Solar ... In the news

Martyn1981

How low can it go? PV generation contracted at ~1p/kWh.

Saudi Arabia’s 3.7 GW solar tender attracts lowest bid of $0.0129/kWh

Saudi Power Procurement Co. (SPPC) announced this week the shortlisted bidders for the final phase of the fifth round of the Saudi Arabian government's National Renewable Energy Program (NREP).

ed110220

Magnitio said:

There's a new 50MW solar farm near me that has been built on land previously grazed by sheep. Now it's completed, the land is grazed by sheep. It's only visible from the air or, possibly from nearby hills if you look hard enough. The biggest issue was the amount of construction traffic during the build phase.

This makes me think about how I was out and about for work in the countryside near Cirencester this late summer or early autumn and saw a bluish field in the distance through a gap in the hedges. I thought "oh, a solar farm", but when I got closer I found it was purplish flowers. 

Screwdriva

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-10/Smart_Export_Guarantee_Annual_Report_SEG_Year_4.pdf

Looks like a 3X increase in Solar installations, and a corresponding 300+ % increase in revenue paid via the SEG tariffs over the previous year. The future looks brighter! 

silverwhistle

Magnitio said:

There's a new 50MW solar farm near me that has been built on land previously grazed by sheep. Now it's completed, the land is grazed by sheep. It's only visible from the air or, possibly from nearby hills if you look hard enough. The biggest issue was the amount of construction traffic during the build phase.

Since your post has just been quoted again it raises the question I had at the time: sheep can still graze but is there much difference in the holding capacity of the land? In summer the shade might even assist in retaining moisture but it would be interesting to know the overall impacts.

greenbee

There are reports from Australia that sheep are beneficial to the solar farms, keeping grass short so reducing the cost of cutting it (needed to reduce fire risk) and the solar is beneficial to sheep by providing fresh grass along drip lines from condensation.

It looks like there's a lot of research going on in the Netherlands as well about what crops will grow best in conjunction with solar. They estimate that the crop will be approx 70% of pure agricultural production, and the solar approx 70% of pure solar, but that means the land is 140% productive overall.

It certainly makes for an interesting discussion and there are probably situations where the shade/condensation could bring unproductive land back into agricultural production. Or at least make it less hostile for wildlife. 

Martyn1981

Article caught my eye for many reasons. First, off-shore PV install of 1GWp, that's rather large, and 2GWp planned.

Next, I'm pretty sure it's not floating, but fixed to the seabed, but being pedantic.

Then I thought, yeah great, but could you imagine that in the North Sea, only for the article to go on in detail about proposals for the North Sea - big plate of humble pie in front of me.

[PV rolling out everywhere now, at ever lower costs. Perhaps not 'too cheap to meter', but the Saudi's recently issued a contract for a (land based) PV farm at 1p/kWh.]

China Activates World’s Largest Offshore Floating Solar Installation

On November 13, 2024, China’s state-owned CHN Energy began generating electricity at a 1 gigawatt offshore floating solar park, according to a statement on the company’s website. Developed by its subsidiary, Guohua Energy Investment Co, the park is 8 km (5 miles) off the coast of the city of Dongying in Shandong province and can generate 1.78 billion kilowatt-hours of power each year — enough to meet that energy needs of 2.6 million city dwellers, the statement said.

Offshore Solar In The North Sea

SolarDuck, a Dutch/Norwegian company, is working on floating solar technology that would float on the surface of the North Sea to supplement the output from offshore wind turbines. They already need to have undersea cables to carry their electricity ashore, so why not leverage that infrastructure to carry electricity from solar panels as well? RWE, one of Germany’s largest utility companies, has entered into an agreement to explore and develop offshore floating solar parks globally. The idea is starting small with a a 0.5 MW installation called Merganser, in the North Sea near Ostend, Belgium. The project will include battery storage and serve as a trial of the new technology before expanding on it and applying it in other locations.

Coastalwatch

I wonder if that's the largest agrovoltaic install worldwide?

