Solar ... In the news

Martyn1981

Lots of potential for UK solar farms (subsidy free) as costs fall:

UK solar farm pipeline exceeds 10GW as 700MW of sites now being added monthly

Project developers in the UK are now working on overdrive, with the country going through its largest ever phase of new site identification, pre-planning and full planning activity. This comes on the back of an already frantic 2020, leading to a pre-build large-scale ground-mount pipeline capacity now at 10.6GW.

The article discusses the key features of this planning deluge, showing graphics that explain the trends underway, and discusses the new focus on 49.9MWp-dc sites that will be based on 500W-plus mono bifacial panels, mounted on single-axis tracking systems.

Martyn1981

Anyone remember 'Solar Roadways'? Possibly the dumbest idea ever suggested and crowd funded. Well, I always thought it would make more sense to put the PV above the roadways, rather than in it, and here is such an idea for highway canopies. [Another option for countries with large central medians, would be PV canopies on the central median.]
I don't know if the idea is viable, the land may be 'free', but the additional costs of integrating the canopies safely may be prohibitive, but it does come with benefits as it will help to protect the road surface too.
One to watch ..... maybe?

European Trio Working On Solar Canopy For Highways

A trio of technology leaders in Europe — the Austrian Institute of Technology, Fraunhofer ISE in Germany, and Forster Industrietechnik in Switzerland — is working to develop a solar canopy system for highways in order to tap into the vast, under-utilized road network for clean electricity generation.

The PV-SÜD initiative is still at the concept stage, and then will move to implementing a pilot project on a real-life roadway.

Coastalwatch

Given the result of a new white paper I wonder what the plan of action might be, or even if there is one at all!

80GW of new solar PV needed to reach net zero targets

The UK will need to deploy 80GW of solar to meet net zero according to a new whitepaper.

The whitepaper – released by consultancy Atkins – looked into the capacity of each generation type needed to meet net zero, as well as the rate of deployment.

It found that 80GW of solar would be needed at a run rate of 2.67GW/yr, however the run rate in 2019 came in at just 0.26GW/yr for solar PV, only 10% of the target outlined by Atkins.

It also outlined how 15-30GW of battery storage would also be required for net zero, helping to mitigate the intermittency of solar PV as well as wind. According to the whitepaper, more solar is required than wind, with Atkins stating that 75GW of offshore wind at 2.5GW/yr is needed and 20GW onshore wind at 0.67GW/yr.

Currently, the build rate for power generation is less than half the required rate, according to Atkins, with its whitepaper stating: "When we face an enormous challenge and uncertainty people often ask, ‘what is plan B?’. The truth is we don’t have Plan A."

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/80gw_of_new_solar_pv_needed_to_reach_net_zero_targets

Coastalwatch

Looks like the Smart money in Scotland is still being invested in Solar even though the returns may not be quite that of those further south!

University of Edinburgh adds ground-mounted solar farm to its low carbon portfolio

The University of Edinburgh is installing a ground-mounted solar farm to help it with its carbon neutral by 2040 ambitions.

The Easter Bush campus in Midlothian is to play home to the 5,000 panels currently being installed, with over 1,400,000kWh of electricity expected to be generated from the farm each year, saving an estimated £200,000 per year in electricity costs and providing 15% of Easter Bush’s electricity consumption.

Alongside the existing generation capacity, 60% of Easter Bush’s electricity and 30% of its heat will therefore be generated on site using low or zero-carbon technologies. The Easter Bush campus is a fitting home for the farm, as it also includes a ‘living laboratory’ for solar PV research.

