Solar ... In the news

Zarch

Not technically Solar as we normally discuss and this isn't totally new in the watch world.

This post of more for those geeks amongst us.

Garmin have just released their new Fenix 6 watch which has a solar panel behind the screen and also around the bezel allowing it to charge when you're out and about.

If you watch the DC Rainmaker introductory video you'll also see it has solar charging charts etc and on the fly charging status.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/08/garmin-fenix6-pro-solar-series-review.html

Martyn1981

We've previously been told about the benefits of combining PV with crop fields, but this article looks at combining it with shrimp farming. There's even mention of off-grid farms that currently use diesel.

Shrimp, Fish, & Solar: A Recipe For Success

Martyn1981

PV getting cheap in Europe.

PV cheaper than spot market electricity across Europe

Not long, worth a read, but here are some snippets.

The levelized cost of energy produced by large scale PV projects ranges from €24/MWh in southern Spain to €42/MWh in Finland. New research states that is already cheaper than the average spot market electricity price and that the figure for big facilities in southern Spain may fall to €14 in 2030 and €9 in 2050.

The researchers expect the LCOE of solar farm-generated power to drop further in Malaga, to €14/MWh in 2030 and €9 in 2050. In Helsinki they predict respective prices of €24 and €15.

The LCOE for solar-plus-storage is also expected to fall significantly in the decades ahead. According to the study, the price for the technology in Malaga ranges from €39/MWh – with 1 kWh/kWp of storage – to €54 with 2 kWh/kWp. That level is competitive with the average spot market electricity price in Rome and Malaga, the researchers claimed.

“PV with 1 kWh/kWp storage will become competitive in 2020 in London and Toulouse, and by 2025 in Helsinki and Munich,” stated the report.

The study considered three scenarios for the future growth of PV: a ‘slow’ outcome which envisaged 9 TW of solar generation capacity worldwide by 2050; a ‘base’ projection in which PV reaches 20 TW; and a ‘fast growth’ outlook in which solar achieves 62 TW. [NB Current deployment is about 0.6TWp. M.]

The capex of large scale PV is expected to halve by 2050 in the first scenario; in the second and the third projections it falls by 65% and 75%, respectively. The authors of the paper emphasized a lack of reliable public data on solar capex and opex costs.

zeupater

Martyn1981 wrote: »

PV getting cheap in Europe.

PV cheaper than spot market electricity across Europe

Not long, worth a read, but here are some snippets.

Hi

.... don't forget to shift the decimal point the appropriate number of places on this one! .... staring out at the sky from inside the windows of various competing energy sector boardrooms, the realisation of what nine Euros per MWh really means in terms of maximum consumer revenue per kWh delivered must seem to be somewhere between catastrophic and terminal ... :shhh:;)

HTH
Z

ed110220

I've been trying to get my head around why more companies that consume a lot of electricity aren't installing solar PV for self-consumption.

For example where I work we consume about 900,000 kWh per year, mostly in the daytime, paying about 10p/kWh in the hours that solar would be providing electricity.

The company has installed solar PV at other sites. It recently announced that one such system has paid for itself in little more than 4 years. However it has also said that post FIT it has to "look at other ways to make solar financially viable".

Are there really such fantastic investment opportunities out there that only 4 year payback periods are attractive, and even the opportunity to pretty much self consume 100% of the PV electricity saving 10p/kWh isn't tempting enough? If the average household could self consume all of the output of a reasonable sized array replacing 10p grid electricity there would be a massive rush.

Martyn1981

Hi Ed, I just dug out the old spreadsheet calcs I did to work out the cost of PV generation over a 25yr repayment mortgage.

I did this to work out the cost per kWh after including all costs (such as opportunity cost, hence the mortgage basis), and replacement inverter at the end of year 12.

I set out a few based on a 4kWp install ranging from £4k to £5k (as costs were falling) and interest rates of 2% to 4% to represent a low rate mortgage, or to reflect the lost interest from spending capital.

The cost of the leccy came out at 6p/kWh to 9p/kWh depending on the price, interest etc.

So ...... I'd assume that a larger demand side install, such as you describe, would be cheaper (per kWp installed) bringing down the cost of generation further.

Conclusion, cost of gen less than 10p/kWh, with expected consumption of 100%, so cost effective investment, and some greenwashing publicity (if necessary).

Downside, many businesses rent or lease their premises so that could be an/the issue?

silverwhistle

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Downside, many businesses rent or lease their premises so that could be an/the issue?

I've certainly read that elsewhere a number of times, so your average rented unit on an industrial estate is not going to be able to sort it out easily. Large companies who own their own buildings can. If you go to Google maps and look at Sainsburys at Chichester (for example) you'll see it covered in panels.

silverwhistle

ed110220 wrote: »

For example where I work we consume about 900,000 kWh per year, mostly in the daytime, paying about 10p/kWh in the hours that solar would be providing electricity.

The company has installed solar PV at other sites.

Would our theory account for the difference, do you know?

ed110220

silverwhistle wrote: »

Would our theory account for the difference, do you know?

I doubt it as it's a water company so I think it's highly unlikely that they don't own the property (lab and sewage treatment works). The answer I got was that the roof wasn't suitable due to construction and being small compared with the electricity demand. A ground mounted array was deemed more suitable but estates raised an unspecified issue.

Reed_Richards

A BBC Television regional news program will feature an item on the over-selling of solar panels this evening (9th September): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-49566130