total electricity output. This may sound small, but represents a 50% increase in the space of a year.

The bulk of this solar growth has been centered on just 10 states, which currently account for 90% of PV output, the report said.

Giving the Gift of Shared Renewables

Renewableenergyworld — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 10:00:00 GMT

IREC’s Updated Catalog Helps States Navigate Models for Shared Renewable Energy.

The national landscape for state shared renewable energy programs is growing quickly. That’s great news from where we sit, after creating the first model rules for shared renewables in 2009 (updated in 2013), and working with multiple states and stakeholders to encourage best practices. Today, more states around the country are exploring ways to meaningfully expand renewable energy access to more consumers.

As more people and businesses seek to benefit from renewable energy, there is a ripe opportunity to scale replicable shared renewable energy program models. Indeed, scaling successful programs will help reduce costs and improve efficiencies, which will benefit all consumers. Among state policymakers, there is a growing recognition that establishing strong rules for shared renewables is key to creating robust markets.

The pace of uptake of new shared renewables programs and policies makes it a challenge at times to keep up with details of the various state programs, the nuanced design components of which can take time to track down and decipher. In response, IREC has modified our long-standing shared renewable program catalog (State Shared Renewable Energy Program Catalog), to provide an updated and useful tool for policy makers and all stakeholders seeking to better understand and compare existing state programs.

IREC frequently gets questions about what states are doing and how they are handling different elements of shared renewables models. While the concept of “shared renewables” or “community renewables” is growing in popularity, the reality is that states with active programs are distinct on many levels; core program design components and terminology are applied differently across the U.S. IREC’s catalog provides a detailed overview and breakdown of the numerous design components. By categorizing according to core elements and comparing programs side-by-side, it allows policy makers and diverse stakeholders to more easily and swiftly compare and contrast different programs. The catalog is accompanied by important definitions and overview documents that provide more insight and detail to help users better understand the content. And it is based on the program design components featured and discussed in greater detail in the IREC Model Rules for Shared Renewable Energy Programs.

The catalog covers statewide “shared renewable energy” or “shared renewables” programs, which IREC defines as programs that enable multiple customers to share the economic benefits of one renewable energy system via their individual utility bills (typically through bill credits). The catalog does not include other “community” renewables programs, such as green tariff shared renewables, group purchasing or aggregate net metering programs, and it does not capture voluntary, utility-level programs.

The catalog is one of several new tools that IREC plans to unveil in 2017. We’re putting the final touches on updated Guiding Principles for Shared Renewables and developing a unique national SCORECARD, which will evaluate state renewable energy programs and provide a user-friendly tool to help assess programs.

Visit www.irecusa.org for more information and resources, including to download our companion documents to the State Shared Renewable Program, including an overview and definitions. All of IREC’s publications and resources are available free of charge.

Maxim’s analog IC integrated cell-string optimizer replaces bypass diode limitations

PVTECH — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 18:07:00 GMT

Maxim Integrated Products has introduced a new cell-string optimizer technology that allows PV panels to harvest significantly more energy and simplifies design complexity for solar installation projects, notably shade mitigation and eliminating hot-spots while minimizing the impact of overall power degradation mechanisms.

Problem

Unlike conventional bypass diodes, solar cell optimizers do not bypass weak cell strings. Using bypass diodes in solar a solar panel that experiences shading/soiling at any point within a string limits the maximum current rating to the lowest performing cell in the string.

Solution

Maxim's cell-string optimizers are highly integrated DC-DC converters that replace the bypass diode and perform maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of the PV panel (from 6 to 24 cells). By replacing each diode (three) with a MPPT device, the on-off response to performance mismatch is eliminated; every cell-string contributes maximum power without interfering with the power production capability of others. This enhanced degree of flexibility leads to increased energy production; eliminating collateral performance loss due to module mismatch, degradation, soiling, localized shading, and row shading loss mechanisms. A PV system designer can reconfigure a system design to allow for more inter-row shading that is claimed to deliver 10 to 20% more energy density than a conventional system design. Effectively, the system can maintain the same kWh/kWp as a conventional system, but with higher ground coverage ratios. System designers can also accommodate differing string lengths, multiple orientations, and different module power levels.

Applications

PV module integrated replacement for bypass diodes.

Platform

Maxim solar cell optimizer works by boosting the current of the weak cells to match those of the stronger, eliminating the corresponding performance penalty of the conventional system. The solar cell optimizer’s MPPT function works alongside the string inverter MPPT, to ensure that the system output is optimal under any environmental conditions. The module includes three Maxim solar cell optimizers, which replace the three diodes found in a conventional module junction box.

Availability

September, 2016 onwards.

More info:

https://www.maximintegrated.com/en/products/industries/solar-energy.html

https://www.maximintegrated.com/content/dam/files/design/technical-documents/product-brief/maxim-solar-cell-optimizer-product-brief.pdf

https://www.maximintegrated.com/content/dam/files/design/technical-documents/white-papers/flexible-PV-system-design-cell-string-optimizers.pdf

https://www.maximintegrated.com/content/dam/files/design/technical-documents/white-papers/solar-cell-cptimization.pdf

http://www.dgzerun.com/en_asp/productshow.asp?id=1122

Commission proposes new rules for consumer centred clean energy transition

European Commission — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 15:31:00 GMT

The European Commission today presents a package of measures to keep the European Union competitive as the clean energy transition is changing global energy markets.

The Commission wants the EU to lead the clean energy transition, not only adapt to it. For this reason the EU has committed to cut CO2 emissions by at least 40% by 2030 while modernising the EU's economy and delivering on jobs and growth for all European citizens. Today's proposals have three main goals: putting energy efficiency first, achieving global leadership in renewable energies and providing a fair deal for consumers.

Consumers are active and central players on the energy markets of the future. Consumers across the EU will in the future have a better choice of supply, access to reliable energy price comparison tools and the possibility to produce and sell their own electricity. Increased transparency and better regulation give more opportunities for civil society to become more involved in the energy system and respond to price signals. The package also contains a number of measures aimed at protecting the most vulnerable consumers.

The Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič said: "Today's package will boost the clean energy transition by modernising our economy. Having led global climate action in recent years, Europe is now showing example by creating the conditions for sustainable jobs, growth and investment. Today's proposals touch upon all clean energy related sectors: research and innovation, skills, buildings, industry, transport, digital, finance to name but a few. These measures will equip all European citizens and businesses with the means to make the most of the clean energy transition."

Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete said: "Our proposals provide a strong market pull for new technologies, set the right conditions for investors, empower consumers, make energy markets work better and help us meet our climate targets. I'm particularly proud of the binding 30% energy efficiency target, as it will reduce our dependency on energy imports, create jobs and cut more emissions. Europe is on the brink of a clean energy revolution. And just as we did in Paris, we can only get this right if we work together. With these proposals, the Commission has cleared the way to a more competitive, modern and cleaner energy system. Now we count on European the Parliament and our Member States to make it a reality."

The Commission's “Clean Energy for All Europeans” proposals are designed to show that the clean energy transition is the growth sector of the future - that's where the smart money is. Clean energies in 2015 attracted global investment of over 300 billion euros. The EU is well placed to use our research, development and innovation policies to turn this transition into a concrete industrial opportunity. By mobilising up to 177 billion euros of public and private investment per year from 2021, this package can generate up to a 1% increase in GDP over the next decade and create 900,000 new jobs.

The Clean Energy for All Europeans legislative proposals cover energy efficiency, renewable energy, the design of the electricity market, security of electricity supply and governance rules for the Energy Union. In addition the Commission proposes a new way forward for Ecodesign as well as a strategy for connected and automated mobility.

The package also includes actions to accelerate clean energy innovation and to renovate Europe's buildings. It provides measures to encourage public and private investment, promote EU industrial competitiveness and mitigate the societal impact of the clean energy transition. We are also exploring ways in which the EU can show further leadership in clean energy technology and services to help non-EU countries achieve their policy goals.

More info

SolarPower Europe outlines 10 policy priorities for solar & storage

SolarPower Europe — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 11:09:00 GMT

SolarPower Europe is calling on the European Commission (EC) to address both solar power and energy storage in its upcoming Energy Union Package. In light of this, the association’s Task Force on solar & storage has created 10 policy priorities that will need to be considered to develop an appropriate framework for those technologies.

“The industry is being very successful in bringing down the cost of stationary battery storage and in improving its ability to provide efficient services and solutions to the market. Today we need European policy makers to put in place stable regulatory conditions including clear definitions and an appropriate market design to ensure a level playing field among competing solution providers. Such conditions will allow for further innovations and corresponding market growth,” said Ricardo Amoroso, chief innovation officer of Enel Green Power and vice president of SolarPower Europe.

The importance of the two technologies in tandem cannot be underestimated in order to achieve 2030 RES targets. But to adequately cater to such dynamic technology developments, SPE is asking for a corresponding regulatory framework that contains the following ten priorities:

An EU-wide definition of ‘electricity storage’ to be introduced in the revised Electricity Directive
Clarifying the definition and rights of active consumers regarding storage: the REDII should enshrine the right for consumers to self-generate and consume renewable energy
An appropriate reform of the intraday markets is crucial for enabling large-scale solar plants to better take on balancing responsibilities
A real market for selling and procuring flexibility services to be developed, both at transmission and distribution levels
A clear basis regarding rules and circumstances under which TSOs and DSOs may operate storage solutions must be developed
Targeted solar tenders to incorporate as a weighting selection criteria the co-location of solar and storage
The exchange of electricity on a community scale via collective self-consumption schemes must be possible for active consumers. Third party intermediaries should be allowed to operate active consumers’ electricity storage devices via pooling platforms, such as virtual power plants or peer-to-peer mechanisms
Clear rules regarding data transparency and access for all stakeholders are required
Active consumers should be remunerated fairly for providing their devices to deliver services that support the electric grid. To achieve fair remuneration and service provision, tariffs must provide consumers and service providers with price signals to be able to act upon market developments and system needs
Distribution and grid tariffs must be ‘fit for the energy transition’

“If the regulatory environment for solar & storage is set effectively, solar power will strongly contribute to reaching the 27% target for renewable energy in 2030 in the current draft RE directive," said Michael Schmela, executive advisor at SolarPower Europe. "Implementing our 10 policy priorities for solar & storage in the Energy Union Package would already go a big part of the way to achieving the realistic 35% target SolarPower Europe would like to see in the new REDII 2030 directive.”

Solar Bankability WEBINAR - Technical Risks & Mitigation Measures in PV Project Development and during Operation

Solar Bankability — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 11:02:00 GMT

Solar Bankability hosted a webinar on October 20 at 15:00 CET to discuss the core results so far before the last turn of the project and the final report.

This webinar was hosted and moderated by SolarPower Europe - Solar Bankability partner - featuring:

David Moser, PhD, EURAC research Institute for Renewable Energy and Coordinator of Solar Bankability project, will present the first attempt to implement cost-based Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) to the PV sector and to define a methodology for the estimation of economic losses due to planning failures, system downtime and substitution/repair of components.
Ulrike Jahn, Senior Expert, TUV Rheinland Energie und Umwelt and Solar Bankability partner, will share highlights from the latest analysis from the project and present the results of the identification and categorisation of mitigation measures before and after the operational phase of a PV project.

You can download the presentations of the webinar here

The recording of the webinar is also available here.

Rooftop PV and manufacturing: the next two hurdles for Indian solar

PV Magazine — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 16:19:00 GMT

After a hectic and heavily business-focused first two days, the third and final day of the Renewable Energy India (REI) expo saw a calmer and more considered air settle across the show, with much talk turning to the next challenges and hurdles that the Indian solar market has to face.

Residential rooftop solar has been anything but a thorny topic on the show floor; indeed, it was barely discussed at all – utility-scale debates dominated, echoing the 90/10 split evident in the nation’s current installed capacity.

But with the National Solar Mission (NSM) earmarking 40 GW of its 100 GW 2022 installation target for rooftop solar, many visitors, exhibitors and speakers at the show were acutely aware that this is a sector that needs more vocal, and optimistic, support.

Joerg Gaebler of GIZ India said that rooftop solar in India is “a no-brainer”, and presented a series of compelling cost analyses that GIZ has undertaken as part of the Indo-German Energy Program.

With the Indian rooftop market projected to reach 1 GW by the end of the year, there is momentum building. And that momentum, Gaebler said, can generate good returns for private adopters of solar. “The average cost of a residential rooftop system is Rs 5.74 ($0.09)/kWh, while O&M is 3% of the required Rs 700,000 ($10,050) upfront investment,” said Gaebler.

“That is a pricey assumption for an average Indian household,” Gaebler noted, but added that the returns make attractive reading. “With the government’s 30% capital subsidy scheme, we calculate that this discounted payback is just 5.2 years, with an IRR of 17% and a total annual electricity bill saving of INR 134,000, it’s a no-brainer.”

While those numbers may make sense for a handful of middle-class Indians, the majority either lack the appropriate funds, rooftop (80% of housing stock in India has flat rooftops because they do not have to deal with snowload) or space (many rooftops are partially shaded) to make investment in residential PV currently worthwhile, other observers added.

Rakesh Kumar, the director of the government-backed Solar Energy Corporation India (SECI) said that the government could have perhaps already done “three times what we have done so far” for rooftop solar, but stressed that there have been many conflicting stakeholder interests. “However,” he added, “we have created a platform to escalate rooftop solar quickly over the next few months. The 40 GW is a target for the next five years, and to meet those requirements then the MNRE and sister organizations will place a huge thrust on solar installs."

SECI itself has bought a 500 MW tender specifically for rooftop solar, and has earmarked 100 MW of that specifically for residential PV, Kumar said. “The 500 MW have been finalized and the winning bids will be announced soon. They are mostly SME clients, but also public sector buildings that are eligible for subsidy.”

Kumar added that the reason the C&I rooftop sector has no subsidy support is because the government feels that the sector can add capacity independently, and then economies of scale will follow.

