L R AS Published on Sunday 20 September 2020 - n° 332 - Categories:Photovoltaics
Reducing non-material costs to reduce the amount of investment
Sunpower's young spin-off company, Terabase, is examining around 100 solar power plant components to reduce construction costs as much as possible, with the idea that the larger the solar project, the more money can be saved by finding additional sources of yield.
Terabase has developed a software tool to manage the costs of the large solar power plants they used to develop: everything is examined, from site selection and development, to the logistics of shipping millions of panels, and the movement of workers to the site. The aim is to find enough cost reductions to bring the price of solar below $1 cent per kilowatt-hour over the next five years. This cost of 1 cent per kilowatt-hour is almost reached by EDF and JinkoSolar with an offer of 1.35 ct of euros over 30 years for 2 GW in Abu Dhabi.
GreenTech Media of 9 September
+
The company considers that the cost of materials (panels, shelving, inverters, etc.) has fallen sharply in recent years, while indirect costs (development, management of developers, labour, logistics) have not followed the same trajectory. It is on these items that the company is focusing its efforts.
https://www.pv-tech.org/news/terabase-energy-lands-us6m-funding-round-to-deliver-ultra-cheap-solar
PV Tech of 10 September