Solar ... In the news

JKenH

Solar panel prices are up 50-60% year on year as power shortages and now Omicron disrupt Chinese production

https://asiatimes.com/2022/01/solar-panels-a-portrait-of-china-supply-chain-risks/

Coastalwatch

Interesting that Joe Manchins opposition to the Build Back Better Act doesn't appear to be based upon the views of the workers his much reverred coal empire employs! West Virginia is the second largest coal producer in the US but 48th when it comes to Solar generation producing a mere 0.03% of it's energy from this source. Apparently there are 400,000 acres of disused coal mines and brownfield sites ideally suited to Solar which if used would double the US solar capacity as of 2019. What an opportunity to maintain West Virginia's place as a domestic energy powerhouse while helping to keep coal miners working.

Solar support in coal country

In the United States, passage of the Build Back Better Act would extend
the solar Investment Tax Credit and offer other clean energy initiatives
that would boost the renewable energy momentum already underway in Senator Joe Manchin’s home state of West Virginia. This is good news for the state and is resulting in unlikely allies.

The potential of the BBB is felt in southern states hardest hit by the downturn in the US coal industry, and the bill is supported by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). Mine workers are in favor of this legislation because it has items that will support its members and communities including extending the current fee paid by coal companies to coal miners who suffer from black lung disease. BBB also has language that supports the UMWA’s principles for a true energy transition, which they believe will enhance opportunities for miners, their families, and their communities.

https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/02/23/solar-support-in-coal-country/?utm_source=USA+|+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e406926d43-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_80e0d17bb8-e406926d43-159341337

Martyn1981

This article made me chuckle, at myself. I remember back when chatting about PV news how excited I was waiting for the first year to deploy 100GWp of PV globally, and now we have China closing in on that figure on its own.


China expected to add up to 90 GW of solar power capacity, a record increase, in 2022

The China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) said today that it expects China to add 75 to 90 gigawatts (GW) of solar power in 2022.

That’s a lot higher than the 54.88 GW of the record solar power that China brought online last year. Last year’s solar addition brought China’s total installed solar capacity to 306 GW. 

According to the CPIA, China could see between 83 and 99 GW of new solar capacity added annually between 2022 and 2025.

Coastalwatch

I hadn't previously appreciated just how many Solar Farms and Storage Facilites Anesco had completed so it's likely their record has played some part in attracting the growing Investor interest announced below. While individually the sites are not huge they do form part of a 600MW pipeline desperately needed. With local and even County Council opposition to a large scale Solar Farm here in Suffolk then it would appear it's by no means assured permission will always be achieved for many going forward.

Anesco's approach of placing figures upon the % increases in biodiversity was refreshing to see which along with inclusion of wild flower meadows, hedgerows and other measures to create habitats for local wildlife and at risk bird species really should go some way to stifling unwarranted opposition to what after all is a seemingly harmless means of energy generation when compared to the traditional forms of the past.

Anesco granted go-ahead for three solar PV sites amid growing investor interest

Anesco has received planning permission for three UK solar farms, with the company expecting to agree new development and construction partnerships with investors later this year.

The three solar farms form part of Anesco's 600MW pipeline of new solar and storage projects that are at the planning and ready to built stage, with part of this pipeline to be sold to Gresham House through a 200MW ground mount solar development and construction partnership, which was signed in January 2021. The transaction - which has a value in excess of £100 million - was billed as Anesco's largest, with Gresham House financing the assets while Anesco provides all the engineering, procurement and construction services.

The sites are all to have an advanced biodiversity management plan, with High Meadow to achieve a 173% biodiversity net gain while Moat Farm is to achieve 216%. This will be done through the planting of hedgerows, wildflower meadows and the introduction of other measures designed to create habitats for local wildlife and at-risk bird species.

The company has constructed more than 100 solar farms and 30 energy storage facilities in the UK and Europe to date.

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

Martyn1981

I found this article thought provoking. The main gist is the argument over changing the countryside, which is a fair discussion, but I hope people understand that PV farms may be a change, but you get used to them quickly. Wind turbines have more impact, but that can also be positive, as some oddballs like me ...... love em.

What really interested me in this article was that the UK pipeline is now at 900 PV farms. Obviously not all will get built, and these could be early info requests for installs in many years time, but that's still a lot. If an average of 10MWp (a number I've literally pulled out of my backside) then that's 9GWp in the pipeline.