Tata’s head of business development group Kaushik Sanyal added that financing for rooftop solar PV systems is currently scarce, and comes only from the banking sector via a typical home loan. “Financing for the domestic sector needs to be addressed,” he said. “There needs to be more awareness about long-term payback. Consumers will only look at the upfront cost, and then only the projected reduction in their bills. We need systematic awareness campaigning from government, bankers, developers – everybody in the industry needs to do their bit to develop a more collaborative approach for residential growth.”

State-by-state, some areas offer net or gross metering, while in other regions there are concerns over grid-connection. “It is also important for Discoms to map a network for this expected growth,” Sanyal said. “Existing grids need expanding, but who pays? Regulators need to enter the picture and plan and pay for this anticipated growth in solar."

If you build it, will they come?

India’s solar manufacturing landscape will be key to sustaining future growth, believe many observers. The country cannot be reliant on low-cost, imported Chinese solar components for ever, but at the moment the incentive to invest in domestic manufacturing capacity is suppressed by China’s infiltration of the market.

However, machines have begun to whirr, and plans and confidence are building for more growth. Hemal Ghelani, Meyer Burger India executive director, said that they are seeing more trust on module manufacturing in India. “Economies of scale have to be there to be competitive with the Chinese,” he said. “We would also like to see technology as a consideration, along with scale. Scale alone cannot sustain the industry because it’s hard to compete with China. But if you have technology differentiation, and presence across the entire value chain from ingot to module, having that control means you are less dependent on the vagaries of the market.”

The market will be shaken up by deep-pocket players, Ghelani added, as government has to take a step back and allow manufacturing in India to stand on its own two feet. “That is where adoption of technology and scale go hand in hand – the government can only act as facilitator, make a clear policy, and time bound the subsidy payments. Delays do not work. The government has expanded the business opportunity, now it is up to companies to take the lead.”

Moser Baer’s K N Subramanian said that only around 40% of India’s solar module manufacturing capacity is being utilized, and the situation is even worse for cell suppliers. “Indian manufacturing is in a bad state,” he stressed. “We need an urgent funding mechanism from government because banks are not going to fund these companies. Government backing, however, will boost skills and jobs.”

GTAT CEO David Keck said that there has been interest among Indian clients in developing polysilicon production facilities, but added that conversations at the show had been “tentative”.

“I do believe that in the next year or two the smarter producers will look to integrate upstream,” Keck said. “You don’t necessarily have to do the whole supply chain, but at least be integrated in order to control not only your costs but also your quality. The Indian ecosystem, infrastructure, local demand – the key component is being the right scale. It is important to have stable power and a low price. Low price labor here already, so I see a very competitive potential here. These components make a winning combination.”

Solargize India is one company planning such vertical integration. The firm’s head of marketing Suchitra Ramachandraiah told pv magazine that discussions are advanced on a proposed 3 GW polysilicon production plant in Andhra Pradesh, to augment the firm’s 500 MW cell and 500 MW module production facility being built in Bangalore. The company expects to be producing polysilicon within 24 months.

Solar Sold in Chile at Lowest Ever, Half Price of Coal

Bloomberg — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 07:57:00 GMT

Solar power recently sold for the lowest price ever, in Chile.

The Spanish developer Solarpack Corp. Tecnologica won contracts to sell power from a 120-MW solar plant for $29.10 a MWh at an energy auction this month.

That’s the lowest price on record for electricity from sunshine, surpassing a deal in Dubai in May. It’s the cheapest to date for any kind of renewable energy, and was almost half the price of coal power sold in the same event. According to Solarpack General Director Inigo Malo de Molina, it’s one of the lowest rates ever for any kind of electricity, anywhere.

“Solar energy technology has evolved and proved it is competitive,” Molina said in a telephone interview from Santiago. “Prices for electricity generation have changed drastically in the last years. Solar energy in Chile is now the cheapest in the market.”

A key part of the low price is the ever-declining price for solar panels. The average price on the spot market declined this week to 44.7 cents a watt for standard polysilicon panels, a record low.

Ideal Location

The location for this particular power plant is also a factor, in northern Chile’s Atacama desert. It’s high in the Andes, close to the equator and is considered one of the sunniest and driest places on Earth. It’s ideal for solar energy, and will generate more electricity than projects in areas that get less sunshine.

Chile’s government is planning to complete transmission lines that will let the solar farm deliver power to the entire country, which prompted Solarpack and other developers to bid so low, Molina said.

“This is the lowest price ever seen, for any renewable technology,” Ana Verena Lima, a Bloomberg New Energy Finance analyst in Sao Paulo. “The auction was very competitive and such a low price wasn’t expected by the market.”

The auction was Chile’s biggest ever for electricity, awarding contracts to provide 12,430 GWh a year, a third of what’s needed for the country’s regulated customers. The average price declined 40 percent from a similar event last year.

Renewable-energy developers won more than half the contracts. The lowest price for wind power awarded in the auction was $38.10 a MWh, power from natural gas-fired plants sold for $47, coal came in at $57, hydroelectricity at $60 and geothermal at $66.

In Chile’s power auctions, developers offer to provide a certain amount of capacity at a specific price, without saying what type of power plant they’re planning to build. Bids are listed from cheapest to most expensive, and distribution companies select the lowest-cost proposals available until reaching their target capacity.

Dubai Deal

The Solarpack contract is cheaper than a solar project in Dubai, that sold for $29.90 a MWh in May, and for a March auction in Mexico that awarded solar contracts for $35.50 a MWh, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Solarpack has 37 MW capacity operating in Chile and another 21 MW under construction. The company will begin construction of the project in the Tarapaca region in 2018 and expects it to go into service in 2019. Molina declined to provide the expected cost.

The auction is “a strong warning sign that the energy business continues on the transition path to renewable power and that companies should adapt quickly to this transition process,” said Carlos Finat, president of Chile’s renewable association.

New report on PV self-consumption policies

Thu, 31 Mar 2016 13:53:00 GMT

A new report aims to explain the pros and cons of different photovoltaic self-consumption policies and how self-consumption of solar electricity could be promoted. For this, the International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA PVPS) analysed the policies in 20 key countries.

Since photovoltaic power has in many countries reached a level of competitiveness that allows switching to self-consumption measures, the analysts behind this study wanted to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of such measures and provide arguments to develop suitable schemes for the promotion of self-consumption. This is not an easy task since there is such a variety of self-consumption policies, including net-metering and net-billing, which makes the development of PV much more complex than before. Moreover, the increased penetration of PV has created new challenges in terms of grid financing, tax management and impact on incumbent utilities.

The study identifies five main business models associated with self-consumption and their implementation in 20 different countries. Those business models are self-consumption with constraints, self-consumption with FiT, net-billing, net-metering and self-consumption with a premium. Different models have of course different advantages for the prosumer – the person who owns the PV system, uses its electricity and feeds surplus energy into the power grid.

How to compare the different business models?

For pure self-consumption with constraints, additional fees are added to a prosumers electricity bill, which reduces the overall savings and means that the solar electricity needs to be produced at a price well below grid parity. The model with a feed-in-tariff means that excess electricity goes into the grid and is bought for a pre-determined tariff. The difference between net-billing and net-metering is that for net-metering excess solar electricity is remunerated at the wholesale price of electricity, while for net-billing the electricity fed into the grid is remunerated at a rate that differs from the one of the electricity consumed and is usually lower.

With the exception of pure self-consumption, all other models assume grid-parity. For cases where grid-parity has not been reached, the researchers suggest incentivizing it either by awarding an incentive on top of the retail electricity price for part of the electricity that is self-consumed or through a certain bonus for excess electricity injected into the grid, which should be higher than the market price and possibly even higher than the retail electricity price.

Rome was used as a reference location to create an example case: a PV system with a capacity of 3 kW, an annual electricity demand of 7.3 MWh and an annual solar irradiation 1611 kWh/m². This case was then used to assess the attractiveness of a PV investment from the prosumer point of view under the five different business cases mentioned above. For this, the net-present value over thirty years was calculated as well as the simple payback time for the investment made to install the PV system.

Which model is best for prosumers?

The business model “self-consumption with premium” yields the highest net present value and the lowest payback time for the system, thus making it the most profitable for the owner of the PV system. Least profitable is the case “self-consumption with constraints“, since there is no compensation for excess electricity produced and there are additional charges for every kWh the prosumers use themselves. This together with the costs for the PV system itself cannot be compensated by the savings made by consuming less electricity from the grid.

The study then goes on to compare those two cases and their annual cash flows, as well as the impact on electricity system holders and on the public authority income.

Load curves, self-consumption and self-sufficiency ratios

Smaller and larger systems are also compared. Except for the “premium” case (where profits increase with capacity) and the “no compensation” case (which is never profitable), the other business cases are most profitable with capacities between 2.6 and 3.8 kW. Additionally the impact of a changed tariff-structure on the net present value for prosumers, the electricity market and the tax collector was analyzed for the different business scenarios. Broadly speaking, the market and the public income are better off in scenarios with a lower amount of fixed costs (taxes and grid costs) while prosumers obtain higher savings (or revenues) when the fixed costs are higher.

Various methods to improve self-consumption are discussed, among them the use of storage methods, heat pumps and electric vehicles to increase consumption, as well as financing alternatives such as leasing and virtual net metering or meter aggregation and smart grids.

The report is 82 pages long and was written by Jose Ignacio Briano and Maria Jesus Baez of the energy consultancy Creara (link is external) and Gaëtan Masson of IEA PVPS (link is external). The organisation stated that the report will be completed in the coming weeks by a set of policy recommendations. You can download the full report as a pdf document via the following link: “Review and Analysis of PV Self-Consumption Policies”

http://www.iea-pvps.org/index.php?id=353

Electricity and the Skyrocketing Bill

Thu, 31 Mar 2016 06:24:00 GMT

Available from March 30, 2016 at 01:00 am to May 29, 2016 at 12:59 am

http://www.arte.tv/guide/en/052400-000-A/electricity-and-the-skyrocketing-bill?country=GR

One in ten Europeans is living in fuel poverty. The reason is simple: the average price of energy has increased by 42% in eight years. Europe seeks in vain to agree on a common energy policy. A look the EU's energy broken promises.

PROGRAMME INFORMATION

Country: France

Year: 2015

Credits

Director: Cécile Allegra

Sharp reportedly accepts $5.9 billion Foxconn takeover offer

Fri, 05 Feb 2016 10:53:00 GMT

Japanese electronics and PV module manufacturer Sharp Corp. has accepted a $5.9 billon acquisition offer from Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturing company Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., which is trading as Foxconn Technology Group (Foxconn). According to Bloomberg, which cites an article from Japanese broadcaster NHK, Sharp has agreed to accept Foxconn’s offer after the Taiwanese conglomerate decided to raise the sum it intended to invest in the transaction from $5.3 billion to $5.9 billion. Sharp said it expects to sign the final agreement for the operation in one month. The Wall Street Journal revealed Foxconn’s plan to acquire Sharp in mid-January. A few days ago, Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported that Japan’s state-backed fund Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) offered to rescue Sharp and to later merge its solar business with Solar Frontier, the PV unit of Japan-based oil company Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. INCJ intended to invest ¥300 billion ($2.5 billion) in the operation and raise an additional ¥350 billion of financial assistance from Sharp's two main lenders. In its financial results for the first nine months of fiscal year 2015, which will end Mar. 31, 2016, Sharp reported that its Energy Solutions division, which includes the company’s solar energy business, generated net sales of ¥113.3 billion ($961.9 million) for the period, down 42.4% from the same period in fiscal year 2014. The division posted an operating loss of ¥7.7 billion for the first three quarters of fiscal 2015.

http://www.bloomberg.n2g11.com/l/172058509/c/0-di56-bdwxib-1bk5

Self-consumption and net metering are increasingly significant PV market drivers

PV Magazine — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 05:22:00 GMT

The International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme's (IEA-PVPS) annual report on Trends in Photovoltaic Applications is one of the most definitive and comprehensive reports on the global solar industry.

The 2015 report's sections on markets and manufacturing document the shift of both from Europe to Asia, trends which are hardly surprising to anyone in the industry. However, halfway through the 64-page report is a lesser-known detail: that incentivized self-consumption and net metering programs are becoming increasingly important policy supports for global PV markets.

Feed-in tariffs still remain the most important policy supports and drivers of global demand. However, according to IEA feed-in tariffs, including those awarded through tenders, accounted for only 64% of the global market in 2014, whereas historically these drove 67% of the market.

The share of markets driven by direct subsidies, such as the United States' 30% federal investment tax credit, likewise fell from 20% to 16%. Instead, the policies that are gaining the most ground are incentivized versions of self-consumption or net metering policies. IEA-PVPS estimates that these policies drove 16% of the global market in 2014, up from only 5% historically.

IEA-PVPS does not break this down by nation, and so it is not clear how demand is broken down in nations which have implemented multiple policies, such as the United States.

However, there is a clear relationship between a shift in policies and geography. As European nations including Spain, Italy, German and Czech Republic reduced, closed or eliminated their feed-in tariffs, China and Japan began implementing the policy. This lead to these nations becoming the world's two largest solar markets.

Likewise, in the very European nations where feed-in tariffs are no longer an attractive option or in many cases an option at all, self-consumption has come to fill in as an alternative business model for PV system owners. This is happening in the context of much smaller overall markets.

Italy and Germany are all examples of this phenomenon, and IEA-PVPS found that a significant portion of the PV generation in both nations comes from self-consumption. Additionally, as the U.S. residential solar market continues to grow under net metering, this brings up the numbers for the two policies.

As happened with feed-in tariffs, net metering and self-consumption are coming under attack in the markets where they are most successful. Earlier this month Spain's center-right government imposed its “sun tax” on self-consumption systems and Germany is currently seeking to impose an even higher portion of the feed-in tariff surcharge on PV system owners who participate in self-consumption.

Meanwhile, in the the United States, regulators in a number of states are currently considering requests to impose charges on customers who participate in net metering. This is despite many of these challenges proving unsuccessful in the past.

