L R AS Published on Saturday 19 February 2022 - n° 392 - Categories:Thread of the Week
Things to remember in week 392
The photovoltaic press has been reporting on three major issues this week, reports Solar News
(click on the blue links to read the whole article, or go to www.actu-solaire.fr)
A°) A first estimate of the cost of intermittency
How can we be sure that a large enough number of
of generators, renewable energies so that with sufficient storage, user demand can be met regardless of weather, production shortfalls, customer demand!
The US State of California has established a state of the art facility to supply a current demand of 53 GW of energy, and to meet half of the additional 82 GW in 2040 in order to guarantee the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies. To curb or stop greenhouse gas emissions
California's electricity supply program must consider worst-case scenarios, to provide alternative generation to meet demand
They have planned to build 40 GW of solar, 22 GW of wind and 31 GW of storage. They have not budgeted the amount to be invested, but at 1 million dollars per MW of solar or wind power, we arrive at 100 billion dollars to be spread over twenty years and over 40 million inhabitants, to which must be added 30 billion dollars for the reorganisation of the electricity network. The question remains: have we planned enough to meet the future needs of electric vehicles?
Hence our comment: A look at California's "net zero by 2040" programme
B°) The constant and rapid development of photovoltaics
1°) The use of installations on lakes or reservoirs: The success of floating PV plants
2°) the possibility of installing panels in urban areas, but does pollution, exhaust fumes or activities that emit smoke and dust affect the productivity of the panels? What is the effect of the city on a solar panel?
3°) The emerging driver for solar installations is power purchase agreements. The growth rate of these contracts signed in 2021 is the same as that of global photovoltaic installations last year due to a particularly dynamic American market. This demand will gradually spread around the world and become the primary source of demand. Global purchases of clean energy by PPAS in 2021
4°) An innovation could increase productivity by 60%: A PV device that tracks the sun to increase energy output
C°) However, there are obstacles:
1°) The US PV industry does not seem to be developing as envisaged by D. Trump. Installers would still be 80% dependent on panel imports: What is the degree of reconstruction of a PV industry in the US?
2°) Chinese manufacturers have developed a taste for high prices for their production and will do everything they can to sell their panels at a high price, curbing global demand in 2022
