l'Actualité du Solaire

The latter foresees a low option (41.5 GW) and a high option (54 GW) in French PV installations.

According to France Territoire Solaire (FTS), this difference in installed power makes it possible to produce an additional 14.2 TWh. This additional production replaces half of nuclear production (6.88 TWh), i.e. less than 2% of French nuclear production, and half (7.4 TWh) of thermal production, both in France (11%) and in Europe (89%).

"Therefore, if the high option of the EPP is reached, the production of decarbonated energy is increased by 7.4 TWh compared to the low option", FTS underlines. "The production of carbon-free electricity could be further increased (up to 14.2 TWh) if the increase in capacity is achieved.s PV capacity was accompanied by the deployment of additional flexibilities, such as electricity storage or conversion to hydrogen. Decarbonised energy production would increase if there was a change in consumption and if new mobility, industrial production or construction uses in the building sector were used beyond the targets given by the EPP or by readjusting the maintenance plan of nuclear power plants. »

Analysts say: the reduction in CO2 emissions amounts to "238 g of CO2 per kWh. This is the result of the 270 g of CO2 / kWh reduction in emissions avoided by the additional photovoltaic production on the one hand, and on the other hand the use of 32 g of CO2 / kWh required to manufacture and install the PV systems. »

Thus, by increasing the installed solar capacity in France by 12.5 GW which produces 14.2 TWh annually, a saving of nearly 3.4 million tonnes of CO2 per year in Europe by 2030 could be made.

The increase in solar production therefore plays an effective role in decarbonising the electricity mix.

PV Magazine of 15 April

NDLR By dint of wanting to prove everything, we only follow its logic, that of CO2_without specifying how much it costs and how to really achieve it. In the end, a figure of 3.4 million tons of CO2 avoided is given, without relating this figure to France's annual production, which would allow us to put the proposal into perspective or to see the interest of the proposal;

If we start from FTS's assertion of a saving of 238 g of CO2 per kWh,_this would mean that one GWh would make a saving of 238 kg; and that one TWh would make a saving of 238 tonnes. If there is 14.2 TWh, this would be 14.2 x 238 tonnes, i.e. 3,380 tonnes instead of 3.4 million tonnes.

This is not the first time that people have tried to mislead with figures.
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THE FILE

* How long does a solar power plant last?

State lawyers argued that the plants had a life span of thirty years. The ICSID accepted expert testimony that the plaintiff's solar power plants "could have continued to operate for at least 35 years".

The solar industry already assumes that its plants will last well over 25 years. If the inverters are replaced, the life of the plants can be extended by five, 10 or 15 years. The U.S. NREL estimates the life expectancy to be between 25 and 40 years. In Europe, analysts believe that developers have been able to win tenders at ultra-low prices because the plants will continue to supply electricity on a commercial basis for many years after the initial contracts for difference or power purchase agreements (PPAs) expire.

An increase in lifetime of ten or twenty years reduces the average cost of the electricity produced.

The 35-year lifetime is far from proven. There is little long-term operational data on projects with current technology. Moreover, the increasingly reduced thickness of silicon, which has allowed part of the cost reduction, makes this material fragile. Its degradation is unknown.

Are we too optimistic with a 35-year term? And then what will be the revenues of these plants in the long term? The overproduction of wind energy in Germany is already putting the grid under tension and leading to negative prices. Owners will probably have to invest in storage in order to retain income or reduce the operating costs of their plants. Some believe that IT costs, which are currently expensive to integrate and do not always work well together, can be reduced.

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/europes-solar-market-grapples-with-35-year-plant-lifespans

GreenTech Media of 17 April

The average price falls below zero: -12.24 €/MWh, compared to -5.63 €/MWh last year and -10.06 €/MWh in 2018. Easter Monday hit a low of -75.82/MWh, at the end of a series of 13 hours.

This is the result of generous sunshine and strong winds over Western Europe boosting energy production and the 20% decrease in demand due to the containment

GreenUniverses of 13 April

See our article from last week: Negative prices on electricity in France these last four Sundays

and this week's : Strong rise in the share of solar energy in March demand worldwide

As part of its Horizon 2020 global competitiveness programme, which had a total budget of €80 billion from 2014 to 2020, Europe has added half a billion euros.

Last December, the European Commission approved €3.2 billion in public funding under its rules for "major projects of common European interest" (IPCEI). The investment will support battery research and innovation in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden.

The project is expected to run until 2031 and is expected to unlock an additional €5bn of private investment. The French oil company Total and the German car manufacturer Opel will receive €1.3 billion of public funding under IPCEI conditions for a major manufacturing programme. It could see up to 48 gigawatt hours of added capacity at sites in France and Germany.

Ultimately, it is impossible to calculate how much money is being swallowed up in this battery programme, according to the head of communications and events at the European Energy Storage Association. For his part, Bloomberg said last July that the total investment in the battery supply chain by European governments, manufacturers, development banks and commercial lenders could exceed 100 billion euros.

The amount invested in the US is considerably less. The 2020 budget has earmarked $158 million for an advanced energy storage initiative within the Department of Energy (DOE). In addition, there are some 40 million dollars for various missions.

The Americans are questioning the relevance of this massive programme, while the Asians have several decades of research and also of battery manufacturing. They are investing in huge factories in Europe (CATL inaugurated a 14 GWh factory in Thuringia-Germany in October; LG Chem is building a 35 GWh factory).

Europe wants to cover the entire value chain, from raw materials to advanced manufacturing, applications and recycling. One initiative even aims to innovate the innovation process itself. The idea is to create a software tool that mimics cellular behaviour and can be used instead of physical experiments.