And while there has been much news of competitive solicitations to award power purchase agreements in India, Chile, Brazil and other nations, IEA-PVPS says these supported a mere 1% of the PV that went online in 2014. These numbers are expected to improve in coming years as projects awarded under these large solicitations are completed.

The Report

Spain Approves 'Sun Tax,' Discriminates Against Solar PV

Tue, 27 Oct 2015 06:07:00 GMT

Until recently, Spain had a very general self-consumption policy framework that applied to both grid-connected and off-grid systems. This month though, Spain's Council of Ministers approved a new self-consumption law that has set the country's solar advocates up in arms with the government.

The main problem with the new law, say solar advocates, is that it taxes self-consumption PV installations even for the electricity they produce for their own use and don’t feed into the grid. Spain's PV sector calls the new law a 'sun tax.’

According to Spain’s Photovoltaic Union (UNEF), the new law requires self-consumption PV system owners to pay the same grid fees that all electricity consumers in Spain pay, plus a so-called 'sun tax'. Specifically, said UNEF, a self-consumption PV owner "will pay a 'sun tax' for the whole power [capacity] installed (the power that you contracted to your electricity company, plus the power from your PV installation) and also another [second] 'sun tax' for the electricity that you generate and self-consume from your own PV installation (this applies to installations larger than 10 kW)."

Installations smaller than 10 kW and all installations in the Canary Islands and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla (these are Spanish territories in Africa) will be exempted from the second 'solar tax.' Furthermore, installations with co-generation will be exempted of the second 'sun tax' until 2020 and the Balearic islands of Mallorca and Minorca will pay a reduced price. Off-grid installations will obviously not pay any grid tax whatsoever.

The new law also prohibits PV systems up to 100 kW from selling electricity. Instead, their owners are required to donate the extra electricity to the grid for free. Systems over 100 kW must register in order to sell electricity in the spot market for the excess power they generate. Limitations do not end at this point though. Thus, for PV systems up to 100 kW the owner of the installation must be the owner of the contract with the electricity company, while community ownership is prohibited altogether for all sizes of self-consumption systems.

Finally, the law is retroactive meaning that all existing self-consumption PV installations need to comply with the new regulations otherwise face an astronomically high penalty fee up to €60 million. This sanction, UNEF notes, is double the fine set for radioactive leaks from nuclear plants.

The Islands' Paradox

Regarding Spain's non-mainland territories, the new law makes even less sense, argues UNEF, since the cost of electricity supply is particularly high (about €184 per MWh in the Canaries and €139 per MWh in the Balearics), adding €1.8 billion to the Spanish consumers' total electricity bill. On the contrary, UNEF adds, self-consumption systems have costs below €100 per MWh and are an ideal solution for island territories where self-supply generation, at the point of consumption, is more economical than power transmission from the peninsula.

What Went Wrong?

Overall, UNEF says, "each kWh imported from the grid by a self-consumer will pay double tolls compared to a kWh imported from the grid by another consumer." The new law, it adds, makes it uneconomic for households and businesses to install PV with the latter endangered to loose in competitiveness too.

The government says the law does not impose taxes but that the fees are a contribution to overall system costs. Indeed, in other regions where self-consumption (and elsewhere net-metering) systems are in place, policies allow for some grid-connection fees that cover the usage of the network by the self-consumption installations. In practice, self-consumption installations use the grid as a battery and it makes sense that they should pay for it. However, this is not the Spanish case. Nowhere in the world are self-consumers taxed for the electricity generated for own usage. It makes sense to apply a small fee to the electricity exported in the network, but customers shouldn’t have to pay taxes for the self-generated electricity to be consumed on site, say Spain’s solar advocates.

Renewable Energy World ran an analysis on the Spanish government’s attitude against solar in July, expanding on the fallacies of Spain's energy policy. This week’s announcement is another indication that the Spanish government is in favor of a centralized energy system, which is a reflection of the past.

“It is clear the energy policy of the conservative party currently ruling the country does not want to encourage distributed generation, net metering or self-consumption schemes," José Donoso, UNEF’s general director, said. "The Spanish government clearly supports the energy model of the last century where few, very powerful utilities dominate the electricity market. It does not want more actors participating in the electricity market."

Product warning from Solar-Fabrik: Simplified solution for modules

Tue, 06 Oct 2015 12:25:00 GMT

ADLER Solar and Europe Solar Concept are offering a new solution for modules affected by a product warning issued by Solar-Fabrik AG: instead of replacing the complete junction box, only the cover is replaced. Kostal Industrie Elektrik GmbH has developed a special product for this. Ideally, the module can be repaired without having to disassemble it, according to ADLER Solar.

In April, Solar-Fabrik AG issued a product warning: the junction boxes on Premium L, M, XM and S products manufactured between 2011 and 2012 might experience a failure, causing a fire hazard. The standard solution for this problem is to replace the complete junction box at a service centre.

ADLER Solar and Europe Solar Concept are using a special product designed by Kostal to replace just the covers of the junction boxes, thereby saving costs. The service providers are emphasising that the on-site solution incurs costs for disassembly, packing and transportation, as well as the associated risks.

The service offering is intended for system operators and installers affected by the problem. Gerhard Cunze, managing partner at ADLER Solar, commented: "We are pleased to be able to offer an optimised solution that provides significant advantages to our customers. Our solution eliminates the cause of the problem and ensures long-term safety and optimal system performance."

EU provides best practices on renewable energy self-consumption

Fri, 17 Jul 2015 06:49:00 GMT

The European Commission acknowledged that renewable energy power systems under self-consumption will play an important role in the future European energy market. In the document »Best practices on renewable energy self-consumption,« which was sent to the European Parliament, the European Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Region, the EC stressed that the emerging self-consumption model will open new cost-containment opportunities for electricity consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises. The document focuses on renewable energy systems under self-consumption with a power of up to 500 kW.

More info: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/1_EN_autre_document_travail_service_part1_v6.pdf

Greece tops 2,580 MW of PV capacity

Tue, 02 Jun 2015 06:50:00 GMT

Mainland Greece had 2,442.6 MW of installed PV capacity as of the end of April 2015, according to the Hellenic Transmission System Operator SA (HTSO). The Greek mainland had 2,092.06 MW of installed grid-connected PV systems over 10 kW and 350.54 MW of rooftop PV systems up to 10 kW at the end of the month. In April, the country added only 80 kW of new PV systems. In the same month of 2014, the newly installed PV power was of 200 kW. The country added 6.9 MW of new PV capacity in the first four months of this year, up from 2.2 MW in the same period of 2013. HTSO’s figures do not include the installed capacity of non-interconnected Greek islands, which – according to the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator SA (HEDNO) – reached 135.9 MW at the end of 2014. Based on the most recent data available, Greece has a total installed PV capacity of at least 2,580 MW.

http://www.lagie.gr/fileadmin/groups/EDRETH/RES/2015_04_RES.pdf

Solar-Fabrik identifies PV module fault

Tue, 12 May 2015 06:04:00 GMT

A month after issuing a product warning for some of its PV modules, Solar-Fabrik has identified the cause. A faulty weld connection in the junction box is to blame.

On April 9, the troubled German PV manufacturer issued a product warning regarding faulty junction boxes in some of its modules, which had been found to present a fire risk.

In a statement issued today, it said the connector of the junction box could have a faulty weld connection, which may cause the formation of an electrical arc and, thus, an open fire. To date, Solar-Fabrik says it has only seen charred junction boxes, but that it cannot rule out the fire risk.

As such, it recommends an "immediate" disablement of the PV module cables from the inverter by a professional. Continued operation should only commence once a professional has concluded no risk of collateral damage is present. If this is not possible, the junction box will need to be replaced.

"It needs to be checked by a professional on the basis of the installation manner of the solar modules (e.g. roof integrated systems, roof mounted systems or ground mounted system) whether any risk exists for wellbeing and lives or damage to property," said Solar-Fabrik in the statement.

The affected products are the Premium L, M, XM and S modules with only one cable and an LC-4 connector that were manufactured by the Freiburg company between April 2011 and October 2012. Anyone with the modules in question should visit this web page to determine whether their module is affected by checking its serial number.

Insolvency proceedings have been underway for Solar-Fabrik since the start of May. Last week, the PV manufacturer’s requests for self-administration were rejected by the Freiburg District Court, which appointed Thomas Kaiser as insolvency administrator.

Ανάρτηση πληροφοριακού υλικού αναφορικά με την εγκατάσταση Φ/Β συστημάτων αυτοπαραγωγής με ενεργειακό συμψηφισμό

Mon, 27 Apr 2015 11:15:00 GMT

Ο ΔΕΔΔΗΕ θέτει υπόψη των ενδιαφερομένων ότι στον ιστότοπό του έχει αναρτηθεί πληροφοριακό υλικό αναφορικά με την εγκατάσταση ΦΒ συστημάτων από αυτοπαραγωγούς με ενεργειακό συμψηφισμό και συγκεκριμένα τα έγγραφα:

• Πληροφοριακό Δελτίο για τη διαδικασία σύνδεσης στο Δίκτυο ΧΤ.

• Ενημερωτικό σημείωμα για τον τρόπο εγκατάστασης των μετρητών στους αυτοπαραγωγούς με ενεργειακό συμψηφισμό.

• Συχνές Ερωτήσεις – Απαντήσεις στο πλαίσιο της εγκατάστασης συστημάτων με ενεργειακό συμψηφισμό.

Mainland Greece added 6.8 MW of PV capacity in first two months of 2015

Mon, 27 Apr 2015 11:13:00 GMT

Mainland Greece had 2,442.25 MW of installed PV capacity as of the end of February 2015, according to the Hellenic Transmission System Operator SA (HTSO). The Greek mainland had 2,091.82 MW of installed grid-connected PV systems over 10 kW and 350.43 MW of rooftop PV systems up to 10 kW at the end of the month. The country added 6.85 MW of new PV capacity in the first two months of this year, up from 3.8 MW in the same period of 2013. In 2014, the Greek mainland added approximately 16 MW of new PV power, down sharply from 1,092 MW a year earlier. HTSO’s figures do not include the installed capacity of non-interconnected Greek islands, which – according to the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator SA (HEDNO) – reached 135.8 MW at the end of 2013. Based on the most recent data available, Greece has a total installed PV capacity of at least 2,578 MW.

More info: http://www.lagie.gr/fileadmin/groups/EDRETH/RES/2015_02_GR_MONTHLY_RES.pdf

Climeon recognized as top innovative company in Sweden - efficiently producing electricity from hot water

Tue, 21 Apr 2015 12:57:00 GMT

Climeon is rated as one of the top 33 innovative technology companies in Sweden in the annual listing by prestigious business and technology publications, Affärsvärlden and Ny Teknik. The Climeon Ocean™ system, a patented innovation, enables electricity to be extracted from hot water. The technology provides competitive, cost-effective electricity production via waste heat recovery. One Climeon Ocean module can generate 150 KW – enough to heat more than 100 average homes.*

“About half the world's energy ends up as waste heat,” says Thomas Öström, CEO of Climeon. “We believe that by using this technology, electricity can be extracted from large volumes of such heat. Today, renewable energy is about 20% of the total global energy supply. The renewable energy market is estimated to be worth hundreds of billion dollars.”

The Climeon Ocean technology is scalable and can be implemented in business areas and industries such as heat from engines, heavy industries, and solar, water or geothermal heat. The innovation can replace many TWh of fossil-based electricity.

Climeon Ocean uses an optimized and patented process for converting hot water (between 70 and 120 oC) to electricity in a vacuum process.

Climeon Ocean is an investment with a relatively short payback period. The system enables companies to save operating cost and to reduce their environmental impact.

Viking Line operates a fleet of cruise ferries in the Baltic Sea. Viking Grace, Viking Line's newest ship, is the first ship in the world to use the Climeon Ocean system. Interest in marine applications is large. A system module of 150 kW will generate more than 1 million kWh of electricity annually – by extracting waste heat from the ship’s engines. Just one module saves up to 200 tons of fuel per year. Consequently, it reduces carbon dioxide emissions by up to 400 tons per year.

For further information please contact Thomas Öström, +46 70 894 9605, thomas.ostrom@climeon.com. www.climeon.com

SOLAR THERMAL COLLECTOR RESEARCH ON FLAT-PLATES AT QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY

Fri, 20 Mar 2015 07:56:00 GMT

The Director of Alternative Energy for Parteq Innovations, at Queen’s University in Ontario Canada, has been working to solve a problem that has plagued solar thermal technology and especially flat-plate collectors for hot water which is they that they overheat.

When a solar collector systems is not in use, all the heat energy gets trapped in the absorb-er system and temperatures can rise to over 200 degrees F. This can cause damage to the system over time. Homeowners have been known to climb on their roof and cover the collectors with blankets when they do not need more hot water.

Researchers at Queen’s University are studying this problem to provide some new solutions to this issue.

Watch the video

Global PV Capacity to reach 498 GW in 2019, IHS

Fri, 20 Mar 2015 07:39:00 GMT

While global PV demand is projected to grow steadily, the increasing number of country markets at the gigawatt level will help to reduce demand volatility.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (March 19, 2015) – Total global solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity is forecast to reach 498 gigawatts (GW) in 2019, which is 177 percent higher than 2014, according to IHS (NYSE: IHS), the leading global source of critical information and insight. While total global solar PV demand is projected to grow steadily, the large number of discrete country markets at the gigawatt-level will help reduce demand volatility.

“Last year, the market began to shift toward a more supply-driven market, characterized by high utilization rates, following the more demand-driven market that led to PV manufacturing consolidation,” said Susanne von Aichberger, solar industry analyst for IHS Technology, formerly Solarbuzz. “This trend is expected to continue through to 2019, when the utilization rate at module production is projected exceed the peak utilization rate reached in 2010, when the global market experienced explosive growth.”

Based on findings of the latest IHS Marketbuzz report, global solar demand is expected to reach 75 GW in 2019, which is 66 percent higher than in 2014. Last year, the largest global markets were China and Japan, which together accounted for half of total demand. The United States, U.K. and Germany together accounted for another quarter of total demand.