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/list

Solarchaser

Nice to see, well done Edinburgh uni.
Noticed there's now 6 free ev chargers at the easter bush site too

Martyn1981

Extracts from this weeks carbon Commentary newsletter:

2 Solar performance. Fraunhofer, the influential German research institute, produced its report on the solar PV industry. The interesting figures I noted included an estimate that solar produced about 2.2% of world electricity last year and that the growth rate in installations, now a total of about 635 gigawatts, has been about 35% per year over the last decade. Fraunhofer estimates that the slope of the ‘learning curve’ – the cost reduction that arises every time total accumulated production doubles is about 24%, a higher figure than the 20% usually estimated. This suggests future cost reductions may be even greater than expected. The issue of 'Energy Return on Energy Invested' continues to be a nagging concern in some quarters for no good reason. The institute confirms that the energy payback on panels installed in southern Europe is about 1 year and about 1.5 years in northern areas of the continent. Assuming that panels typically last about 35 years, the energy cost of making a panel installed in Spain or southern Italy is therefore about 3% of the power output over its life.

Martyn1981

So ...... how much solar generation could you get in the US if you put PV panels in the spaces at highway junctions (cloverleafs, see page 17), well apparently it would be about 36TWh pa, or about 1% of all the US' leccy consumption. And instead of having to mow/maintain these areas, the panels would contain growth and allow for wild/pollinator plants to grow. Not bad!

The Ray Solar Highway Project: Assessment of solar potential installed in ROWs across the United States

State departments of transportation (State DOTs) own and/or maintain significant amounts of land in the right-of-way (ROW) along existing interstate highways. These ROW areas are appealing energy development locations for many reasons including: location and proximity to the nation’s electricity grid, ease of access, public ownership status, lack of competing development efforts, and the potential for State DOTs to reduce operating and maintenance costs, and potentially create new revenue streams. 

Coastalwatch

 Good to see differing Utilities collaborating in efforts to achieve Net zero by 2030, even working through the pandemic. Lessons for other perhaps on what can be achieved as we strive for a green future.

HBS completes 11.65MW Anglian Water solar farm

The farm – located at Grafham Water – was developed by HBS, with Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) structuring the power purchase agreement (PPA) used to fund the project.

Having now been successfully connected, the farm is to meet over 26% of Grafham Water’s energy consumption through a private wire connection, with the site using around 45 million kilowatt-hours of energy per year.

Completed in 26 weeks, the solar farm is the largest in Anglian Water’s solar portfolio, consisting of almost 43,000 panels across 465 tables and 250 miles of cable and spanning over 2 miles.

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/hbs_completes_11.65mw_anglian_water_solar_farm

Martyn1981

Good news for domestic PV in the UK, new or existing.

Solar PV high on the list of attractive features for new homeowners

Homes with sustainable solutions such as solar panels are more attractive to buyers than those with gardens according to new research.

The survey – conducted by Censuswide on behalf of E.On – found that 89% of prospective homeowners have become more interested in homes with low carbon technology than those with a garden (80%), en-suite bathroom (50%) and walk in wardrobe (27%).

And when asked which features they’d look for to keep energy bills low in a new home, 47% chose solar panels and 37% intelligent heating.

In addition, over a third of those surveyed (38%) said that solar panels would be the feature they’d be most willing to invest their money in.

Coastalwatch

Good to see subsidy free Solar under construction and 40 year lifespans becoming the norm nowadays. It appears that councils are becoming increasingly attracted to investing in them for the returns on offer supporting local rates! (Edit. Perhaps they should try them at Luton!)

Hive Energy begins construction on ‘milestone’ 13MW subsidy-free solar park

Hive Energy has begun construction on a 13MW subsidy-free solar park in Rugby, Warwickshire.

The 60-acre School Farm Solar Park will be located near Churchover, and will generate 13MWh of renewable energy to power local homes. For this project, Hive will use south facing panels, although the company said it will be introducing bifacial panels for some future projects expected to commence construction in Autumn.

It initially gained planning consent in December 2017, and is expected to be commissioned by December 2020. It is expected to have a lifespan of 40 years, throughout which it will contribute to Rugby Borough Council in business rates.

The School Farm Solar Park will be Hive’s first subsidy free solar project, marking an important milestone for the company.

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/list