Solar ... In the news

Coastalwatch

A welcome piece of news in this era of post subsidy Solar Panel installations and probably all capable of going ahead whether Covid 19 restrictions still apply or not. While at the end of the piece a reference to the eagerly awaited outcome of the giant Cleve Hill Solar Farm from the Secretary of State is due by the end of this month.

Record new capacity added to UK large-scale solar pipeline during April

The pipeline of large-scale solar farms in the UK saw a massive uptick in April 2020, with a record level of new capacity added.

The total pipeline – spanning solar farms at the scoping/screening stage, through to having planning conditions discharged pre-build – now exceeds 8GW, as developers take another huge step to getting the UK market back to the GW-level of new builds from 2021 onwards.

During the past six months in particular, the UK sector has seen new developer entities emerging, identifying typically a handful of greenfield sites at the 49.9MW level. While the names of these companies may be new, the people are not. There are many new companies showing up in the pipeline analysis today, but the companies are just new placeholders for some of the most successful pre-development vehicles that saw the UK install over 8GW during FiT/RoC years.

Everything would appear to be about 49.9MW sites today, especially in England, where exceeding this requires the approval of the National Grid.

For now however, all eyes are on the massive uptick in 49.9MW site identification, and how this is setting up the 2022-2025 period in particular in the UK. Otherwise, on a side note, feedback on Hive’s monster site in Kent (Cleve Hill) is expecting to have some initial government feedback in the coming weeks that may shed light on whether mega-scale UK solar is a reality or merely an investor pipedream.

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/blogs/record_new_capacity_added_to_uk_large_scale_solar_pipeline_during_april

Martyn1981

Perovskite getting ever closer to production ready. It's cheap, flexible, closing in on Silicon efficiency levels, and now performing well in heat and duration tests, its Achilles Heal. And don't forget, Silicon / Perovskite panels could arrive at similar costs to Silicon per Wp but reach efficiencies into the mid to high 30's, almost doubling generation from the same roof space.

Australian researchers claim world first in global race to develop better solar panels

A team of Australian researchers are claiming a world first in a global race to develop cheaper, more flexible and more efficient solar panels after their experimental cell passed a series of heat and humidity tests.

Using a type of crystal material known as perovskite, the group found that a simple glass and synthetic rubber coating around the cell was enough to stop it from degrading too quickly.

Scientists have been working on perovskite solar cells for only about a decade, but have already raised their levels of efficiency at converting sunlight to about 25% – a level that has taken about 40 years to achieve with silicon-based cells.

But the perovskite crystals degrade much faster than silicon – holding them back from commercialisation. When heated, the perovskite outgasses – degrading the material.

“Perovskite cells will need to stack up against the current commercial standards. That’s what is so exciting about our research. We have shown that we can drastically improve their thermal stability.”

Martyn1981

I forget when this proposal first made the news, must be a couple of years now, but here we go:

Britain's largest solar farm poised to begin development in Kent

Britain’s largest solar farm, capable of generating enough clean electricity to power 91,000 homes, is poised to receive the greenlight from ministers this week.

The subsidy-free renewables park is expected to reach a capacity of 350MW by installing 880,000 solar panels – some as tall as buses – across 364 hectares (900 acres) of farmland in the Kent countryside.

The project is expected to be constructed one mile north-east of Faversham close to the village of Graveney and may also include one of the largest energy storage installations in the world.

Coastalwatch

Martyn1981 said:

I forget when this proposal first made the news, must be a couple of years now, but here we go:

Britain's largest solar farm poised to begin development in Kent

Britain’s largest solar farm, capable of generating enough clean electricity to power 91,000 homes, is poised to receive the greenlight from ministers this week.

The subsidy-free renewables park is expected to reach a capacity of 350MW by installing 880,000 solar panels – some as tall as buses – across 364 hectares (900 acres) of farmland in the Kent countryside.

The project is expected to be constructed one mile north-east of Faversham close to the village of Graveney and may also include one of the largest energy storage installations in the world.

As indicated last week the North Kent Solar Farm and storage facility gets Government go ahead.

Biggest UK solar plant approved

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52841223

michaels

Coastalwatch said:

Martyn1981 said:

I forget when this proposal first made the news, must be a couple of years now, but here we go:

Britain's largest solar farm poised to begin development in Kent

Britain’s largest solar farm, capable of generating enough clean electricity to power 91,000 homes, is poised to receive the greenlight from ministers this week.