"In the five years between 2015 and 2019, IHS expects that 11 global markets will exceed the average annual demand level of 1 gigawatt,” von Aichberger said. “This large number of country markets reduces the risk of another explosion in the global PV market and of an overly strong capacity build-up. An increasing number of markets are entering the post-feed-in-tariff phase and embracing the integration of PV into the electricity market, which will help the market to avoid boom-and-bust situations.”

Average selling prices (ASPs) of standard c-Si modules (i.e., c-Si excluding Super Mono) are forecast to decline by 27 percent between 2015 and 2019, reaching $0.45 per watt (W). The share of thin-film modules produced is projected to decline from 8 percent in 2014 to 7 percent this year -- the lowest share recorded since 2010, when c-Si module shortages opened the door for thin-film technology to reach a production share of 15 percent.

Due to the expected supply-driven market situation, the share of thin film is projected to remain at 7 percent through 2019. Within the thin film category, growth is likely to be driven by cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS). By 2019, annual production of a-Si modules is projected to fall to less than half of its 2014 level.

Γραφημα

Greece added just 13 MW in 2014

Tue, 17 Mar 2015 21:11:00 GMT

Greece's electricity market operator LAGIE published last week its renewable energy statistics for 2014. According to LAGIE's report, Greece had installed at the end of 2014 a cumulative 2.596 GW of solar PV compared to 2.583 GW of solar PV at the end of 2013.

Of the newly added PV installations, 11 MW came from ground mounted systems and 2 MW from rooftop installations.

pv magazine ’s public policy correspondent Ilias Tsagas investigates whether Greece's flawed policies are now fixed, and if its PV market can rebound.

Expected Greek PV downfall

Greece's PV stall is the result of the former government's policies, which clearly attempted to reverse Greece's stellar PV growth. The country had installed 1,047 MW and 890 MW of solar PV in 2013 and 2012 respectively, causing the debt in Greece's special fund for supporting renewable energy (RE) projects to balloon dangerously.

Greece's PV lobby had accused the former Samaras government that it was eager to implement brave cuts in renewable energies. However, the government lacked the will to reform the energy sector overall and convening a level playing field for competition and energy costs across all technologies.

The former Greek government had also accused PV investors of receiving among the highest public subsidies in the world. The latter claim is, sadly, correct. Most of Greece's main PV stakeholders have confirmed to pv magazine that the internal rate of return (IRR) for PV plants in Greece before the retroactive cuts exceeded the European average by far.

It is evident that Greece's policy makers preceding the Samaras government had designed unrealistic and flawed policies that exceeded the country's finances and which would, sooner or later, harm the sector they intended to foster.

In trying to correct their errors, Greek policy makers crafted a package of retroactive cuts that did not involve the financing institutions, hence leading the domestic PV market into what pv magazine has labeled 'the Greek PV market paradox'.

Re-emerging market?

At the end of last year, a re-emerging PV market for Greece began to sound viable.

Last year's retroactive laws had borne some appealing fruit. The government had lifted its ban in processing pending PV licenses and had once again opened the market. It had also allowed for 200 MW of new PV to be installed each year until 2020.

This was far from business as usual, however, since the new feed-in tariffs (FITs) were much lower. Nevertheless, low tariffs do not discourage those PV investors tempted by Greece's excellent solar resource. Thus, when the Greek energy regulator RAE recently called the old application holders for plants larger than 1 MW to confirm whether they wanted to proceed with their development plants, an impressive 1 GW (compared to the initial 4 GW of dated applications) of projects were confirmed as under consideration.

Stelios Psomas, policy advisor at the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies (HELAPCO) told pv magazine at the end of last year that should the FITs in 2015 be kept at the 2014 levels, the Greek PV market would once again splutter into life.

However, the most fascinating point of Psomas’s interview with pv magazine was the following statement: "Our [HELAPCO] studies confirm that grid parity at wholesale market prices in Greece will be achieved in the next decade. However, in the medium and low voltage levels, the cost of generating solar power is already cheaper than the retail price of electricity.

"Bear in mind," he continued, "that in Greece the average cost of electricity generated from conventional fuels (lignite, natural gas and oil) is €91.8/MWh [while the current FIT for PV plants larger than 1 MW each is €90/MWh]. This reality is distorted because the wholesale electricity market price does not express the real cost of electricity generation but only a fraction of it. Conventional power plants receive direct subsidies over €30/MWh that are not reflected in the wholesale electricity market price. In other words, in practice, PV power is already competitive and cheaper than power from gas and oil plants."

Price row hints at lignite favoritism

Meanwhile, a new battle has emerged in Greek domestic politics. Energy regulator RAE decided on 30th December to increase the fee that electricity consumers pay to support RE projects. The increase was kept secret in the period leading to January's national elections and was revealed on March 4.

The new energy minister Panayotis Lafazanis said on Sunday that the ministry will do anything that is possible to reverse RAE's decision. He didn't say, though, where the ministry will find the funds to plug the deficit of LAGIE's Renewable Energy Sources fund, used to pay renewable energy producers in Greece

According to last week's LAGIE report, the deficit stood at €149.69 million ($158 million) at the end of 2014, down from €551.62 million ($583 million) at the end of 2013.

An alternative solution to electricity price hikes could be further retroactive cuts to Greece's PV sector, or a reformation of the energy sector in order to establish a level playing field and end the favoritism of market incumbents through indirect fossil fuel public subsidies.

The latter looks as distant as ever, for it to happen requires the implementation of market rules that the new government rejects. Witihin days of taking up his ministry post, Lafazanis announced the scrapping of Greece's attempts to liberalize its energy sector. The new government has strong ties with Greece's power incumbent, the Public Power Corporation (PPC), which is the owner of all of Greece's coal power plants that the new government wants to keep public. Syriza has made it a government priority to lower electricity prices. This, in essence, means Greece's lignite plants will not only remain public, but well alive too.

WINAICO launches patented SiC HeatCap technology and 300 W series at PV Expo

Fri, 27 Feb 2015 11:22:00 GMT

WINAICO, Taiwan’s largest PV module brand, launches patented HeatCap technology with SiC (silicon carbide) at PV Expo 2015 in Tokyo, Japan. HeatCap with SiC improves the reliability of silicon based solar cells, and protect them from micro-cracks induced by external stresses, such as handling errors and wind stresses. The SiC technology can be applied to WINAICO’s high efficiency PERC, 48-cell modules to provide the perfect combination of high energy output and reliability. WINAICO’s high efficiency module with HeatCap technology was recently awarded the Taiwan Excellent PV Award by the Bureau of Energy. Also on display at WINAICO’s booth is the world’s first PERC-based, 300 W, WSP-300M6 (60-cell) high efficiency module. WINAICO is able to control the CTM loss to below 1%, and reach the market leading efficiency using current generation 4 bus bar solar cells.

WINAICO’s internal evaluation showed evidences of HeatCap improving the ultimate stress a silicon solar cell can withstand before breaking up to 18.12%. WINAICO also worked with Taiwan’s leading research institute, ITRI, to evaluate the reliability of HeatCap technology through Dynamic Mechanical Load (DML) and local hot spot tests. HeatCap and reference modules were put through DML tests of 1000 cycles each at 1000 Pa, 2000 Pa, 3000 Pa sequentially, and verified by electroluminescence (EL) pictures. Compared to the reference module, the HeatCap module had significantly less micro-cracks after each stage of DML tests. Local hot spot tests provided evidence of HeatCap’s improvement in heat dissipation to reduce the solar cell temperature compared to reference cells. HeatCap can be used to solve the heating issue common to modules with black back sheets, and improve energy outputs of all-black modules in warmer environments.

“PV Expo is an opportunity to demonstrate how WINAICO modules add value to the Japanese market. With the launch of the micro-crack preventing HeatCap technology with SiC, WINAICO continues to be a technology leader and differentiates our product offering with greater reliability to the end customers. Our modules can be found all over Japan, not to mention the Commercial and Utility scale installations in Hokkaido and Ishigaki island”, said Loftur Thorarinsson, Representative Director of WINAICO Japan K.K. “Our customers appreciate WINAICO for the top quality PV modules that we provide, and the recently acquired JET certificate assures our Japanese customers that WINAICO modules conform to the highest quality standard required by the local market.”

Η LG πιστοποιήθηκε από την Eurovent για τα προηγμένης τεχνολογίας κεντρικά συστήματα κλιματισμού

Fri, 13 Feb 2015 06:46:00 GMT

H LG Electronics (LG) παρέλαβε ειδική πιστοποίηση ενεργειακής αποδοτικότητας από τον αναγνωρισμένο και έγκυρο Οργανισμό 'Eurovent' για τα προηγμένης τεχνολογίας κεντρικά συστήματα κλιματισμού Multi V IV Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF-Μεταβλητή Ροή Ψυκτικού Μέσου). Ο Οργανισμός 'Eurovent', ένας από τους πιο γνωστούς στην Ευρώπη για την πιστοποίηση προϊόντων, επιβλέπει τη βαθμολόγηση των επιδόσεων σε προϊόντα κλιματισμού και ψύξης.

H LG προσφέρει αυτή τη στιγμή τα πιο αποδοτικά, με ονομαστική απόδοση 14HP και 16HP, προϊόντα VRF στην αγορά, ενώ ο δείκτης ενεργειακής απόδοσης έως 4.83 (Energy Efficiency Ratio -EER) και ο συντελεστής απόδοσης έως 5.32 (Coefficient of Performance - COP) εξασφαλίζουν στους χρήστες σημαντική εξοικονόμηση ενέργειας. Οι μονάδες επαγγελματικού κλιματισμού VRF της LG προσφέρουν άριστες επιδόσεις τόσο σε λειτουργία ψύξης, όσο και θέρμανσης. Οι τιμές των πιστοποιημένων αποδόσεων των συστημάτων VRF της LG έχουν ήδη αναρτηθεί στη σελίδα της Εurovent στο διαδίκτυο.

Τα μοντέλα της σειράς κεντρικών συστημάτων κλιματισμού Multi V IV της LG διαθέτουν κορυφαία ενεργειακή απόδοση, συμβάλλοντας σημαντικά στην περικοπή των λειτουργικών δαπανών, αλλά και στην γενική εξοικονόμηση καταναλισκόμενης ενέργειας από τους χρήστες. Οι εκπληκτικοί δείκτες απόδοσης EER και COP των LG Multi V IV αποτελούν εξαιρετικό παράδειγμα της αφοσίωσης της LG στην ανάπτυξη και εφαρμογή κορυφαίας τεχνολογίας κλιματισμού.

Οι μοναδικές τεχνολογίες των κεντρικών συστημάτων κλιματισμού LG Multi V IV τους επιτρέπουν να λειτουργούν αποδοτικά σε ασυναγώνιστα επίπεδα για τα περισσότερα VRF συστήματα. Οι λύσεις LG Multi V IV καινοτομούν σε τέσσερις τομείς της τεχνολογίας VRF: ο συμπιεστής, ο εναλλακτικής θερμότητας, η διαχείριση του λαδιού και η δρομολόγηση του ψυκτικού μέσου έχουν σχεδιαστεί με γνώμονα την ενεργειακή αποδοτικότητα.

Με την πρώτη απονομή πιστοποίησης το 1993, ο Οργανισμός 'Eurovent' ιδρύθηκε με σκοπό να αποτελέσει μία ανεξάρτητη και αντικειμενική υπηρεσία αξιολόγησης, η οποία θα παρέχει στους χρήστες έναν αξιόπιστο οδηγό επιδόσεων των προϊόντων. Μετρώντας ήδη πολλά χρόνια ως ένας από τους καλύτερους οργανισμούς παγκοσμίως για την πιστοποίηση συστημάτων κλιματισμού, ο 'Eurovent' ξεκίνησε την πιστοποίηση για την ενεργειακή αποδοτικότητα των συστημάτων VRF το 2014.

«Η LG είναι υπερήφανη που αποτελεί έναν από τους πρώτους κατασκευαστές προϊόντων με συστήματα VRF που λαμβάνουν πιστοποίηση από τον 'Eurovent'», δήλωσε ο Jae Sung Lee, Πρόεδρος της LG System Air Conditioning (SAC). «Η εταιρεία εργάζεται επισταμένα εδώ και πολύ καιρό, προκειμένου να εφαρμόσει την τεχνογνωσία της για την παραγωγή πρωτοποριακών και ενεργειακά αποδοτικών προϊόντων. Πιστεύουμε ότι οι προσπάθειές μας ήταν αυτές που οδήγησαν τελικά στην αναγνώριση των συστημάτων Multi V IV για την άριστη ενεργειακή τους απόδοση και τα χαρακτηριστικά τους που εντείνουν τη βιωσιμότητα. Τώρα η πραγματική πρόκληση είναι να συνεχίσουμε να εργαζόμαστε με επιτυχία, προσφέροντας ακόμα πιο αποδοτικά συστήματα HVAC και ενεργειακές λύσεις στο μέλλον».

Η LG Solar κερδίζει το βραβείο TOP BRAND PV Europe 2015 απο την EuPD Research

Tue, 10 Feb 2015 12:29:00 GMT

Λονδίνο - Στην LG Solar έχει απονεμηθεί το κορυφαίο βραβείο TOP BRAND PV Europe 2015, με βάση τα πορίσματα της εκτενούς έρευνας μεταξύ των ευρωπαϊκών εγκαταστατών φωτοβολταϊκών συστημάτων, από τον οργανισμό έρευνας EuPD Research. Η LG Solar έλαβε την υψηλότερη βαθμολογία από τους εγκαταστάτες στις χώρες του Βελγίου, του Ηνωμένου Βασίλειου και τη Γερμανίας.

Το ανεξάρτητο πιστοποιητικό "TOP BRAND PV", εκδίδεται με βάση την ολοκληρωμένη ανάλυση από την εμπειρία των αντισυμβαλλομένων και των διαμεσολαβητών απο τον εκάστοτε κατασκευαστή. Το βραβείο έχει σχεδιαστεί για να βοηθήσει τα ενδιαφερόμενα μέρη να επιλέξουν τη σωστή ηλιακή μονάδα για τις ανάγκες τους και να συγκρίνουν τους παρόχους στην αγορά. Το κορυφαίο βραβείο BRAND PV αποδίδεται σε κατασκευαστές ηλιακών πάνελ από το 2010, με διάκριση αυτών που σκοράρουν πάνω από το μέσο, σε σύγκριση με τους ανταγωνιστές τους.

