Solar ... In the news

Martyn1981

Some incredible pictures of floating PV in Singapore.

One Of World’s Largest Floating Solar PV Power Projects Completed In Singapore

The latest news of a large floating solar PV power project comes out of Singapore, a place that knows the challenges of limited land extremely well. The city-state, home to about 6 million people, launched one of the largest floating solar power plants in the world this week. The project will reportedly cover an area equal to 45 football fields! More specifically, but much harder for me to visualize without the previous comparison, the area covered is 45 hectares (111.2 acres). In total, there are 45,000 solar panels spread across the water. The purpose of this solar power plant floating over some good old H2O? Powering Singapore’s 5 water treatment plants, ironically.

For those concerned about the aquatic life under the innovative power plant, have no fear — extensive environmental analyses were conducted, the project is designed to allow adequate sunlight to go through to the plants and animals underneath, and this type of project has been shown to assimilate well with fish, mermaids, and other sea creatures.

Singapore has been sold on floating solar power. Aside from this large project, the city-state has 4 other floating solar projects under construction. I expect more to be announced in the future as well. Overall, Singapore is aiming to quadruple its solar power use by 2025, and let’s be honest, it’s not flush with deserts or underutilized fields — but it is surrounded by a fair bit of water.

Martyn1981

Light weight 'stick on' PV panels?

These sound decent, and at 20.9% efficiency they are at the higher end of 'normal' panels too. I don't know how expensive they are / will be, nor what their comparable life expectancy is, but yet another application of PV, perhaps on large steel structures (like gas/storage tanks), that could up the potential.

I've also found another site/link in search of a question I had regarding whether or not they are flexible, and that link says they are 'conformable'.


These ‘stick-on’ solar panels just got a cash injection

Solar manufacturer Maxeon Solar Technologies, a spin-off from US-based SunPower Corporation that’s controlled by French energy giant TotalEnergies, is getting EU funds to manufacture its stick-on Maxeon Air solar panels.

Stick-on solar

As Electrek reported in May, Maxeon Air solar panels, due to be released commercially this summer, are basically solar panel stickers. The panels can be installed directly on a roof’s surface without racking, anchors, or ballast. Maxeon says the solar panels are engineered to conform to uneven roof surfaces.

The panels have no metal frames or heavy glass. The installed weight is around 6 kg (13 pounds) per square meter, which is 50% lighter than conventional systems, and they’re 4 mm thick. They’re also certified for fire resistance. The panels feature an efficiency rating of 20.9%.

Maxeon Air panels will be used in select projects in Europe in the second half of 2021, and general product availability is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2022.

Press Release - Maxeon Solar Technologies Announces Maxeon Air™ Solar Panels, a Disruptive Technology Platform

Maxeon Air solar panels are conformable, ultra-light, robust and fire-certified panels that can be adhered directly to the roof without the need for racking or other mounting systems. The first product introduction using the technology will target installation on roofs that are not engineered to support the weight of conventional solar systems. In Europe alone, the Company estimates that there is an unserved annual market for low-load roofs of over 4 GW.

QrizB

Martyn1981 said:

Light weight 'stick on' PV panels?

These sound decent, and at 20.9% efficiency they are at the higher end of 'normal' panels too. I don't know how expensive they are / will be, nor what their comparable life expectancy is, but yet another application of PV, perhaps on large steel structures (like gas/storage tanks), that could up the potential.

Flexible stick-on solar panels have been around for a few years but have a pretty poor reputation. There are some fundamental issues with them (mostly around durability and the effects of heat) and there's nothing in Maxeon's press release to make me think they've fixed them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBUat-Drilw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onMZ_dRSFUs

Martyn1981

Nice milestone for EU solar.

EU solar hits record peak

New analysis by energy think tank Ember reveals that, for the first time, solar panels generated a tenth of EU-27 electricity during their peak months of June and July this year.

Solar panels generated 39 terawatt-hours in June-July 2021, up from 28TWh in the same period in 2018.

Estonia and Poland have gone from near-zero solar in 2018 to 10% and 5% respectively in June-July 2021.

Ember also found that solar still generated less electricity than Europe’s coal power plants, even during the height of the summer peak.

The EU-27 has added 14TWh of solar generation every year on average in the last two years. However, according to the European Commission, annual growth in the next decade must double to 30TWh in order to meet the EU’s new 2030 climate targets.

Martyn1981

Couple of articles looking at the US solar rollout and potential.

‘Solar could supply 40% of US power by 2035’

Solar has the potential to power 40% of US electricity demand by 2035, according to a new study shows released by the Department of Energy (DoE).

By 2035, solar energy has the potential to power 100% of US homes and employ up to 1.5 million people without raising electricity prices, the Solar Futures Study found.

In 2020, the US installed a record amount of solar, 15GW to total 76GW, representing 3% of the current electricity supply.

Decarbonising the entire energy system could result in as much as 3000GW of solar by 2050 due to increased electrification in the transportation, buildings, and industrial sectors.

The study stated the US must install an average of 30GW of solar capacity per year between now and 2025 and 60GW per year from 2025-2030.

The study’s modelling further shows the remainder of a carbon-free grid largely supplied by wind (36%), nuclear (11-13%), hydroelectric (5-6%) and biopower/geothermal (1%).

And an article on solar and storage. Very light on detail, but thought I'd throw it in, since storage and PPA's are (to me) interesting.

US duo sign 120MW solar-plus-storage PPA

Hoosier Energy and Clenera affiliate Rustic Hills Solar have signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for electricity from a 120MW solar-plus storage project in the US state of Indiana.

