Solar ... In the news

Coastalwatch

Not huge by global standards but of some significance nationally the proposed site on the Gwent levels, if given the go ahead, will be at the expense of agricultural land. There is no mention of any means of mitigating this loss so it will be interesting to see what detail plans, if any, the proposers have and what objections from locals might arise!

Newport eyes huge 75MW nationally significant solar farm

Newport is eyeing a huge 75MW solar farm to be built on the Gwent levels in south Wales.

Rush Wall Solar Park Ltd has proposed the development of the site, which is being considered as a Development of National Significance (DNS) given its size.

The site will have ground-mount solar PV panels, mounted on a railing sub structure. It will have 19 inverter substations, connected to the panels via underground cables.

It will be connected to Western Power Distribution's network, and is expected to power over 18,000 homes when up and running.

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/newport_eyes_huge_75mw_nationally_significant_solar_farm

ASavvyBuyer

Coastalwatch said:

Not huge by global standards but of some significance nationally the proposed site on the Gwent levels, if given the go ahead, will be at the expense of agricultural land. There is no mention of any means of mitigating this loss so it will be interesting to see what detail plans, if any, the proposers have and what objections from locals might arise!

Newport eyes huge 75MW nationally significant solar farm

Newport is eyeing a huge 75MW solar farm to be built on the Gwent levels in south Wales.

Rush Wall Solar Park Ltd has proposed the development of the site, which is being considered as a Development of National Significance (DNS) given its size.

The site will have ground-mount solar PV panels, mounted on a railing sub structure. It will have 19 inverter substations, connected to the panels via underground cables.

It will be connected to Western Power Distribution's network, and is expected to power over 18,000 homes when up and running.

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/newport_eyes_huge_75mw_nationally_significant_solar_farm

Most of the Gwent levels I would not class as prime agricultural land. There are already numerous solar farms in the area. Whenever we have been walking there, most of the fields are just used for grass and are very wet. It is an ideal spot for wildlife, especially birds; so I don't see another solar farm in the area affecting that.

Coastalwatch

More recently in the news regarding Sizewell C, EDF are also planning a raft of Solar Farms. This site at Sutton Bridge being the first of three along with similar sized ones at Bramford and Norwich. With it being adjacent to an existing Gas fired power station and having a direct link to the grid it is perhaps ideally situated.

EDF submits planning permission for first 50MW UK solar farm

EDF Renewables' 49.9MW Sutton Bridge solar farm has taken another step forward as its planning application goes before South Holland District Council.

The planning application – the first for a large scale solar farm project in the UK submitted by the company – follows a consultation with local people, along with a number of ecological and other feasibility surveys.

EDF is satisfied that the site, which is next to its existing gas-fired Sutton Bridge Power Station, is in an excellent location for solar, with high levels of irradiation and a nearby grid connection.

If granted planning permission, the project team will explore the potential of battery storage and electric vehicle charging at the site as well.

Following the local consultation, EDF Renewables is offering a community benefit fund of up to £10,000 a year for the duration of the project, as well as additional planting to help screen the solar panels from view.

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/edf_submits_planning_permission_for_first_50mw_uk_solar_farm

Exiled_Tyke

Coastalwatch said:

More recently in the news regarding Sizewell C, EDF are also planning a raft of Solar Farms. This site at Sutton Bridge being the first of three along with similar sized ones at Bramford and Norwich. With it being adjacent to an existing Gas fired power station and having a direct link to the grid it is perhaps ideally situated. 

What I really don't get is if someone has access to loads of funds and expertise in the electricity industry, why would you even contemplate putting your money into nuclear with the risks, timescales and inherent uncertainties when you can (relatively easily) get a nice big field and bung a load of wind turbines or solar panels on it and start making a pretty much instant return on the investment? 

EricMears

Exiled_Tyke said:

What I really don't get is if someone has access to loads of funds and expertise in the electricity industry, why would you even contemplate putting your money into nuclear 

You can't of course make a lot of A bombs with the waste products from a WT 

Coastalwatch

Be it vaccines or record efficient PV Oxford currently appears the place to be .

Now, if only they could bring their PV panels to market as quickly as the vaccine that would really be something.

Oxford PV retakes tandem cell efficiency record

Oxford PV today announced a new record efficiency for its perovskite/silicon tandem, edging ever closer to the 30% milestone at 29.52%. This achievement also places the technology ahead of single-junction cells of any material, further validating the case for tandem cells as ‘the future of PV’. The new efficiency record has been certified by the National Renewable Laboratory in the U.S.

While some are still to be convinced of the merits of perovskite solar cells, Oxford PV has long been a pioneer of the technology. An announcement from the company made today includes a calculation that 35kg of a perovskite material could generate the same amount of power as seven tons of silicon. And it further notes that perovskites have achieved similar conversion efficiencies to silicon with only ten years in development, while researchers have been working on silicon PV for more than 60 years.