«Η ικανοποίηση των εγκαταστατών με την προσφορά μας υπογραμμίζει την υψηλή ποιότητα και την εξυπηρέτηση που εγγυώνται στους πελάτες μας. Το βραβείο αποτελεί ένα επιπλέον κίνητρο για εμάς να συνεχίσουμε να ικανοποιήσουν τις συγκεκριμένες προσδοκίες και τις ανάγκες των εγκαταστατών και των πελατών στο μέλλον της αγοράς", δήλωσε ο Sven Armbrecht, Διευθυντής Επιχειρηματικής Ανάπτυξης της LG Solar στο Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο.

Mainland Greece added just 16 MW of PV power in 2014

Wed, 04 Feb 2015 07:23:00 GMT

Mainland Greece had 2,435.67 MW of installed PV capacity as of the end of December 2014, according to the Hellenic Transmission System Operator SA (HTSO). The Greek mainland had 2,085.31 MW of installed grid-connected PV systems over 10 kW and 350.36 MW of rooftop PV systems up to 10 kW at the end of the month. The country added only 40 kW of new PV capacity in November, down from 250 kW in November and down from 11.9 MW in the same month of 2013. In 2014, the Greek mainland added approximately 16 MW of new PV power, down sharply from 1,092 MW a year earlier. HTSO’s figures do not include the installed capacity of non-interconnected Greek islands, which – according to the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator SA (HEDNO) – reached 135.8 MW at the end of 2013. Based on the most recent data available, Greece has a total installed PV capacity of at least 2,572 MW.

Using snow to demonstrate the scalability of home solar PV.

Tue, 03 Feb 2015 07:22:00 GMT

Learning about home solar energy from people that already have an installed system is one of the best ways to see if it is something that you would like to do. The type and manufacturer of the solar panels, how they are installed , wired and maintained are all important aspects of the performance of the home solar system.

Here is a video from a home solar owner showing the impact of snow on their system and the effect on the generated power by cleaning one panel at time. A great example of scaling a solar energy pv system by simply cleaning snow.

Video

Στο 125% η καθαρή κερδοφορία της LG για το 2014

Sat, 31 Jan 2015 10:50:00 GMT

Η LG Electronics Inc. (LG) ανακοίνωσε σήμερα καθαρά κέρδη ύψους 501,40 δισ. KRW (474,81 εκ. δολάρια ΗΠΑ) για το σύνολο της χρήσης 2014, ενισχυμένα κατά 125% σε σχέση με το 2013.

Τα λειτουργικά κέρδη εμφανίζονται σημαντικά ενισχυμένα κατά τη διάρκεια του 2014, στα 1,83 τρισ. KRW (1.73 δις δολάρια ΗΠΑ), από 1,25 τρισ. KRW (1,14 δις δολάρια) το 2013, αύξηση που ισοδυναμεί με 46 % σε ετήσια βάση. Ο ενοποιημένος κύκλος εργασιών για το σύνολο της χρήσης ανέρχεται στα 59,04 τρισ. KRW (55,91 δισ. δολάρια ΗΠΑ), ενισχυμένος σημαντικά από την αύξηση 24 % στις πωλήσεις των smartphones.

Πιο συγκεκριμένα, το τέταρτο τρίμηνο του 2014 ο ενοποιημένος κύκλος εργασιών ανήλθε στα 15,27 τρισ. KRW (14.06 δισ. δολάρια ΗΠΑ) και τα λειτουργικά κέρδη στα 275,1 δισ. KRW (253,31 εκ. δολάρια ΗΠΑ), αυξημένα κατά 28 % σε σχέση με την αντίστοιχη περυσινή περίοδο. Σε επίπεδο καθαρού λειτουργικού κέρδους, το τέταρτο τρίμηνο (έως 31 Δεκεμβρίου 2014) εμφανίζει καθαρές ζημιές ύψους 205,7 δισ. KRW (189,41 εκ. δολάρια ΗΠΑ), οι οποίες οφείλονται κυρίως στην αναστολή των δραστηριοτήτων του τμήματος plasma TV της LG.

Η LG Home Entertainment Company (Οικιακή Ψυχαγωγία) ανακοίνωσε λειτουργικά κέρδη ύψους 509 δισ. KRW (482,01 εκ. δολάρια ΗΠΑ) για το 2014, ενισχυμένα κατά 31 % σε ετήσια βάση, ενώ ο κύκλος εργασιών για το σύνολο της χρήσης 2014 σημείωσε ελαφρά αύξηση, στα 19,38 τρισ. KRW (18,35 δις δολάρια ΗΠΑ). Το τελευταίο τρίμηνο του 2014 ο κύκλος εργασιών αυξήθηκε κατά 20 % σε σχέση με την αντίστοιχη περίοδο του προηγούμενου έτους, φθάνοντας τα 5,43 τρισ. KRW (5,00 δις δολάρια ΗΠΑ), στοιχείο που αντικατοπτρίζει την αυξημένη ζήτηση τηλεοράσεων στις αγορές της Ευρώπης, των χωρών της Κοινοπολιτείας Ανεξάρτητων Κρατών (CIS) και της Β. Αμερικής κατά την περίοδο των εορτών. Παρά την ενίσχυση του ανταγωνισμού και την εξασθένιση των νομισμάτων των αναδυομένων χωρών, η LG παραμένει αισιόδοξη όσον αφορά το premium κομμάτι της αγοράς τηλεοράσεων (OLED TVs και Ultra HDTVs), όπου η ζήτηση αναμένεται ότι θα συνεχίσει να αυξάνεται, όπως και στον κλάδο του digital signage.

Η LG Mobile Communications Company (Κινητή Τηλεφωνία) ανακοίνωσε ετήσιο κύκλο εργασιών αυξημένο κατά 16 %, στα 15,06 τρισ. KRW (14,26 δισ. δολάρια ΗΠΑ), γεγονός που αντικατοπτρίζει τη βελτίωση των μεγεθών στη Β. Αμερική, όπου η αύξηση των πωλήσεων κατά τη διάρκεια του τετάρτου τριμήνου του 2014 έφτασε το 78 % σε σχέση με το προηγούμενο έτος. Ο κύκλος εργασιών για το τέταρτο τρίμηνο ανήλθε στα 3,78 τρισ. KRW (3,48 δισ. δολάρια ΗΠΑ), ενισχυμένος κατά 5 % σε σχέση με την αντίστοιχη περίοδο του 2013. Το 2014, οι συνολικές πωλήσεις smartphone έφτασαν τις 59,1 εκατομμύρια μονάδες, καταγράφοντας αύξηση 24 % σε σχέση με την προηγούμενη χρήση, ενώ οι συνολικές πωλήσεις συσκευών κινητής ανήλθαν σε 78,2 εκατομμύρια μονάδες. Το 2015 αναμένεται ενίσχυση του ανταγωνισμού παγκοσμίως, με την LG να στοχεύει σε κινήσεις για την ενίσχυση της δύναμης της μάρκας LG, την επικέντρωση του ενδιαφέροντος σε επιλεγμένες αγορές – κλειδιά και τη βελτίωση της αποδοτικότητας των λειτουργιών της.

Οι πωλήσεις της LG Home Appliance Company (Οικιακές Συσκευές) για το σύνολο του 2014 ανήλθαν σε 11,54 τρισ. KRW (10,93 δισ. δολάρια ΗΠΑ), καταγράφοντας αύξηση τόσο στην ευρωπαϊκή Αγορά, όσο και στις αναδυόμενες Αγορές της Μέσης Ανατολής, της Αφρικής και της ΝΑ Ασίας, και αντισταθμίζοντας το σχετικά μικρότερο ρυθμό αύξησης των πωλήσεων στην αγορά της Β. Αμερικής. Κατά τη διάρκεια του τετάρτου τριμήνου του 2014 ο κύκλος εργασιών ανήλθε στα 2,88 τρισ. KRW (2,65 δισ. δολάρια ΗΠΑ), ελαφρώς ενισχυμένος σε σχέση με την αντίστοιχη περίοδο του 2013, ενώ τα κέρδη από λειτουργικές δραστηριότητες ανήλθαν στα 85 δισ. KRW (78,27 εκ. δολάρια ΗΠΑ), ενισχυμένα κατά 64 % σε σχέση με το προηγούμενο τρίμηνο και κατά 2 % σε σχέση με την αντίστοιχη περίοδο της προηγούμενης χρήσης. Η αναμενόμενη κάμψη της συνολικής ζήτησης κατά το 2015 θα αντιμετωπιστεί μέσα από την παρουσίαση καινοτόμων προϊόντων υψηλής ενεργειακής απόδοσης και τη βελτίωση της ανταγωνιστικότητας του κόστους.

Ο ετήσιος κύκλος εργασιών της LG Air Conditioning & Energy Solution Company (Κλιματισμός και Ενεργειακές λύσεις) για τη χρήση 2014 ανήλθε σε 4,56 τρισ. KRW (4,32 δισ. δολάρια ΗΠΑ) και τα λειτουργικά κέρδη σε 255,1 δισ. KRW (241,57 εκ. δολάρια ΗΠΑ). Οι πωλήσεις του τέταρτου τριμήνου του 2014 ανήλθαν σε 781,4 δισ. KRW (719,52 εκ. δολάρια ΗΠΑ), αυξημένα κατά 9% σε σχέση με την αντίστοιχη περίοδο του 2013, κυρίως λόγω της ενίσχυσης των πωλήσεων επαγγελματικών κλιματιστικών. Η LG σχεδιάζει να αντιμετωπίσει την αβεβαιότητα της παγκόσμιας οικονομίας παρουσιάζοντας προϊόντα με ακόμη υψηλότερη ενεργειακή απόδοση και κάνοντας ακόμη πιο ανταγωνιστικό το κόστος τους.

Τι ορίζει η απόφαση του ΥΠΕΚΑ για τους φορτιστές των ηλεκτρικών αυτοκινήτων

energia.gr — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 16:29:00 GMT

Τους όρους και τις τεχνικές προδιαγραφές για τους φορτιστές ηλεκτροκίνητων οχημάτων που βρίσκονται ή θα εγκατασταθούν σε πρατήρια, χώρους στάθμευσης και λοιπές εγκαταστάσεις, ορίζει με απόφασή του το ΥΠΕΚΑ

Στην απόφαση αναφέρονται επίσης και τα δικαιολογητικά που χρειάζονται για την άδεια εγκατάστασης.

Σε ό,τι αφορά ειδικότερα τις τεχνικές προδιαγραφές, στο άρθρο 2 ορίζονται τα εξής:

1) Οι αποδεκτές μέθοδοι φόρτισης των συσσωρευτών ηλεκτροκίνητων αυτοκινήτων που δύνανται να εγκατασταθούν στις υφιστάμενες ή υπό αδειοδότηση εγκαταστάσεις εξυπηρέτησης οχημάτων που αναφέρονται στη παράγραφο 1 του άρθρου 1 της παρούσας, είναι η μέθοδος 3 (Mode 3 AC Charging) και η μέθοδος 4 (Mode 4 DC Charging), όπως αυτές καθορίζονται από το πρότυπο IEC 61851−1 «Electric Vehicle Conductive Charging System».

Επίσης, οι αποδεκτοί ακροδέκτες των εν λόγω συσκευών φόρτισης καθορίζονται από το πρότυπο IEC 62196−2 «Plugs Socket−outlets, Vehicle Couplers and Vehicle Inlets −Conductive Charging of Electric Vehicles».

Ειδικότερα, για λόγους εξασφάλισης της αναγκαίας διαλειτουργικότητας, ο αποδεκτός ακροδέκτης για τη φόρτιση των συσσωρευτών με τη μέθοδο 3 καθορίζεται από το πρότυπο IEC 62196−2 "Type 2" (VDE−AR−E−2623−2−2) και ο αποδεκτός ακροδέκτης για τη φόρτιση των συσσωρευτών με τη μέθοδο 4 καθορίζεται από το πρότυπο IEC 62196−2 "Type 3" (DC Compo 2).

Επιπλέον προαιρετικά, δύναται να προβλέπεται και η παράλληλη διάθεση ακροδέκτη προδιαγραφών CHAdeMO για τη φόρτιση με τη μέθοδο 4, όπως αυτές καθορίζονται στο πρωτόκολλο CHAdeMO του παραρτήματος 1 του καταστατικού της Ένωσης CHAdeMO της πόλης της Yokohama (CHAdeMO Association − Yokohama City).

Επιπρόσθετα των ασφαλιστικών διατάξεων των φορτιστών, οι οποίες θα αποκλείουν τη πιθανότητα της υπερφόρτισης των συσσωρευτών του οχήματος, πρέπει για τις περιπτώσεις ατυχήματος να εγκατασταθεί χειροκίνητη διάταξη διακοπής της ηλεκτρικής παροχής προς τον φορτιστή μέσω κομβίων έκτακτης ανάγκης, τοποθετημένων σε δύο τουλάχιστον θέσεις εντός των υφιστάμενων ή υπό αδειοδότηση εγκαταστάσεων εξυπηρέτησης οχημάτων που αναφέρονται στη παράγραφο 1 του άρθρου 1 της παρούσας και συγκεκριμένα μία χειροκίνητη διάταξη διακοπής της ηλεκτροπαροχής πλησίον της θέσης φόρτισης και η δεύτερη εντός του χώρου των κτιριακών εγκαταστάσεων τους.

