L R AS Published on Monday 29 November 2021 - n° 384 - Categories:Thread of the Week
le Fil de la Semaine n°384
THIS WEEK'S NEWS HIGHLIGHTS.
The texts to read this week:
FRANCE :
Photovoltaic unions refer to the Council of State on the legality of the decrees and orders modifying the 2006-2010 tariffs
As the first tariff modification notices are sent out by the Administration, the photovoltaic unions are referring the matter to the Council of State to highlight serious irregularities in the decrees and orders. The Council of State will have to give its opinion before these first notices are validated
Appeals to the Council of State against the revision of the 2006-2010 tariffs
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Comparison of RE/nuclear production costs in France is in line with global analyses
Worldwide information on kilowatt-hour prices corresponds to what is happening in France: nuclear power plants already installed have a production cost barely higher than solar and wind kWh. On the other hand, new installations are very expensive, which makes the use of nuclear power unaffordable.
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More than 2 megawatts installed in nine months in France. Never before seen!
For the first time, solar installations in France will have exceeded 2 GW in a single year. Is this an indication that the high volumes are going to be put into operation for a long time, or is it the consequence of the lock-in in 2020 that has postponed the connections to 2021. We will soon find out in 2022.
2 GW installed in France in nine months
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THE TREND
The sector is maintaining its prices as if the situation were acceptable to the various players
Market analysis of 24 November: prices are slowly falling
Price decrease only for M10 wafers
PV market analysis by pvXchange
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Four months after demanding an increase in the volume of renewable energy installations, SolarPower Europe is back with a demand for a further increase in the target for renewable energy installations. It would like to reach 45% of RE by 2030, i.e. in the very near future. This organisation does not justify the reason for this increase, which is presented in a sudden manner. It does not seek to know how this could be achieved. However, this increase in the objectives in Europe corresponds to an additional 100 GW to be installed each year in Europe. However, it will be difficult to install 20 GW in Europe by 2020/2021. So is it the climate that SolarPower Europe is defending, or is it its members, 80% of whom are installers? The higher the target, the more work the installers will have!
SolarPower Europe is still raising its recommendations, but this is becoming unreasonable
The underlying trend in the US is the installation of large solar power plants, and also the coupling of solar and storage to get the best prices.
In order to make the most of solar energy production, developers have realised that they need to put their energy on the market when there is a shortage in the grid. As a result, the rate of hybrid projects (solar+storage) is constantly increasing. This will continue, as it is the only way to get satisfactory prices.
This trend does not disturb the other underlying direction of US PV: there is a strong demand for large plants to satisfy utilities and large companies that want a fixed price energy supply over ten or fifteen years
US projects are increasingly hybrid (solar+storage)
Sharp rise in large-scale power plant installations in the US at the end of September
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Belgium favours rooftop PV installations and discovers it has great potential
Belgium has focused on rooftops instead of building large-scale plants. A study sought to determine the size of the volumes that could be equipped. It arrived at a useful surface area sixteen times larger than that currently occupied, with a preponderance of Flanders over Wallonia. Will this updated surface area be sufficient to supply all citizens with electrical energy? In any case, there is still some way to go before all the roofs are equipped with panels...
By using the roofs, Belgium could multiply its PV installations by sixteen
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If there are fewer thermal power plant shutdowns than new RE generators built, electricity prices should fall!
If there are more renewable energy plant installations than thermal power plants being shut down, electricity prices should fall. The Australian grid says so, while mentioning that there will be new costs to implement renewable energy. So gain or increased cost?
Will renewables bring down the price per kWh? In Australia, this is envisaged
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MANUFACTURERS :
After Maxeon's poor Q3 results, management wants to show that it's just a rough patch
Is it to make up for the poor Q3 results, marked by delivery difficulties and supply cost increases, that Maxeon's management is speaking out about the panels that will soon be available? There will be plenty of new products
Maxeon has provided an update on the brand's upcoming panels:
Maxeon suffered supply and delivery problems in Q3
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Enel presents an ambitious plan to develop renewable energy
Enel has announced that it wants to add 84 GW of renewable energy (half of which will be solar) to its portfolio by 2030, representing an overall investment of €70 billion, or €7.5 billion per year. This is considerable. Only a few large energy groups have the financial means to achieve such volumes in megawatts and money. Initiatives or announced takeovers are frequently to be expected
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The cost of storage has in a way followed the fall in the price of panels, without the price of batteries having fallen sufficiently to make storage widely available. Above all, this drop in lithium ion prices has not encouraged a change in technology because the storage time is still limited to four hours. More is expected for a wide range of applications
Where does the 97% drop in battery costs in twenty years come from?
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