Wood Mackenzie does not believe in this European policy because Asian manufacturers already have resources linked to battery sales, which makes it easier for them to invest in R&D. Developing the next generation of products will take about ten years. Then it will take another twenty years to reach the market.

GreenTech Media of 15 April

Editor's note If the figure of 80 billion euros is indeed correct, what has been achieved? To the reluctance of industrialists to create battery production units apart from Total and PSA-Opel, and Northvolt.

Politicians are in the midst of demagoguery, as are the people of Europe. They believe that with money you can do anything. They dream of having a battery industry. They haven't seen that the slightest Chinese frown makes them abandon their opinion. This incites industrialists not to launch out if they are not supported by political decisions. As for the ageing European population, apart from France, it is not looking for adventure or success, but to live as well as possible. There is no longer any flame, energy or ambition!

Realism is no longer the dominant character of the population. Facts are neglected. Programmes designed by civil servants no longer make sense or have a perception of reality (e.g. the lack of preparedness for the epidemic; or the joke of the masked affair). Without benchmarks, projects are launched in spite of common sense. The battery project will have swallowed up a fortune because the foundations for success will not have been laid.

Some 13 ministers from EU member countries, who are charged by their constituents with fighting climate change and protecting the environment, have signed an open letter to the European Commission.enne calling for the European "Green contract" announced as the Covid-19 wave swept through Europe to be the cornerstone of the budgetary response to the health crisis.

Today, 79 Members of the European Parliament, the CEOs of 37 European companies and representatives of industry and NGOs have issued their own demands for a "Green Relaunch".

Pascal Canfin, calls for "a global alliance of policy makers, business and finance leaders, trade unions, NGOs, think tanks and stakeholders to support and implement the establishment of Green Recovery and Biodiversity Investment Packages that will serve as accelerators for the transition to climate neutrality and healthy ecosystems.

"We must resist the temptations of short-term solutions in response to the current crisis that risk locking the EU into a fossil fuel economy for decades to come," the ministers say. "In this context, we are pleased that the Commission is on track to present, by September 2020, an impact-assessed plan to raise the EU's ambitions for 2030 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50-55% compared to 1990 levels. »

PV Magazine of 15 April

Editor's note The ecologists make so much noise, so much demagogy, agitate the risks for the planet so much that one would almost adopt their theses without thinking. But what is behind this as a concrete element for everyday life? How do we go about it? What are the costs? How do they want to do away with polluting industries? Can they claim that competitiveness will be strengthened and not weakened in comparison with countries that do not make this change?

What is striking is the gap between the ideas and daily behaviour of each individual and the environmental representatives. Business leaders are well aware of the dangers of the climate, but cannot change the economic environment. Otherwise, other behaviours would be adopted. The lack of change in habits raises questions about the possibility and willingness to change.

In a way, idealism dominates.

The issue is not the epidemic, but the difficulty for the government coalition to agree on the removal of the 52 GW limit that sets the benefits of photovoltaics.

EuPD Research estimates that small systems up to 10 kW will still be in high demand, but that over the course of the year, commercial installations will fall by 31% and large power plants by 53%.

PV Magazine of 17 April

The cell, made from mechanically robust, photo-absorbent materials, achieves a conversion efficiency of 13% (130 watts per square metre), a retained efficiency of 97% after 1,000 bending cycles, and an efficiency maintained at 90% after 1,000 stretching cycles. The service life has been estimated at 11.5 years. The solar cell is so light that it can be supported by a flower petal, while generating nearly 10 watts of power per gram.

This makes it a very promising candidate as a power source for portable electronics. This cell could perform long-term monitoring of various physiological signals, such as heart and respiratory rates.

Researchers are now commercializing this cell, which is relatively inexpensive and can be reproduced on a large scale with continuous printing technology.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/04/16/ultrathin-flexible-solar-cell-with-13-efficiency/

PV Magazine of 16 April

any rise in temperature. Their battery is an alternative to rechargeable lithium ion batteries. They use an ionic liquid that is non-volatile and fire resistant. In fact, this battery works better when it heats up.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/04/15/a-non-flammable-lithium-metal-battery/

EnergyTrend of 15 April

Scientists at the University of Southern California (UCS) have developed a new type of redox battery from cheap and abundant materials. They used iron sulphate, which is a waste product from the mining industry, and AQDS (or anthraquinone disulphonic acid), which is used in redox flow batteries because of its high stability, solubility and energy storage capacity.

Many processes that produce electricity also produce heat, a powerful energy resource that is usually untapped in factories, vehicles, power plants, ... In a combustion process, about 60% of the energy is wasted as heat.

These scientists have developed a system to capture and store excess heat from the installations. It is also suitable for a variety of commercial applications, including desalination plants, combined heat and power (CHP) systems, industrial processes, trucks, ...

The ability to recover and use waste heat increases efficiency and reduces costs by extracting energy from the same amount of fuel.

In a sense, it is a thermal version of a battery. It charges and discharges heat rather than electricity. The process is a form of latent heat storage, where the energy is contained in a phase change material such as molten salt.

The technology is modular, so there is no need for a huge storage structure. It operates at temperatures above 700°C (1,292°F). Its high energy density makes it smaller and more flexible than commonly used sensible heat storage systems, which depend on the rise and fall of a material's temperature.

Researchers are already offering to license or partner in the use of this technology (partners@anl.gov).

EnergyTrend of 16 April
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PV Tech of 16 April

PV Tech of 14 April

Editor's note It is becoming fashionable for Chinese manufacturers to draw attention twice: once by presenting a range of results; a second time with the final figures. If you add press releases on every new installation, project, event, it gives an impression of continuity and occupancy of media space.
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https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/04/17/pv-powered-hand-sanitizer-wins-covid-19-hackathon/

PV Magazine of 17 April

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