2) Η συσκευή φόρτισης συσσωρευτών ηλεκτροκίνητων οχημάτων πρέπει υποχρεωτικά να διαθέτει πιστοποίηση CE και εφόσον διαθέτει πιστοποιητικό ΑΤΕΧ επιτρέπεται να εγκαθίσταται εντός των ζωνών ΑΤΕΧ 0, ΑΤΕΧ 1 και ΑΤΕΧ 2, όπου αυτές υφίστανται εντός των εγκαταστάσεων εξυπηρέτησης οχημάτων που αναφέρονται στη παράγραφο 1 του άρθρου 1 της παρούσας.

3) Σε κάθε περίπτωση και όπου δεν ορίζεται διαφορετικά, για την εγκατάσταση των απαραίτητων ηλεκτρολογικών διατάξεων και συσκευών για τη φόρτιση ηλεκτροκίνητων οχημάτων θα έχει εφαρμογή ο ισχύων Κανονισμός Ηλεκτρολογικών Εγκαταστάσεων, σύμφωνα με την Φ.7.5/1816/88/27.02.2004 απόφαση του Υφυπουργού Ανάπτυξης «Αντικατάσταση του ισχύοντος Κανονισμού Εσωτερικών Ηλεκτρικών Εγκαταστάσεων (Κ.Ε.Η.Ε. με το πρότυπο ΕΛΟΤ HD 384 και άλλες σχετικές διατάξεις)» (Β΄ 470), όπως ισχύει, καθώς και οι διατάξεις του ν. 4483/65, όπως αυτές ισχύουν στις περιπτώσεις νέων ή υφιστάμενων ηλεκτρικών εγκαταστάσεων.

Οι προϋποθέσεις σύνδεσης τους με το Δίκτυο του ΔΕΔΔΗΕ ΑΕ διέπονται από το εκάστοτε ισχύον θεσμικό πλαίσιο περί ηλεκτροδοτήσεων.

Σχετικό ΦΕΚ https://diavgeia.gov.gr/doc/6%CE%984%CE%911-%CE%97%CE%A1%CE%A3?inline=true

Υπογραφή Υπουργικής απόφασης για την «Εγκατάσταση Μονάδων ΑΠΕ από Αυτοπαραγωγούς με Συμψηφισμό Ενέργειας»

Thu, 01 Jan 2015 10:13:00 GMT

Υπεγράφη σήμερα από τον Υφυπουργό ΠΕΚΑ, Μάκη Παπαγεωργίου, η Υπουργική Απόφαση (η οποία εκδίδεται κατ’ εξουσιοδότηση της Υποπαραγράφου ΙΓ.8 της Παραγράφου ΙΓ του άρθρου πρώτου του ν.4254/2014) που αφορά στην αυτοπαραγωγή ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας με ενεργειακό συμψηφισμό από φωτοβολταϊκά συστήματα.
Το ΥΠΕΚΑ υποστηρίζει την εγκατάσταση συστημάτων αυτοπαραγωγής μέσω προγράμματος εγκατάστασης φωτοβολταϊκών συστημάτων από αυτοπαραγωγούς για την κάλυψη ιδίων αναγκών τους, με εφαρμογή ενεργειακού συμψηφισμού (net-metering) και την αξιοποίησή του με στόχο τη μείωση του ενεργειακού κόστους των καταναλωτών ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας. Οι αυτοπαραγωγοί αναμένεται να έχουν σημαντικό οικονομικό όφελος, ενώ παράλληλα προωθείται ο βασικός στόχος της πολιτικής του ΥΠΕΚΑ για ενεργειακή ασφάλεια, αποδοτικότητα και εξοικονόμηση ενέργειας.
Με την εφαρμογή της συγκεκριμένης Απόφασης, γίνεται πλέον ελκυστική η αυτοπαραγωγή ενέργειας από φωτοβολταϊκά συστήματα και θεσπίζεται για πρώτη φορά ο ενεργειακός συμψηφισμός (netmetering).
Συγκεκριμένα, η Απόφαση προβλέπει τα εξής:
Ø   Αυτοπαραγωγή στη Μέση και Χαμηλή Τάση.
Ø   Αφορά μόνο σε συστήματα φωτοβολταϊκών.
Ø   Η μέγιστη επιτρεπόμενη ισχύς είναι 20 KW ή αν είναι πάνω από 20 KW η ισχύς μπορεί να είναι μέχρι το 50% της συμφωνηθείσας ισχύος κατανάλωσης της παροχής.
Ø   Τα όρια διαφοροποιούνται για το Μη Διασυνδεδεμένο Σύστημα με ανώτατη ισχύ για τα μεν Μη Διασυνδεδεμένα Νησιά τα 20KW ενώ για την Κρήτη τα 50KW.
Ø   Για φορείς που επιτελούν κοινωφελές έργο υπό τις οριζόμενες από το Νόμο προϋποθέσεις η ΥΑ επιτρέπει να αξιοποιηθεί το σύνολο της συμφωνηθείσας ισχύος κατανάλωσης της παροχής.
Ø   Εγκατάσταση αυτοπαραγωγής μπορεί να κάνει οποιοσδήποτε στα σημεία που επιτρέπονται σύμφωνα με τις προβλέψεις του νόμου. (δηλ. δεν περιορίζεται στις στέγες)
Ø   Οι αυτοπαραγωγοί θα καταβάλλουν ΕΤΜΕΑΡ μόνο για την ηλεκτρική ενέργεια που συνολικά απορροφούν από το Δίκτυο ή το Σύστημα.
Ø   Ο ενεργειακός συμψηφισμός θα γίνεται ετησίως στο λογαριασμό του ηλεκτρικού ρεύματος του αυτοπαραγωγού.
Αναφερόμενος στο θέμα ο Υπουργός ΠΕΚΑ, Γιάννης Μανιάτης, επεσήμανε : «Με τη συγκεκριμένη Υπουργική απόφαση ανοίγουμε ένα νέο μεγάλο δρόμο σε ζητήματα εξοικονόμησης ενέργειας και χρήσεις των Ανανεώσιμων Πηγών. Το μεγάλο βήμα έγινε με την πρόσφατη νομοθετική ρύθμιση του Ν.4254/2014, με την οποία ανοίξαμε με πρωτοποριακό τρόπο αυτή τη νέα αγορά.
Δημιουργούμε νέες θέσεις εργασίας στον τομέα των ΑΠΕ και συμβάλλουμε αποφασιστικά στη μείωση των ενεργειακών δαπανών για το κάθε ελληνικό νοικοκυριό. Κυρίως όμως, η μεγάλη μας παρέμβαση αφορά στη μείωση του ενεργειακού κόστους που μπορεί να γίνει στον αγροτικό τομέα, όπου ειδικά για τους Οργανισμούς Εγγείων Βελτιώσεων προβλέπουμε δράσεις που μειώνουν το κόστος παραγωγής αγροτικών προϊόντων σε όλη τη χώρα, δίνουν ανταγωνιστικότητα στα αγροτικά μας προϊόντα και ανταμείβουν τους κόπους του Έλληνα αγρότη.
Ταυτόχρονα, στηρίζουμε την ατμομηχανή ανάπτυξης της χώρας μας που είναι ο Τουρισμός, με τη δραστική μείωση του ενεργειακού κόστους που μπορεί πια να υπάρξει σε όλες τις ξενοδοχειακές μονάδες και τα ενοικιαζόμενα δωμάτια της χώρας. Τέλος, αλλά όχι έσχατο, τα μέγιστα όρια παραγωγής εφαρμόζονται σε Κοινωφελείς Οργανισμούς και Νομικά Πρόσωπα, Δημοσίου ή Ιδιωτικού δικαίου, που υπηρετούν την Κοινωνία. Αυτό θα επιτρέψει σε εκατοντάδες Νοσοκομεία και Φορείς Περίθαλψης και Κοινωνικής Αλληλεγγύης των συνανθρώπων μας να μειώσουν σημαντικά το ετήσιο λειτουργικό τους κόστος, ώστε να βελτιώσουν τις παρεχόμενες υπηρεσίες προς όφελος του Έλληνα πολίτη».
Όπως δήλωσε ο Υφυπουργός ΠΕΚΑ, Μάκης Παπαγεωργίου : «Η σημερινή Απόφαση αποτελεί ένα σημαντικό βήμα για την ενίσχυση της αυτοπαραγωγής, αλλά και την τόνωση συνολικά του κλάδου των ΑΠΕ.
Με την θέσπιση του net metering δίνεται η δυνατότητα σε πολλούς καταναλωτές, μικρούς αλλά και μεγαλύτερους, οικιακούς αλλά και σε μεσαίες ή μεγάλες επιχειρήσεις να ελαφρύνουν σημαντικά το ενεργειακό τους κόστος. Ενώ, παράλληλα, δίνεται ώθηση στις τοπικές οικονομίες με την άμεση αυτή λύση για την ανάπτυξη μικρών φωτοβολταϊκών με μεγάλο όφελος, χωρίς όμως να επιβαρύνονται οι υπόλοιποι καταναλωτές».
Επισημαίνεται ότι, το ΥΠΕΚΑ προώθησε πρόσφατα την ψήφιση ρύθμισης για το μέγιστο όριο εγκατεστημένης ισχύος ανά σύστημα που θα ενταχθεί στο πρόγραμμα αυτοπαραγωγής. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, με το έβδομο άρθρο του ν. 4296/2014 προβλέπεται ότι μπορούν να τίθενται ανώτατα όρια, διαφοροποιημένα ανά κατηγορία παραγωγών, με μέγιστο όριο τα 500kW. Επίσης, προβλέπεται ότι τα μέγιστα όρια θα αφορούν νομικά πρόσωπα δημοσίου ή ιδιωτικού δικαίου που επιδιώκουν κοινωφελείς ή άλλους δημοσίου ενδιαφέροντος σκοπούς γενικής ή τοπικής εμβέλειας.
Αναλυτικότερα, σύμφωνα με τη Υπουργική Απόφαση, η ισχύς κάθε φωτοβολταϊκού συστήματος μπορεί να ανέρχεται, στο Διασυνδεδεμένο Σύστημα, μέχρι 20 kWp ή μέχρι το 50% της συμφωνημένης ισχύος κατανάλωσης, εφόσον η τιμή αυτή είναι μεγαλύτερη του ως άνω ορίου των 20 kWp, με μέγιστο όριο τα 500kW. Για τα Μη Διασυνδεδεμένα Νησιά (ΜΔΝ), λόγω περιορισμένου σχετικά περιθωρίου για αμιγώς τεχνικούς λόγους, τα όρια διαφοροποιούνται ώστε να μπορούν να τύχουν ένταξης στο πρόγραμμα περισσότεροι καταναλωτές.
Ειδικά για τα Νομικά Πρόσωπα, Δημοσίου ή Ιδιωτικού Δικαίου, που επιδιώκουν κοινωφελείς ή άλλους Δημόσιου ενδιαφέροντος σκοπούς, γενικής ή τοπικής εμβέλειας, η ανώτατη ισχύς κάθε φωτοβολταϊκού συστήματος μπορεί να ανέρχεται έως και το 100% της συμφωνημένης ισχύος κατανάλωσης, με μέγιστο όριο τα 500kW στο Διασυνδεδεμένο Σύστημα. Με την ανωτέρω ρύθμιση καθίσταται εφικτή η εγκατάσταση συστημάτων ισχύος ίσης με την συμφωνημένη ισχύ παροχής από ΓΟΕΒ και ΤΟΕΒ καθώς και Πανεπιστήμια.

Τέλος, επισημαίνεται ότι σύμφωνα με την Υπουργική Απόφαση, φωτοβολταϊκά συστήματα θα μπορούν να εγκαθιστούν τόσο οι ιδιοκτήτες όσο και οι μισθωτές, ενώ ιδιαίτερα επωφελής είναι η πρόβλεψη για ετήσιο χρόνο συμψηφισμού της παραγόμενης με την καταναλισκόμενη από τον αυτοπαραγωγό ενέργειας.

Huawei makes largest year-on-year gains in global PV inverter market, IHS

Fri, 12 Dec 2014 08:08:00 GMT

Germany-based SMA, Switzerland-based ABB and Japan-based Omron were the top three global PV inverter suppliers in the first three quarters of 2014 based on market share, but Chinese telecommunications company Huawei made the largest gain in market share during the period, reports market research firm IHS. Despite SMA and ABB maintaining their first and second market-share rankings, both companies’ market share for the first three quarters of the year has declined since last year, with SMA losing 6 percentage points and ABB just over 1 point. At the same time, Huawei’s share of the global market grew by more than 2 percentage points. In its »PV Inverter Market Tracker« report, IHS notes that SMA’s limited market share in China and Japan and a rapid decline in ABB shipments to Germany, Italy and other key European markets led to the two market leaders’ weaker performance. Meanwhile, Huawei’s growth in global market share is largely attributed to gains in the domestic Chinese market, where the company has quickly become one of the leading suppliers. Total inverter shipments in China increased steadily in the third quarter of 2014 to reach 4.8 GW. TBEA Sunoasis, Sungrow and other Chinese inverter suppliers have also benefited from the surge in domestic shipments. In terms of revenue, Japan was the largest PV inverter market. »Global PV inverter supplier rankings have changed substantially over the past 12 months, led by large gains from Japanese, Chinese and module-level power electronic suppliers,« concluded Cormac Gilligan, senior analyst for PV inverter research at IHS. »Suppliers with a major presence in the United States, Japan, China, and other high-growth markets were some «of the biggest year-over-year gainers, while those who were heavily reliant on Germany, Italy, and other countries that previously led the market lost considerable market share.« In the microinverter and power optimizer markets, Enphase and SolarEdge continued to see strong market share growth due to strong demand in the US, Europe and in other international markets.

http://technology.ihs.com/424304/pv-inverter-market-tracker

LG merges solar unit into new Energy Business Center

Fri, 28 Nov 2014 15:21:00 GMT

Korean conglomerate, LG, has merged its Solar, Lighting and Energy Storage System (ESS) business units into a new ‘Energy Business Center’ in an effort to boost its competitiveness.

The realignment of LG’s solar operations is part of a major business unit reshuffle across the company.

The company said that its executive vice president, Sang-bong Lee, would lead the LG Energy Business Center.

