Solar ... In the news

QrizB

silverwhistle said:

Most here have heard about perovskite panels but good to see an article in the mainstream media:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/06/revolutionary-solar-power-cell-innovations-break-key-energy-threshold

Marytn has been going on about them for a decade or more and I thought about him when I saw that article earlier!

Grandad2b

Another aspect I hadn't previously considered
https://arstechnica.com/security/2023/07/actively-exploited-vulnerability-threatens-hundreds-of-solar-power-stations/

Coastalwatch

China forging ahead with renewable energy generation as the project below ably demonstrates seemingly finding no end to the opportunities available. A refreshing change from an authoritarian regime open to exploring new energy applications as they transition away from fossil fuels. 

Presumably solar panels and paraphernalia are seldom thought of as likely companions in a country where innovation appears welcome in their desire to reach net zero.

Huadian Energy completes 1 GW solar farm on salt fields in China

The SCIO, which refers to information from the state-run Xinhua news agency, said the Tianjin Binhai Dagujie solar farm was built in several phases. It covers an area of around 1,333.3 hectares and is able to generate approximately 1.5 billion kWh of clean electricity per year. It was connected to the grid last week.

Huadian constructed the facility with a 14-meter spacing plan between panel rows and a module tilt angle of 17 degrees, as reported by CGTN. These parameters were selected by the project developers to minimize the panels' effect on the water surface and enhance salt production.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/07/10/huadian-energy-completes-1-gw-solar-farm-on-salt-fields-in-china/

Coastalwatch

A simple idea combining two lowcost resources utilitisng unwanted plastic waste currently growing at an alarming scale and that of ballast. Seems to have solved racking issues where other traditional means were left wanting. The manufacturers claim the system can be installed by one operator with no tools required.

Reckon the opreator might need some mechanical assistance in filling the containers, even if it is only a shovel.

Ballasted racking from PowerField Energy scales up to utility-scale installation

An idea that began with PowerField Energy co-founders David Flory and Paul Burdick tinkering in a garage is now a growing company scaling up in production, funding and project pipeline. Both Flory and Burdick came from solar backgrounds and aimed to find a simple, low-cost racking solution. That tinkering led to development of the PowerRack, which is an injection-molded high-density polyethylene container that can be filled on site and used to mount solar panels of almost any size, no tools required.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/07/10/ballasted-racking-from-powerfield-energy-scales-up-to-utility-scale-installation/

Martyn1981

Thanks CW, I went down a rabbit hole, looking up the company Powerfield Energy, Cool product, looks like the price in the US starts at ~$70 per unit (less for large purchases). They are sold as residential, DIY use too. Being triangular I did wonder if you had a choice of tilt, as 25d is a summer pitch, but looks like they only install the one way up. Maybe I'll e-mail them and suggest they start selling in the UK, with a 50d to 60d pitch option for those of us missing winter gen. 

There are quite a few ballast options around, some metal, which you add concrete blocks to, some you fill with water etc..

Thanks for the morning distraction.

Coastalwatch

Hi Mart, I hadn't taken the steps you have to examine cost etc, sounds rather expensive to me, but then most things seem to in my eyes. Something to do with age perhaps. I'm just wondering if that 25 degree angle gives a workable ratio of base to height so keeping the assembly reasonably stable. Think I'd be concerned that doubling the angle might reverse the ratio so destabilising matters.

I guess your oft mentioned practise of taking matters to their extremes would result in comparing the stability between panels placed horizontally against those vertically.

Whatever, I guess it's horses for courses and no one system being likely to fit all situations.

silverwhistle

At the end the article does mention different pitch angles available..

Martyn1981

Article on micro-grids. Don't have to be PV, but PV, batts and sunny areas, are a great combination.

This is an area that really excites me. As costs fall, it can bring leccy to areas where grids haven't reached, or communities where diesel generators may be necessary. And this doesn't have to be a lower quality - some small communities in Australia, which have long supply lines (poles and wires) have started to be moved to micro-grids by the utilities, as that's a cheaper and sometime more reliable way to serve them.

If diesel is being displaced, then there's also all of the time, energy and cost taken to transport the fuel, v's on-site PV, to be considered.

World Bank Supports 1000 Microgrids In Nigeria

Nigeria, with a population of 200 million, has 12,500 MW of installed electricity generating capacity, much of which sits idle most of the time. As a result, much of the country relies on gasoline or diesel generators for their electricity. Many communities outside the country’s largest cities are not connected to the energy grid at all.

The World Bank proposes to bring electricity to those areas not by expanding the nation’s grid, but by helping to fund the development of microgrids throughout the country. After meeting with government leaders last week, World Bank president Ajay Banga said that in collaboration with Nigeria’s public and private sectors, his organization aims to support building 1,000 micro solar power networks in Nigeria, which is the continent’s largest economy, according to Business Insider.

The average size of microgrids, which are often powered by solar panels, ranges from a few kilowatts to up to 10 MW — enough energy to power about 200 homes.

DougMLancs

150MW solar farm and 100MW battery storage proposed for West Cumbria. Area will be around 280 ha and will continue to be grazed at a reduced level and diverse grassland encouraged. Sounds like the kind of project we need more of! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp4n9ggq1d7o

Martyn1981

I remember getting really excited and waiting for annual PV deployments to reach 100GWp, which was back in 2018.

Well, this year predictions range from about 270GWp to 380GWp, and over the last rolling 12 months has been 312GWp.

As RE demand grows, and PV costs fall, it's possibly that annual deployments could reach 1,000GWp pa by 2030, bearing in mind that the total cumulative worlwide deployment at the end of 2022 was ~1,050GWp (about 400GWp of that, in China).

Solar Is King 2023 — 50% Global Growth Predicted

From the resources of Rethink Energy, we learn that in the second quarter of 2023 alone, approximately 92 gigawatts (GW) of solar power were installed globally. Of that, 55%, or 51 GW, was installed in China. Quarterly global solar installations appear to be growing at 50% per annum over the past three years. China has about 52% global market share.

Despite the fact that Europe’s solar boom is running into transmission and workforce limitations, there is still a 31.5% year-on-year growth rate for H1 2023 in just 8 markets that are tracked by Rethink Energy. The untracked countries are just beginning to add solar — they are going from 0 to 1, effectively. “The overall European growth rate is 50% this year, just as it was in 2022.”