Solar ... In the news

Coastalwatch

Results from trials being conducted in France suggest positive outcomes for quality of fodder and also the sheep who take advantage of the shade offered in times of scorching sunshine and likewise shelter from rain during less clement occasions.

It would seem that farming and solar can make a good combination while offering the benefit of diversity to assist with a more stable income.

Anyone for lamb this weekend!

Agrivoltaics for fodder!

French developer Valeco has deployed an agrivoltaic installation on a fodder field and has found out it offers benefits for the quality and quantity of the crop, as well as for sheep grazing under the solar panels.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/03/13/agrivoltaics-for-fodder/

Martyn1981

Similar story (benefits wise) to CW's:

Scientists put a semi-transparent solar roof on a greenhouse, and unexpected things happened

Researchers tracked the growth of such crops as wheat, mung beans, and broccoli in two different experiments.

In one, they used a transparent glass roof with segments of inorganic solar cells on the greenhouse, and in another, the roof was made entirely from semi-transparent organic solar cells.

The crops in the greenhouse with the organic solar roof grew more than the crops in the regular greenhouse.

The scientists believe that happened because the L-glutathione layer blocked both ultraviolet rays that can inhibit plant growth and infrared rays that can cause greenhouses to overheat, thus causing the plants to need more water.

Lead author Yepin Zhao said:

We didn’t expect the organic solar cells to outperform a conventional glass-roof greenhouse.

But we repeated the experiments multiple times with the same results and after further research and analysis, we discovered that plants don’t need as much sunlight to grow as we’d originally thought. In fact, too much sun exposure can do more harm than good, especially in climates such as California’s, where sunlight is more abundant.

Also worth a shout out to a MSE poster many, many years ago (pretty sure it was Eric Mears), who pointed out, when someone questioned whether grazing near PV was viable as the grass wouldn't grow as well, that different grasses (and I assume varieties of other plants/crops) like different levels of sunshine. Some like shade.

EricMears

Martyn1981 said:

Also worth a shout out to a MSE poster many, many years ago (pretty sure it was Eric Mears), who pointed out, when someone questioned whether grazing near PV was viable as the grass wouldn't grow as well, that different grasses (and I assume varieties of other plants/crops) like different levels of sunshine. Some like shade.

Can't say I remember the actual post but it could well have been me.

Martyn1981

Messy post this, hope it makes sense.

So, the current mess we are in regarding energy costs (Ukraine invasion), and the resulting high demand for PV to save money, has created a situation where PV rollout could have a longer payback time.

I think this is easier to see from the PV install info requests we have seen on this board, the last year. Higher leccy prices have driven up demand for PV, but the PV installs are far more expensive than before. The article also points out that costs (and payback times) are impacted by higher interest rates too.

So we have the unfortunate situation where higher priced installs today, will, as leccy prices fall back down, take longer to payback. The article points to European installs costing around €1,600/kWp, v's €1,000 to €1,200 a couple of years ago.

Also of interest, I think, is the scenario of 'fossil dumping', where it's possible that as demand for FF's drops, we could see lower leccy costs, which in turn lengthen payback times. So good news, with lower leccy prices, but bad news with lower savings from the PV - but still ...... potentially much lower leccy prices.

Hopefully normality will be restored over the next few years, and PV prices are falling fast again in China, let's just hope we see install costs come back down too.

PV payback times hit average of 20 years in 2022, says SolarPower Europe

High interest rates and hefty capex drove up the average payback time for solar in Germany, Spain and Italy to around 20 years in 2022, according to a new report by SolarPower Europe (SPE) and Energy Brainpool. pv magazine recently spoke with SPE Market Analyst Christophe Lits to crunch the numbers.

Three major factors played into the high payback times for PV in 2022, according to Liets: high capex, assumed at €1,600 ($1,742)/kW excluding value-added tax, lower electricity prices in years following 2022, and high interest rates for those using loans to purchase the PV system.

After publishing the report, SolarPower Europe and Energy Brainpool also conducted a sensitivity analysis of payback times with varying capex values.

“For capex values seen four to two years ago, in the range of €1,200/kW or even €1,000/kW in Spain, the payback times return to around 10 years in Germany and seven in Spain,” said Liets.

70sbudgie

Martyn1981 said:

Messy post this, hope it makes sense.

So, the current mess we are in regarding energy costs (Ukraine invasion), and the resulting high demand for PV to save money, has created a situation where PV rollout could have a longer payback time.