Sure takes away the strongest objection for installing PV on agricultural land.

Austrian utility building 164 MW agrivoltaic plant

Burgerland Energie says it is building a 164 MW tracker-based agrivoltaic facility near Tadten-Wallern on Lake Neusiedl, southeastern Austria.

November 18, 2024 Ralph Diermann

• Markets
• Utility Scale PV
• Austria

Image: Burgenland Energie

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/11/18/austrian-utility-building-164-mw-agrivoltaic-plant/?utm_source=Global+|+Newsletter&utm_campaign=73370bd8c5-dailynl_gl&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6916ce32b6-73370bd8c5-159300013

Martyn1981

Thanks CW, that article has got me pondering. They use trackers for that +10%, but as you get further from the Equator and generation per kWp falls, trackers are less viable. Also 'we' tend to need dual axis tracking to get +20%, whereas southern US or Australia can get +20% for single axis trackers.*

Sorry for waffle, but that's why (again for us) trackers make less sense now, v's simply buying +10% more PV, as it's very cheap. So ...... (I'm getting there), perhaps the tracking is more a side effect, to be able to turn the panels vertical for easier vehicle access at times? Only pondering, but a great combination, if so. Though admittedly, of little relevance, just my brain spinning off/away.

*If like the UK, you get 1,000kWh/kWp pa, then +10% is an extra 100kWh. But if you get 1,600kWh/kWp in sunny climes, and single axis tracking adds 20%, then you get an extra 320kWh for the same cost/hardware/effort.

[Edit - Update, according to PVGIS, southern Austria is around 1,200kWh/kWp. M.]

michaels

Martyn1981 said:

Thanks CW, that article has got me pondering. They use trackers for that +10%, but as you get further from the Equator and generation per kWp falls, trackers are less viable. Also 'we' tend to need dual axis tracking to get +20%, whereas southern US or Australia can get +20% for single axis trackers.*

Sorry for waffle, but that's why (again for us) trackers make less sense now, v's simply buying +10% more PV, as it's very cheap. So ...... (I'm getting there), perhaps the tracking is more a side effect, to be able to turn the panels vertical for easier vehicle access at times? Only pondering, but a great combination, if so. Though admittedly, of little relevance, just my brain spinning off/away.

*If like the UK, you get 1,000kWh/kWp pa, then +10% is an extra 100kWh. But if you get 1,600kWh/kWp in sunny climes, and single axis tracking adds 20%, then you get an extra 320kWh for the same cost/hardware/effort.

But is is complicated, PV in the UK might be worth more per kwh, more especially at the times (shoulder and winter, morning and evening) when the value of each unit tends to be higher.  I found a few pieces looking at for example E-W panel placement in solar farms precisely because it gave generation at more valuable times and also it seemed to allow a slightly greater panel density as they didn't need such big gaps to prevent one row of panels shading the next one.

Martyn1981

Well they would say that, wouldn't they? 

The solar industry trade body thinks we should raise the UK's 2030 PV target. But it could cost us, less that is.

'Cut UK energy costs by raising PV target'

Solar Energy UK is calling on the government to triple the current solar generation capacity to 60GW by 2030.

The trade association highlighted an academic study which claimed that tripling the current solar capacity would significantly lower the cost of electricity.

It would also make delivering the government’s vision of clean power by 2030 more likely, according to the analysis conducted by Durham University Energy Institute.

Doing so while greatly expanding energy storage and flexibility would reduce reliance on expensive imports of natural gas, the analysis said.

NESO’s two scenarios both had Great Britain reach 47.4GW of solar capacity by 2030.

In comparison, hitting 60GW – a third on rooftops, the rest on the ground – would result in 12% lower costs, according to the institute’s modelling, which uses a ‘digital twin’ of the UK’s electricity system.

Solar Energy UK said aiming for 60GW is not simply a more ambitious target but could act as way to de-risk the Clean Power Plan, guarding against slippage in delivery times from other parts of the plan.