LG's chief technology officer Dr. Scott Ahn will take on the additional role of head of LG's Innovation Business Center, with a brief to identify and develop new business areas based on future technologies.

Good prospects for heat pumps in Europe

Thu, 27 Nov 2014 11:35:00 GMT

The heat pump market is recovering. This is the conclusion reached in a new study by the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) on the 2014 heat pump market, which analysed statistics from heat pump markets in 21 European countries.

The study also shows how EU policies affect the use of heat pumps and how the technology contributes to energy efficiency.

In 2013, heat pump sales increased by 3%. This slight increase was the first in three years. Over the past year, 771,245 heat pumps were sold in Europe, and it looks like this trend will continue in 2014. Thomas Nowak, the Secretary-General of EHPA, explains that this is good news not only for the heat pump industry but also for Europe's climate targets: "It has been said that the future Energy Union should be about sustainability, competitiveness and security of supply. Heat pumps can help to achieve these three objectives – they are efficient, use renewable energy and reduce GHG emission."

In another study (link is external), EHPA had already reported that the use of heat pumps would not only make a considerable contribution towards achieving the efficiency targets for 2030, but that installing 54 million additional heat pumps would eliminate the need for gas imports from Russia. So far, there are only approximately 6 million heat pumps installed in European buildings, but EHPA is confident that the goal of a total of 60 million heat pumps by 2030 is realistic. In order to achieve this, the European heat pump market would have to grow by 17% annually. These conditions could be created by government investment and by reducing the competitive advantages of several other, less environmentally friendly technologies. In addition, Europe's largest heat pump market France, which has an annual growth rate of 30%, demonstrates that the 17% target is not too high. According to the study, installing 60 million pumps would result in a total of 60 MTOE (Million Tonnes of Oil Equivalent, equal to 697.8 TWh) of renewable energy becoming available, and energy consumption would be reduced by 37 MTOE (430.3 TWh). In addition, more than 300,000 new jobs would be created.

Μεταρρύθμιση στο σύστημα αδειοδότησης

ΥΠΑΝ — Tue, 25 Nov 2014 08:02:00 GMT

Καταργείται η υποχρέωση έκδοσης άδειας λειτουργίας για 103 οικονομικές δραστηριότητες, στις οποίες εντάσσονται 897 επαγγέλματα (ΚΑΔ), σύμφωνα με απόφαση που υπέγραψε σήμερα ο υπουργός Ανάπτυξης και Ανταγωνιστικότητας Κώστας Σκρέκας.

Η απόφαση εκδόθηκε σε εφαρμογή του νόμου 4262/2014, σύμφωνα με το χρονοδιάγραμμα που είχε ανακοινωθεί κατά την ψήφισή του και αποσκοπεί στη διευκόλυνση και μείωση του κόστους ίδρυσης και λειτουργίας των επιχειρήσεων, τη βελτίωση της ανταγωνιστικότητας της οικονομίας, την άρση εμποδίων για το επιχειρείν και την αντιμετώπιση της γραφειοκρατίας.

Με το νέο καθεστώς, οι επιχειρήσεις που εντάσσονται στην κατηγορία χαμηλού ρίσκου δεν θα απαιτείται πλέον να εφοδιάζονται με άδεια λειτουργίας παρά μόνο με μία υπεύθυνη δήλωση στην αρμόδια Διεύθυνση Ανάπτυξης της οικείας Περιφέρειας.

Η απόφαση αφορά στο 25% του συνόλου των οικονομικών δραστηριοτήτων, που εκτιμάται ότι παράγουν το 14,3 % του ΑΕΠ της χώρας.

Ο χρόνος που απαιτείται για την ίδρυση και λειτουργία της επιχείρησης περιορίζεται έτσι δραστικά, κατά τουλάχιστον 2-3 μήνες, ενώ καταργείται παράβολο ύψους 60 έως 1500 ευρώ, ανάλογα με τη δραστηριότητα.

Οι κλάδοι που εντάσσονται στο καθεστώς απλοποίησης της αδειοδότησης προέκυψαν ύστερα από μελέτη του συνόλου των μεταποιητικών δραστηριοτήτων, σύμφωνα με την οποία η άδεια λειτουργίας στις συγκεκριμένες περιπτώσεις δημιουργούσε αναίτια χρονική καθυστέρηση για το νέο επιχειρηματία – επαγγελματία και μεγάλο διαχειριστικό βάρος για τη δημόσια διοίκηση χωρίς καμία προστιθέμενη αξία.

Ο υπουργός Ανάπτυξης Κώστας Σκρέκας, με αφορμή την υπογραφή της υπουργικής απόφασης, τόνισε: «Πρωταρχικό μέλημα της κυβέρνησης και του Υπουργείου Ανάπτυξης και Ανταγωνιστικότητας είναι η διευκόλυνση της επιχειρηματικότητας και ιδιαίτερα της επιχειρηματικότητας των νέων και στο πλαίσιο αυτό εντάσσεται η υπογραφή της υπουργικής απόφασης για την κατάργηση της έκδοσης άδειας λειτουργίας δραστηριότητες και επαγγέλματα που αντιπροσωπεύουν πάνω από 14,3% του ΑΕΠ. Στόχος μας, η άρση των διοικητικών – γραφειοκρατικών βαρών που θέτουν εμπόδια στην υγιή επιχειρηματικότητα.

Επισυνάπτονται η παρουσίαση της υπουργικής απόφασης, η λίστα των δραστηριοτήτων, καθώς και η ενδεικτική λίστα με τους Κωδικούς των Επαγγελμάτων, για τα οποία καταργείται η υποχρέωση έκδοσης άδειας λειτουργίας.

Growth in the world heat pump market

BSRIA — Sat, 22 Nov 2014 07:27:00 GMT

The world heat pump market increased 7.2% by volume in 2013 to almost 2 million units. The growth was driven by the strong progression of sales of heat pump water heater in the USA especially on the one hand, and the recovery of the European market on the other hand.
However, in value terms, the market went down 6.9% in 2013 compared with 2012; the reason behind the drop is attributed to the decrease in sales of large output units as well as increasing competition among suppliers.
In 2013 there was an increasing penetration of air-to-water cylinder integrated units, also known as heat pump water heater, following almost 40% growth in 2012, the world market posted a 26.5% growth in 2013. However this growth was mainly outside of Europe, within Europe the market size remained limited to a few thousand units.
Among the other air-to-water types, split systems continued to enjoy wide popularity, growing 15.6% globally. These units are dominating the sales in Europe notably, with small capacity products accounting for a significant share of the market. The growth appears to have taken place at the expense of monobloc systems, the volume of which decreased by 2% in Europe overall. The global demand for split unit systems was counterbalanced in China where sales of monobloc heat pumps accelerated by 13.8% resulting in a positive 5.1% growth worldwide.
Poor performance in the geothermal heat pump segment was again recorded at a global level in 2013. Despite a 5% rise in the USA and China markets, the sales declined within Europe resulting in a reduced volume of 1%. High initial investment and lack of political support are stated as the major obstacles to the development of the ground-water heat pump market by suppliers.
Exhaust air heat pump combined with heat recovery is still an emerging technology. Whilst widespread in Scandinavian countries the technology has started to expand in Northern Europe as a means to reduce heat losses and energy consumption in building. Sales volumes are currently low but growing at a 4.6% on average at global level.
In terms of outlook per technology, the fast economic growth in China is expected to drive the demand for monobloc heat pump in the coming years while the slow recovery of the new-build activity and the lack of investment in the renovation sector in Europe are likely to curb the expansion of the split and exhaust air market segments. Exhaust air and geothermal heat pumps are not forecast to achieve double-digit growth, expanding respectively 7.4% and 4.9% per year on average at global level over 2014-2017. The tightening of product legislation either at European level (ErP) or by the US Energy Agency are expected to boost sales of heat pump water heater (17% CAGR).

https://www.bsria.com/news/article/growth-in-the-world-heat-pump-market/

PV could be cheaper than wholesale electricity in the UK by 2025, STA

Fri, 21 Nov 2014 07:59:00 GMT

The cost reduction of large-scale solar in the UK will occur more rapidly than forecasted by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), according to a new report from the UK Solar Trade Association (STA). The report estimates that the cost of large-scale solar will drop 33% between 2014 and 2020, with a further 11% reduction expected between 2020 and 2030. While individual technology cost is not the only consideration in developing efficient low-carbon electricity systems, this expected reduction in the cost of large-scale solar indicates that PV could become cheaper than gas (Combined Cycle Gas Turbine or CCGT) by 2018, 5 years earlier than predicted by the DECC. It also implies that PV will become cheaper than the wholesale electricity price in the UK between 2025 and 2028, thus reaching grid parity. CCGT plants are projected to increase in costs in real terms over the next 15 years, while large-scale solar is currently the only technology forecasted to become cheaper than wholesale electricity, the report finds. Despite the reduction in the cost of large-scale PV, the technology still needs to be subsidized, just as fossil fuels are, claims STA. Moreover, retaining stable government support and a stable policy framework for large-scale solar is in the best interests of consumers in the medium and long term as it will ultimately lead to cheaper electricity bills once solar reaches the zero subsidy level. Thus STA advises the DECC to revisit its projections for large-scale solar and to reconsider its decision to reduce support for the technology.
http://www.solar-trade.org.uk//media/LCOE%20report.pdf

UBS: Solar plus storage is already cost effective in Australia

Tue, 11 Nov 2014 06:28:00 GMT

The new report suggests that one million households could invest $20 billion in storage systems in current years – nearly equal to the investment required for a new LNG export plant.

According to UBS would be relatively low risk. More importantly, it would herald a revolution in the domestic electricity industry.

UBS says the arrival of cost-competitive solar plus storage will have major impacts on utilities, depending on how they react. They could see it as an opportunity – and provide zero-down installations of battery storage and solar to their customers and help the costs come down even quicker for Australian households.

Or they could see it as a threat, and leave the way open for others to do the same.

The UBS analysis looked at the price of current solar plus storage offerings in Australia. It estimates that such systems – which allow households to use all the electricity produced by their solar array by storing it in a box (battery) for later use – are already offering a return of capital of 10% a year or more compared to buying power from the grid.

It commissioned consulting firm GSES to look at systems that comprised 5 kW of rooftop solar and 5 kWh of battery storage. At $18,000, some of these systems were already economic.

"The cheapest system looked at is already capable of earning its cost of capital," the team led by UBS utilities analyst David Leitch says.

More significantly, there is clear potential for dramatic cost reductions in coming years, in much the same way that the cost of solar panels plunged so dramatically over the last five years.

UBS says this will happen just by bringing the battery sales price down to those that are already available in the U.S., scaling production of battery housings, battery management systems and energy monitoring (Australians currently pay four times the price in the U.S. for some battery management systems), and integrated manufacturing of components including inverters.

It suggested that Australian consumers were being overcharged compared to the U.S. And offered this comparison as an example.

The study is a follow-up to a report in May, where UBS predicted that households in the major cities of Australia could find it cheaper to go off-grid rather than stay connected. Another report in August suggested the time was right for a solar plus storage plus electric vehicle revolution.

Those reports sparked a huge reaction, and prompted UBS to look a what technologies are available now, not necessarily to go off-grid, but to maximise the amount of self-consumption.

The Australian Energy regulator recently flagged that Australia will likely be witness to the rise of "prosumers" who will create an "energy revolution" who will generate their own electricity and store for use at a later time. This so-called "democratization" of the grid will have a major impact on the decades-old centralised business models based around large coal fired power stations and huge networks of poles and wires.

We liked this explanation from UBS as to why solar plus storage is so compelling in Australia:

Solar’s differentiation compared to virtually all other forms of generation is that its generation costs are invariant to scale. It’s just as cost-effective whether it’s scaled to run a torch or a city. In addition the fuel source is mostly available at the point of consumption. This means the only real constraint on where solar is situated is having enough space for the panels.

There is no noise, no moving parts to wear out. These attributes are why it so well suited to Australian detached housing, or for that matter, the commercial and government sectors. Virtually the only disadvantage of solar is that the sun only hits the panels for a limited number of hours per day.

That’s where the storage comes in. The battery’s function is to ensure most of the solar power can be used in the house and nothing is sold back to the grid.

Until recently, and even today, storage has neither been consumer friendly (lead acid batteries are heavy and require relatively large amounts of space) and relatively expensive. However Lithium Ion batteries are changing that; their costs are falling sharply, maybe 10% or more per year in $US terms. Li-Ion batteries have other consumer friendly advantages, they are much lighter, take up less space, can be virtually fully discharged at a constant voltage, and hold charge for extended periods of time.

UBS suggests that Australians are currently paying around double for the same battery storage than in the U.S. “Australians are paying around a 100% premium on this basis even for a “do it yourself system”,” it says. It says that’s partly to blame on the “cottage industry” nature of the business in Australia.

Australians are paying around A$780/kWh for storage compared to US$360/kWh for comparable systems in the U.S. In some instances, such as the Sony system, the premium is four times the price of automotive battery packs in the U.S., which it notes are heading down towards $100/kWh within 10 years.

"In our view the higher prices in Australia reflect the relative bargaining power of buyers and sellers. If a major electricity retailer or new entrant was to move aggressively into this space we think that Australian prices for household storage would fall to or below international auto battery prices.

"Ultimately household storage requires a lower materials cost LiFePO4 battery so all up cost should be less.

For time being as the volume of devices sold into the household storage market is tiny, and because there is no large scale retailer actively promoting the products, then neither is there the catalyst to bring costs down to even the present global level.

So how does it work? Basically, the battery storage allows households to store their output from solar systems in a box for use later. That means that they don’t export back into the grid at the desultory offer of around 6c/kWh (only to see the retailer sell the same electrons to the neighbour for up to 9 times the price), and can avoid buying electricity at peak times.

Ignoring fixed network charges – the wild card in these equations, as we noted here in our Solar Shocker story - this could deliver big savings. This graph is based on a 4kW solar system and 5kWh of battery storage.