Oxford PV is in the process of ramping up the production of perovskite-silicon cells and modules at its facility in Germany. It is now targeting large-scale production in 2022, stating that due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, delays in shipping equipment and work on the site have forced them to push back a previously targeted launch in mid-2021.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/12/21/oxford-pv-retakes-tandem-cell-efficiency-record/

Coastalwatch

Just another small step on the way to a renewable source of energy over the current dominance of coal in Poland. One of Europes larger polluters.

Solar claims all the 700 MW allocated in Poland’s latest small-scale renewables auction

The latest auction for small-scale solar and wind installations held by the Polish Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) saw PV developers secure all of the offered capacity of around 700 MW, as was the case in the same type of auction held last year.

The results of the fifth procurement round held for projects with a generation capacity of up to 1 MW were published last week after the ERO staged the AZ/8/2020 auction at the beginning of December.

In the latest round, the ERO reported a minimum price of PLN228.7/MWh ($61.2), which compares to PLN269.0 a year earlier. The Polish authorities have agreed to buy around 11.76 TWh of solar power through the auction.

Poland may reach its target of 7.8 GW of solar by 2030 – as outlined in the National Plan for Energy and Climate – by the middle of the decade, according to a new report by the Instytut Energetyki Odnawialnej (IEO).

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/12/21/solar-claims-all-the-700-mw-allocated-in-polands-latest-small-scale-renewables-auction/

Coastalwatch

Given they've supplied the larger share of FF's in recent decades  they certainly don't appear to be holding back with embracing renewable energy. PPA's signed at a price we can only dream of this far north, circa £0.01/kWh. Just shows what renewables are now capable of.

Just so long as the energy isn't used to extract or process more FF's!

Financial closing for 2 GW solar park in Abu Dhabi

France’s EDF and China’s Jinko Power Technology have finalized financing for the 2 GW Al Dhafra PV2 project. The array will sell electricity to Emirates Water and Electricity Co. at a price of $0.0135/kWh.

The Al Dhafra PV2 project is scheduled for commissioning in 2022. It will sell electricity to Emirates Water and Electricity Co. (EWEC) for $0.0135/kWh under a 30-year power purchase agreement. According to EDF, the project will also be the first plant of this scale to feature bifacial PV modules. It will include more than 4 million solar panels across an arid site spanning ​​approximately 20 square kilometers.

The project might include a 225 MW/300 MWh storage system.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/12/23/financial-closing-for-2-gw-solar-park-in-abu-dhabi/

Coastalwatch

It would appear the new US government elect is wasting little time in providing fresh impetus for the roll out of Solar energy for the next two years as a minimum. 

US to extend Investment Tax Credit for solar to 2024

The U.S. Congress is close to enacting legislation that will provide a two-year extension of the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and additional funding for research and development.

The funds will also include money to cover soft costs critical to distributed energy deployment, as well as support for access to federal lands for renewable energy projects. The full legislative package combines a $900 billion Covid-19 relief package and an omnibus spending bill for 2021.

Under the proposed legislation, the solar ITC will remain at 26% for projects that begin construction in 2021 and 2022. It will fall to 22% in 2023, and then slide to 10% in 2024 for commercial projects. The residential credit will end completely.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/12/22/us-to-extend-investment-tax-credit-for-solar-to-2024/?utm_source=Bibblio&utm_campaign=Internal&itm_source=Internal&itm_medium=Bibblio&itm_campaign=Related Content

Coastalwatch

Given that the UK's largest Solar farm is 350MW and only gaining permission after fervant objection from locals then the project below is of some size. Rather surprising that no mention of storage has been suggested. Can't imagine it attracting quite the reception it might if proposed for installation over here.

Singapore investor injects $411m into 500 MW of Australian solar

Keppel Renewable Energy, the renewables arm of Keppel Corp., has agreed to buy a 45% stake in Harlin Solar, a special purpose entity that was established in August to develop a 500 MW solar farm at Harlin, about 100 kilometers northwest of Brisbane, Australia.

Keppel will also provide Harlin Solar with a lending facility to fund development costs. Developer Anthony John Youssef and Melbourne-based New Energy Development hold the remaining 55% of Harlin Solar’s issued ordinary shares. However, Keppel will now lead the development and operation of the project.

The Harlin solar farm, to be built on a 2,055-hectare site between Harlin and Kilcoy, is set to become the largest solar farm in Australia, with a capacity of at least 500 MW. The developers said the project – which is expected to feature bifacial modules mounted on single axis trackers and will connect to the 275 kV high voltage national distribution network in Queensland – will generate enough energy to power more than 142,000 average Australian homes.

The purchase is Keppel’s first solar farm project. However, the company will be responsible for grid-connection studies and technological assessments, as well as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) duties.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/12/28/singapore-investor-injects-411m-into-500-mw-of-australian-solar/