Rustic Hills will occupy approximately 259 hectares of private land in Warrick County, Indiana.

Martyn1981

Pleasant little article here on a farm that researches and experiments with agrivoltaics:

The Future Of Agriculture Combined With Renewable Energy Finds Success At Jack’s Solar Garden

Jack’s Solar Garden is the largest commercially active agrivoltaics system researching crop and vegetation growth under photovoltaic solar panels in the United States. The garden generates enough power for more than 300 homes from 3,276 solar panels (6 ft and 8 ft) that create a 1.2-MW community solar garden. Audubon Rockies, a regional office of the bird protection society, established their largest Habitat Hero pollinator habitat in Colorado around the solar array, while a local nonprofit farming organization, Sprout City Farms, trains young farmers to cultivate crops under the solar panels.

“We couldn’t have built this agrivoltaics system without the support of our community, from the Boulder County government that enabled us to build the solar array with a forward-looking land-use code and clean-energy-centric regulations to the companies and residents who purchase power from us,” Kominek said. “We thoroughly appreciate all those who have contributed to our success and who speak kindly of our efforts.”

By creating the nonprofit Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center, Jack’s Solar Garden has been able to introduce communities to the future of agrivoltaics by inviting local schools and community groups to tour the farm. So far, over 500 guests have visited Jack’s Solar Garden in 2021 and more than 600 have been reached through off-site presentations. The tours and presentations inspire and teach students and community members how clean energy, local food, and responsible land use management can improve our society.

QrizB

Lightsource BP has the PR machine out in force today with a couple of articles in the Guardian. This is the most newsy one:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/sep/20/bps-joint-solar-venture-lightsource-bp-to-more-than-double-expansion-by-2025

BP’s joint solar venture Lightsource BP to more than double expansion by 2025

BP’s joint solar venture, Lightsource BP, will more than double its global expansion by 2025 after clinching a financing deal worth $1.8bn (£1.3bn) to develop enough solar farms to power the equivalent of 8.4m homes.
The fast-growing operation had initially set a target to develop arrays of panels with a total capacity of 10 gigawatts by 2023, enough for almost 3.4m homes, but the fresh funds will be used to turbocharge its ambition to 25GW by 2025.
It also plans to build an extra 9GW of solar farms exclusively for the oil corporation as part of BP’s plan to grow its renewable energy capacity 20 fold by the end of the decade.
BP has set one of the most ambitious renewable energy goals for a major oil company as governments prepare to ramp up climate action. The current global gas market crunch has further strengthened the political resolve to reduce the reliance on gas.

Coastalwatch

Quite a target GSK has set itself, achieving 100% of electricity from renewable sources by 2025! Have to make sure I'm still around to see if they are successful.

GlaxoSmithKline targets 20MW solar project to decarbonise Scottish manufacturing site

This comes as part of a wider £50 million investment in renewable generation for its UK and US manufacturing sites, moving the company towards its target of deriving 100% of its global electricity usage from renewables by 2025.

Two new wind turbines (8MW) will also be installed at the project in Irvine, which is being developed through a 20 year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Farm Energy Company. The solar and wind PPA will bring GSK’s onsite generation at the site up to 85%, 55% of which is to be of renewables origin.

The facility generates 40% of the company’s UK manufacturing CO2 emissions. As such, the PPA will lead to a 10,000 tonnes reduction in CO2 emissions per annum.

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/gsk_targets_20mw_solar_project_to_decarbonise_scottish_manufacturing_site

Coastalwatch

And while 20MW's of Solar might be ambitious for GSK then the newly formed  company below is talking GW's of energy in a similar timescale!

SSE backed Renewco Power sets sights on 4GW renewables portfolio

A new renewables firm with the backing of SSE has been launched with a focus on the roll-out of large-scale solar and wind farms across the UK and Europe.

Edinburgh-based Renewco Power is targeting the development of more than 4GW within five years, making use of an initial £24 million funding from the energy giant. It already has 1GW of early stage projects.

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/sse_backed_renewco_power_sets_sights_on_4gw_renewables_portfolio

Martyn1981

Article/report pointing out that US rooftop space, if covered with PV, would generate as much leccy pa as the US currently consumes.

Obviously this is just an example, similar to one I've used in the past equating the area needed in the UK to match our annual leccy consumption is roughly equal to the land taken up by golf courses, and golf related sites. So it's not a suggestion for a singular RE solution, but goes to show just how 'little' space is needed, especially if that space currently has little use/value.

And as one comment points out, this is without even including parking spaces.


EGEB: Rooftop solar could match annual total US power generation

The US has enough usable rooftop space to deploy enough solar power that would match its current generation levels, according to a recent study. The paper, which was published on Nature Communications, came from scientists at the University of Cork in Ireland who assessed global rooftop solar PV potential.

US rooftops could host enough capacity to produce an annual 4.2 petawatt-hours (PWh) per year, which slightly surpasses the country’s current total energy output of around 4 PWh per year. (The petawatt (PW) is equal to one quadrillion [1015] watts.)

And that’s just the start, because solar panels are currently around 15-22% efficient, and that’s continues to improve with technological innovations. Solar panel efficiency is the percentage of sunlight a single solar panel can convert into electricity.

On a global scale, the study notes:

As the fastest deployable energy generation technology with the highest year-on-year growth rate, solar PV technology is projected to supply 25–49% of the global electricity needs by 2050 while providing employment for up to 15 million people between 2018 and 2050. Out of this, [rooftop solar photovoltaics] deployment will contribute up to 40% of the total solar PV-derived electricity generation by 2050.