The subsidy-free renewables park is expected to reach a capacity of 350MW by installing 880,000 solar panels – some as tall as buses – across 364 hectares (900 acres) of farmland in the Kent countryside.

The project is expected to be constructed one mile north-east of Faversham close to the village of Graveney and may also include one of the largest energy storage installations in the world.

As indicated last week the North Kent Solar Farm and storage facility gets Government go ahead.

Biggest UK solar plant approved

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52841223

Was about to bring this - there are objections that battery storage brings an explosion risk - is there any evidence for this?

Coastalwatch

michaels said:

Biggest UK solar plant approved

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52841223

Was about to bring this - there are objections that battery storage brings an explosion risk - is there any evidence for this?

History from other countries will tell us this might be the case, although more rigorous standards do apply here compared to elsewhere. It's something that has received considerable attention during the course of planning.

I wonder if objectors to the Cleve Hill Solar Farm would prefer Sizewell C on their doorstep instead.

Of course I am biased as I drive around sitting on top of a crate of such batteries. But having spent the previous fifty years doing so on top of various petrol tanks I consider the risk to be little more.

michaels

Coastalwatch said:

michaels said:

Biggest UK solar plant approved

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52841223

Was about to bring this - there are objections that battery storage brings an explosion risk - is there any evidence for this?

History from other countries will tell us this might be the case, although more rigorous standards do apply here compared to elsewhere. It's something that has received considerable attention during the course of planning.

I wonder if objectors to the Cleve Hill Solar Farm would prefer Sizewell C on their doorstep instead.

Of course I am biased as I drive around sitting on top of a crate of such batteries. But having spent the previous fifty years doing so on top of various petrol tanks I consider the risk to be little more.

We put our batteries in the garage every night and add more energy whilst they are under DS sleeping so lets hope they are safe.

Coastalwatch

The future of Coal is not looking good, even in America it seems!

Record low solar PPAs in the Southwest mean ‘carbon capture is not going to save coal plants’

Recently approved solar PPAs could spell trouble for proponents of retrofitting the state’s San Juan Generating Station to capture the coal-fired plant’s carbon dioxide emissions.

With its approval of two El Paso Electric solar power purchase agreements (PPAs), the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission has sent the clearest signal yet about solar’s bright future in the Southwest. These recently approved solar PPAs could also spell trouble for proponents of retrofitting the state’s San Juan Generating Station so that it can capture the coal-fired plant’s carbon dioxide emissions.

One of El Paso Electric’s newly approved solar PPA projects will add 100 megawatts of solar for $15 per megawatt-hour, and the other will add 100 MW of solar and 50 MW of dispatchable storage for about $30 per MWh, including a monthly capacity charge for the storage component of the project. Neither of these solar PPA projects are designed to directly serve customers in the San Juan plant area.

“Who’s going to pay $44.90 for power from San Juan when it is, and will continue to remain, available elsewhere for much less either through a solar PPA or from the wholesale market at Palo Verde? The answer is, no one,” Schlissel said. “That’s the underlying basic fact that you can’t get around,” he said.

https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2020/05/28/record-low-solar-ppas-in-the-southwest-means-carbon-capture-is-not-going-to-save-coal-plants/

ASavvyBuyer

Good to see that Solar PV is producing more energy than any other source today:

https://energynumbers.info/gbgrid

Wind is higher too

Martyn1981

Around the World, not only is PV undercutting new coal generation, but it's now cheaper than the majority of existing coal plants.

Energy firms urged to mothball coal plants as cost of solar tumbles

Building new solar power projects would generate cheaper electricity than running most of the world’s existing coal power plants, according to a global renewable energy report.

New figures have revealed that more than half of the world’s coal plants could be undercut by the falling cost of new large-scale solar projects, which are now more than 80% cheaper to build than in 2010.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) has found that up to 1,200 gigawatts of the world’s existing coal capacity could cost more to run than the cost of new utility-scale solar plants.

If energy companies replaced only their most expensive coal plants with new solar power projects or onshore wind farms, totalling 500 GW globally, they could save up to $23bn (£18bn) every year and wipe out 5% of last year’s total global carbon emissions, according to Irena.