"Based on this set of parameters the daily electricity bill without solar and battery and also ignoring the fixed annual connection charge is around $5.60 or $2,044 per year,” the UBS analysts say. "By contrast with the solar and battery the net revenue is around $0.43 per day or $157 per year for a net gain of $2,200 per year."

UBS says that even if 1 million battery storage systems are solar in Australia – there are already 1.4 million rooftop solar systems – that would represent a $20 billion investment, equal to 2/3 of an LNG plant’s cost.

"The investment is relatively low risk because the investment tap can be turned up or down quickly. An Australian utility might build up its own branded systems, and sell them 'zero down-payment,'" it suggests.

"If our numbers are correct someone will likely do it. For the time being we think that incumbent utility management will likely see this as more of an Annual Report photo opportunity rather than a potentially major P&L (profit and loss) line item. As such for incumbents it’s arguably more of a threat than an opportunity."

For this interested in the UBS cost estimates. It says the lowest cost system for 5 KW plus 5KWh LiIo battery is $18,000 with SREC benefit and provides about a 10 per cent internal rate of return compared to buying power from the grid.

"Analysis of the lowest cost system shows that large cost reductions seem possible. The battery itself is about twice the U.S. cost for EV batteries. The battery balance of system [BOS] costs range from $2,500 to $5,500. We can see scope for taking $100s if not $1000s out of that cost. EG the cheapest battery management system is over $600 in Australia, and in the U.S.A. it’s $150. Suppliers such as Bosch are charging large premiums for integrated systems when the underlying costs should be substantially less.

It says global cost reductions offer further opportunities. Battery costs could fall from 2014 levels of US$360/KWh (capacity) to US$200/KWh by 2020. "By comparison the cheapest quote we received in Australia was $784 KWh. Solar costs are expected to fall around 20-25% over the next few years based on a 20% reduction for a doubling of volumes. Systems integration and mass production should see other costs fall as well. The outlook for inverters is less clear, partly due to a technology fork in the road."

And here is one graph that shows how the high and Bosch system could fall in price over coming years, mostly through a reduction in battery and hybrid systems.

http://www.pv-magazine.com/index.php?id=9&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=17116&cHash=6a36de734128cb5d7906fbf83af3a1f1#axzz3IjltH9E1

Mainland Greece added just 600 kW of PV power in September

Tue, 04 Nov 2014 06:46:00 GMT

Mainland Greece had 2,429.7 MW of installed PV capacity as of the end of September 2014, according to the Hellenic Transmission System Operator SA (HTSO). The Greek mainland had 2,079.46 MW of installed grid-connected PV systems over 10 kW and 350.24 MW of rooftop PV systems up to 10 kW at the end of the month. The country added only 600 kW of new PV capacity in September, down slightly from 700 kW in August and 1 MW in the same month of 2013. In the first 9 months of this year, the Greek mainland added just 10 MW of new PV power, down sharply from 1,040 MW in the same period a year earlier. HTSO’s figures do not include the installed capacity of non-interconnected Greek islands, which – according to the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator SA. (HEDNO) – reached 135.8 MW at the end of 2013. Based on the most recent data available, Greece has a total installed PV capacity of at least 2,565.7 MW
More info: http://www.lagie.gr/fileadmin/groups/EDRETH/RES/2014_09_GR_MONTHLY_RES
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IHS: Solar glass prices set to rebound following EU-China dispute

Tue, 28 Oct 2014 14:46:00 GMT

From next year, anti-dumping duties levied on Chinese suppliers could contribute to a rebound in the falling price of solar glass, according to a new report from IHS Technology.

Prices for solar glass have fallen by 50% in the five years between 2009 and 2014, which IHS analyst Karl Melkonyan said could be attributed to “massive oversupply” in the market.

The drop is expected to continue in the very short term, hitting a low of US$4.60 per square metre during this year, having begun at US$10.40 in 2009. But IHS claims that, driven in part by so-called anti-dumping duties imposed by the European Union (EU) on Chinese importers, this sub-five dollar price will not remain in place for long. Duties were slapped on to solar glass in May this year after the closure of factories and the loss of profits for solar glass makers in Europe.

The anti-dumping trade dispute has dominated headlines in the international solar industry for some time, designed to prevent Chinese companies from allegedly flooding international markets with high volumes of solar modules. The EU-China dispute reached a price undertaking settlement last year that meant Chinese manufacturers could avoid paying duties by agreeing to sell their products at prices no lower than an agreed minimum.

The settlement has not meant a stop to the spat entirely, with industry representative body EU ProSun requesting this week that the EU holds a formal investigation into whether or not Chinese companies are circumventing duties. The investigation could mean the extension of duties to other countries being used by Chinese firms to get around the import rules.

A similar row has also erupted in the US, lead mostly by module manufacturer Solarworld, which incidentally also set up ProSun. Analysis firm Solarbuzz said earlier this month that the US-China dispute had resulted in a surge of Chinese and Taiwanese PV imports as companies seek to secure low-cost product ahead of the imposition of trade duties. Solarbuzz analyst Michael Barker had said that this showed how “trade disputes can impact the market though often in different ways than originally intended”.

IHS argues that pricing for solar glass will stabilise after this year and by 2018 will have increased by 11% from this year’s all-time low, hitting US$5.90 per square metre.

Melkonyan explained that after the fall of prices, “Chinese government subsidies on solar glass caused domestic suppliers to increase production and exports. However, the European Union’s move to impose countervailing duties on solar glass imported from China will limit supply in the market, leading to an expected increase in prices.”

Going into further detail, the analysis firm showed how it feels the face of the solar glass industry has changed in recent times. Only 7% of solar glass used in Europe in 2010 was imported from elsewhere, a share which increased more than four-fold to hit 30% in 2013. This year, over 90% of those imports will come from China, I.H.S said, while in 2010, only just over a third of that 7% of imported glass originated from China. In other words, from supplying just over 2.5% of Europe’s solar glass in 2010, China now has a share of 27% of Europe’s total solar glass supply.

IHS likened the Chinese solar glass industry’s competitive tactics to that of its module-making counterparts’ previous record. Subsidies for solar glass encouraged Chinese glass companies to join the sector, along with an “aggressive pricing strategy in overseas markets”. This caused the oversupply and price collapse that resulted in the big price drop over the past five years, IHS said.

In May, the EU responded to the oversupply from China, imposing countervailing duties that stood between 3% and 17%. The rate of duties applied to each company depended on how much the manufacturer had received in subsidies from its own government in China.

IHS said the Asia-Pacific region will remain the largest and fastest growing market for solar glass over the next five years, with only Chinese tier-one suppliers providing “high-end products”.

Another finding on the solar glass market announced by IHS was the increase in popularity of anti-reflective coated (ARC) glass. The analysis firm projects that by 2018, ARC glass will take an 85% share of the total market for solar glass.

The coatings, which increase the power output of a module and lower the cost per-watt of solar, have seen their prices rise by about 50% each year in 2013 and 2014, IHS claims. The findings were released as part of the firm’s reporting on wider trends in PV module manufacturing materials, also looking at backsheets, encapsulants, pastes and other materials.

Γνωμοδότηση της ΡΑΕ αναφορικά με τους αυτοπαραγωγούς από ΑΠΕ (Net Metering)

Tue, 21 Oct 2014 07:27:00 GMT

Στο πλαίσιο ολοκλήρωσης του δευτερογενούς θεσμικού πλαισίου, με το οποίο θα καταστεί δυνατή η εγκατάσταση συστημάτων ΑΠΕ από καταναλωτές-αυτοπαραγωγούς με ενεργειακό συμψηφισμό (Net Metering), η Ρυθμιστική Αρχή Ενέργειας δημοσιοποιεί σήμερα τη σχετική Γνωμοδότησή της υπ' αριθμ. 6/2014 προς τον αρμόδιο Υπουργό ΠΕΚΑ, για την έκδοση της προβλεπόμενης στην παρ. 1 του άρθρου 14 Α του ν.3468/2006 Υπουργικής Απόφασης.

Η γνωμοδότηση αυτή εκδίδεται βάσει α) της προβλεπόμενης από τις ως άνω διατάξεις εισήγησης που υπέβαλε στη ΡΑΕ ο αρμόδιος Διαχειριστής ΔΕΔΔΗΕ Α.Ε. για την έκδοση της εν λόγω Υ.Α. και της Πρότυπης Σύμβασης Συμψηφισμού, καθώς και β) της Δημόσιας Διαβούλευσης της ΡΑΕ που ακολούθησε (από 30.07.2014 έως 29.08.2014). Είναι αξιοσημείωτο ότι η συμμετοχή των ενδιαφερομένων στη διαβούλευση ήταν εξαιρετικά σημαντική, τόσο σε έκταση, λόγω του μεγάλου αριθμού των συμμετεχόντων (40), όσο και σε ουσία, λόγω των σημαντικών παρατηρήσεων που υπεβλήθησαν.

Η ΡΑΕ, με γνώμονα τις βασικές αρχές που έθεσε και κατά την έναρξη της Δημόσιας Διαβούλευσης, διαμόρφωσε τη Γνώμη της στη βάση της εισήγησης του Διαχειριστή, λαμβάνοντας υπ' όψη τα υποβληθέντα στο δημόσιο διάλογο σχόλια, παρατηρήσεις και προτάσεις.

Ακολούθως παρατίθενται:

Munich RE, Ping An insure Suntech performance warranties

Suntech — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 07:20:00 GMT

In an effort to bolster its customer warranties, Wuxi Suntech has tapped Chinese insurance group Ping An and Germany's Munich RE to insure its module performance.

The company's performance warranties will be insured by Ping An and reinsured by Munich RE.

Suntech said the new insurance policy provides it with 25 years' warranty protection in the event of a significant decrease of performance for modules -- a move expected to help expand sales by providing Suntech customers with reassurance in the performance quality of their products.

"We have great confidence that our products are of the highest quality and are built to last," said Suntech CEO Eric Luo. "But to ensure our customers feel fully protected, our new insurance policy with Ping An and reinsurance by Munich Re will allow us to continue to honor our products' performance warranties, while still maintaining our strong financial balance sheet."

Suntech recently announced that its polycrystalline silicon modules ranked above industry standards in a technical review conducted by U.K.-based consultancy OST Energy. The announcement followed Suntech's modules receiving the VDE-Quality Tested certification, which recognizes products with a level of quality control that goes beyond existing standards in the photovoltaic industry.

"Thanks to the cooperation with our partner Ping An, we are able to provide an innovative performance warranty insurance solution for Suntech's modules that are fundamental to the sustainable success in the solar industry," said August Proebstl, head of Corporate Insurance Partner at Munich Re. "It sets industry standards by being the first significant deal when it comes to volume insured and indemnity offered to a manufacturer domiciled in the People's Republic of China."

Recently acquired by Hong Kong-based Shunfeng Photovoltaics, Suntech now boasts a strong financial footing and nearly zero debt, which it says allows it to invest in the growth of its business.

The company's performance warranties will be insured by Ping An and reinsured by Munich RE.
Suntech said the new insurance policy provides it with 25 years' warranty protection in the event of a significant decrease of performance for modules -- a move expected to help expand sales by providing Suntech customers with reassurance in the performance quality of their products.
"We have great confidence that our products are of the highest quality and are built to last," said Suntech CEO Eric Luo. "But to ensure our customers feel fully protected, our new insurance policy with Ping An and reinsurance by Munich Re will allow us to continue to honor our products' performance warranties, while still maintaining our strong financial balance sheet."
Suntech recently announced that its polycrystalline silicon modules ranked above industry standards in a technical review conducted by U.K.-based consultancy OST Energy. The announcement followed Suntech's modules receiving the VDE-Quality Tested certification, which recognizes products with a level of quality control that goes beyond existing standards in the photovoltaic industry.
"Thanks to the cooperation with our partner Ping An, we are able to provide an innovative performance warranty insurance solution for Suntech's modules that are fundamental to the sustainable success in the solar industry," said August Proebstl, head of Corporate Insurance Partner at Munich Re. "It sets industry standards by being the first significant deal when it comes to volume insured and indemnity offered to a manufacturer domiciled in the People's Republic of China."
Recently acquired by Hong Kong-based Shunfeng Photovoltaics, Suntech now boasts a strong financial footing and nearly zero debt, which it says allows it to invest in the growth of its business.

SunPower solar panels awarded cradle to cradle certification for sustainable manufacturing processes

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 17:11:00 GMT

SunPower Corp. has announced that its SunPower E-Series Solar Panel and SunPower X-Series Solar Panel have been awarded the Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver distinction by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. The high efficiency SunPower E-Series and X-Series solar panels, manufactured at the company's factory in Mexicali, Mexico, are the first and only solar products to be awarded this certification, which is based on the sustainable manufacturing processes implemented at this facility.

The Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard is administered by the Institute and is a comprehensive product quality standard that evaluates product design, manufacturing, corporate citizenship and ethics principles. Products are assessed according to Material Health, Material Reutilization, Renewable Energy Use, Water Stewardship, and Social Fairness.

"Cradle to Cradle product certification is another example of how SunPower facilitates innovative thinking and builds sustainability from the very core of the company's business activities," said Marty Neese, SunPower COO. "It can also serve an additional value to our customers, whether they are looking to boost their own sustainable future or help achieve LEED certification. We are extremely proud of this recognition and look forward to implementing similar programs across all of our solar panel manufacturing facilities."

The products were assessed using the Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard by the product design and optimization firm MBDC, one of 13 companies around the world authorized to conduct product analysis for the Institute. Product certification is available at five levels (Basic, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum), with each higher level imposing a more rigorous set of requirements.

"SunPower is the first and only solar company to achieve Cradle to Cradle product certifications, and we applaud their leadership in energy and material health," said Bridgett Luther, president at the Institute. "SunPower's dedication to making the world better through their technology positions them as a leader among leaders, and their commitment to innovation deserves this recognition."

Cradle to Cradle Certified products can be found online in the Product Registry at c2ccertified.org

Read more: http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/sunpower-solar-panels-awarded-cradle-to-cradle-certification-for-sustainable-manufacturing-processes-_100016691/#ixzz3FNz6SsxD