I think this is easier to see from the PV install info requests we have seen on this board, the last year. Higher leccy prices have driven up demand for PV, but the PV installs are far more expensive than before. The article also points out that costs (and payback times) are impacted by higher interest rates too.

So we have the unfortunate situation where higher priced installs today, will, as leccy prices fall back down, take longer to payback. The article points to European installs costing around €1,600/kWp, v's €1,000 to €1,200 a couple of years ago.

Also of interest, I think, is the scenario of 'fossil dumping', where it's possible that as demand for FF's drops, we could see lower leccy costs, which in turn lengthen payback times. So good news, with lower leccy prices, but bad news with lower savings from the PV - but still ...... potentially much lower leccy prices.

Hopefully normality will be restored over the next few years, and PV prices are falling fast again in China, let's just hope we see install costs come back down too.

PV payback times hit average of 20 years in 2022, says SolarPower Europe

High interest rates and hefty capex drove up the average payback time for solar in Germany, Spain and Italy to around 20 years in 2022, according to a new report by SolarPower Europe (SPE) and Energy Brainpool. pv magazine recently spoke with SPE Market Analyst Christophe Lits to crunch the numbers.

Three major factors played into the high payback times for PV in 2022, according to Liets: high capex, assumed at €1,600 ($1,742)/kW excluding value-added tax, lower electricity prices in years following 2022, and high interest rates for those using loans to purchase the PV system.

After publishing the report, SolarPower Europe and Energy Brainpool also conducted a sensitivity analysis of payback times with varying capex values.

“For capex values seen four to two years ago, in the range of €1,200/kW or even €1,000/kW in Spain, the payback times return to around 10 years in Germany and seven in Spain,” said Liets.

It's almost a self fullfilling prophecy (I'm not sure that is the right wording for what I'm trying to say). If the prices weren't high, there would be fewer solar installs. But the installation of solar will be a major contributor to the fall in prices. If solar installs didn't reflect the current high prices, the prices would probably stay high. 

It is never as profitable to jump on the back of the band wagon. But it is lower risk if you wait for a technology to prove itself.

Exiled_Tyke

We don't seem to get much solar news these days.  Is it 'old hat' now?  Any way I stumbled across this which has a few interesting statistics and explains why we seem to be getting a surge in questions about domestic PV quotes on these boards. 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/26/number-of-uk-homes-installing-rooftop-solar-panels-highest-in-over-seven-years

Martyn1981

You're right about the solar news ET. For me, it's becoming so normal, I'm not sure if folk are as interested. Which is a good thing.

But perhaps a pic of 1/100th of the planned desert PV rollout in China will be of interest?

The first of China’s desert solar and wind projects is online, and it’s huge

The first of many solar and wind projects in China’s deserts is now online, and it’s capable of powering 1.5 million households.

This first phase of this solar and wind project is in the Tengger Desert, which lies on the southern edge of the Gobi Desert. It has an installed capacity of 1 million kilowatts, and it’s expected to generate 1.8 billion kilowatt-hours each year, according to its operating company, China Energy.

Translation - 1GWp, and estimated to generate 1,800GWh (1.8TWh) per year.

silverwhistle

In other more small scale and domestic news (!) my iboost solar diverter yesterday reached the total of 10,000 kWh shoved to my immersion tank over 10 years. Difficult to know how to cost that as a benefit but satisfying none the less. ;-)

Martyn1981

silverwhistle said:

In other more small scale and domestic news (!) my iboost solar diverter yesterday reached the total of 10,000 kWh shoved to my immersion tank over 10 years. Difficult to know how to cost that as a benefit but satisfying none the less. ;-)

Great point. I've been pondering something this past month too, but can't work out if it's just me.

So, no GCH in April, but we've used the A2A units almost every day, 90%+ covered by PV. So I was thinking they have really earned their money. But it has ocurred to me that maybe the heating wasn't needed anyway? It certainly seemed like a very cold April to me, and I'll look forward to checking the Met Office anomaly maps to see how April compared to average.

silverwhistle

My impression too, and that is down in Hampshire. I rarely put the GCH on as I have a stove in the lounge burning free wood and elsewhere in the house I'm active enough not to need it, but I had the stove on more times than usual this April.

In the shoulder months I use an oil-filled rad to mop up excess solar, and as yet really can't justify heat pumps, but maybe getting older will change that calculation!