Light … or blight? Anger rises at plan for Britain’s biggest solar farm

A proposed new £600m solar farm in eastern England – covering an area eight times bigger than Hyde Park in central London – faces opposition over claims it would be a “blight” on the countryside.

The scheme, which would provide power for up to 100,000 homes, will cover nearly 2,800 acres near Newmarket, more than 10 times bigger than any scheme built to date in Britain. It is one of more than 900 solar farms in the planning pipeline to help provide green energy.

Finlay Colville, head of research at Solar Media, a business intelligence and digital media firm, said there are now about 910 possible solar farm projects in the pipeline in the UK, with numbers increasing by about a third in 2021.

More than 300 have already submitted planning applications or have already been approved. Colville said some of the largest projects might not be delivered but there were also many smaller sites that were being approved. “Solar farms can be built quickly, and it’s a quick win for firms and public bodies which want to have more renewable energy,” he said.

A government spokesperson said: “We recognise the need to preserve greenfield land while protecting the environment as we work to generate more cheap, clean power in the UK. ​Solar energy developments, including these ones, are subject to strict planning controls to protect local communities and the environment. This includes the requirement to conduct environmental impact assessments and public consultations on planning applications.”

QrizB

Martyn1981 said:

I found this article thought provoking. The main gist is the argument over changing the countryside, which is a fair discussion, but I hope people understand that PV farms may be a change, but you get used to them quickly. Wind turbines have more impact, but that can also be positive, as some oddballs like me ...... love em.

Light … or blight? Anger rises at plan for Britain’s biggest solar farm

A proposed new £600m solar farm in eastern England – covering an area eight times bigger than Hyde Park in central London – faces opposition over claims it would be a “blight” on the countryside.

The scheme, which would provide power for up to 100,000 homes, will cover nearly 2,800 acres near Newmarket, more than 10 times bigger than any scheme built to date in Britain. It is one of more than 900 solar farms in the planning pipeline to help provide green energy.

Wow, 2800 acres is over 1000 hectares - ten grid squares - and (using my rough reckoner from the previous page of this thread) could host something like 1GWp of solar farm.

I see the local MP asking:

Sir Edward Leigh ... told parliament last month: “Is it not time we looked at how we can stop these companies bypassing local planning and secure proper community gain and the protection of agriculture, and ensure that there are buffer zones around villages?”

I reckon a solar farm *is* a buffer zone against development. Once you've built it, you're safe from housing, industrial estates, retail parks etc. on the land. And, with some care when laying the farm out, the land can still be used for recreation.

JKenH

It doesn’t surprise me that there is a majority in favour of both onshore wind and solar farms but then again the majority living in towns aren’t impacted by them so who cares. 

I see the benefits of renewable energy but I choose to live and spend a lot of time walking in the countryside so do notice wind and solar farms and there is strong opposition to them locally, even if it is from a minority. Many people living close to them aren’t bothered as their lives don’t bring them into contact with them so I am not surprised when surveys show a majority in favour of local RE. 

There is an argument that the best place to put generation is close to where it will be used. That however causes too many objections so it gets put where the urban majority don’t mind. Imagine a nuclear power station or even a CCGT plant in Hyde Park. I wouldn’t have any objections to that but many would. 

When I used to go kart racing with my son the people camping overnight in the paddock with the noisiest generators used to have the longest extension leads so they could park their generators behind someone else’s van. 

QrizB

JKenH said:

There is an argument that the best place to put generation is close to where it will be used. That however causes too many objections so it gets put where the urban majority don’t mind. Imagine a nuclear power station or even a CCGT plant in Hyde Park. I wouldn’t have any objections to that but many would.

On a related topic, the clay under London would be a great place to bury nuclear waste, much better than the hard rocks in the north-west. Strangely this option seems to have been overlooked!

JKenH

QrizB said:

JKenH said:

There is an argument that the best place to put generation is close to where it will be used. That however causes too many objections so it gets put where the urban majority don’t mind. Imagine a nuclear power station or even a CCGT plant in Hyde Park. I wouldn’t have any objections to that but many would.

On a related topic, the clay under London would be a great place to bury nuclear waste, much better than the hard rocks in the north-west. Strangely this option seems to have been overlooked!

🤣.       

paul991

i suspect  if all nuclear power stations were built in the london ,none would get planning permission