Thứ Bảy, 29 tháng 2, 2020

Can an E-Rickshaw Run on Solar Panel?

Now-a-days we are seeing increasing number of E-rickshaws on the streets of every city. Electric motor runs these rickshaws. The motor is powered by batteries fitted with rickshaws. These batteries are supplied with 230 volts of power supply which is charged with common socket. On a full charge battery the rickshaw runs as much as 60 km.

Today we can also generate electricity with the help of solar panels. Solar power gives us some degree of power supply and makes your system independent. So the question is, why not run a rickshaw by connecting solar panels on the rickshaw itself? Is this is possible that due to such solar rickshaw, its battery also gets charged? And again and again he has to 230 volt socket Do not carry for charging?

e rickshaw battery

This is a really good question. In response, we will see why this is not entirely possible.

E-Rickshaw Video

Suppose the rickshaw motor is 1000 watts. And suppose that the rickshaw runs 60 km on the entire charge. These figures It may be a little less, but still we will make a simple calculation from them.

The speed of the rickshaw keeps on decreasing in the city, but suppose that it runs at an average speed of 20 km per hour is. This means that the rickshaw runs on full charge 60/20 = 3 hours.

Now because the rickshaw motor is 1000 watts, the rickshaw is 1000 watts x 3 hours = 3 kilowatt-hour (kWh) = 3 units in a day, As much electricity will use energy.Suppose the battery of this rickshaw was fully charged from the power supply at night. So this means that the battery capacity is 3 units, or more. If there are 4 batteries of 12 vault in the rickshaw, then each battery is rated 3000/4 = approx. 60 Ah, or more.

By the way, using a very large battery, the rickshaw will do more. But this suggestion is not fully practical. Because of the very large battery.The weight will also be very large, due to which the average speed of the rickshaw will be reduced.

The above calculation applies to the rickshaw which does not have a solar panel. Now we will see that by installing solar panel What will be benefit of it?

The solar panel produces 1000 W = 1 kW of solar electricity in about 10 square meters. Size of E-rickshaw, A panel of at least 4 square meters may be placed on it. Rickshaws run and park by installing even bigger panels. There will be difficulty in doing this, and the panel may also damage.

With its 4 square meter panel, the rickshaw will get 600 W power in the afternoon. If the rickshaw remains in the sun for 5-6 hours in the afternoon or If going in the sunlight, the 400 watt solar panel will generate about 2 units of solar energy.

We saw above that the battery capacity is 3 units or more. If the rickshaw stays in the sun for 5-6 hours in the afternoon or it goes, then it will get an additional 2 Unit will get energy. So the range of rickshaws, that is, the ability to cut distances, will increase in the same proof. That means its range will be 40 x 5/3 = 100 km, provided that the battery was fully charged before noon

But the reality is that it is not possible to keep or run E-rickshaws in the sun for 5-6 hours in the afternoon. There are thin roads, And both of them big buildings. Suppose the rickshaw got 50 percent sunlight. Then its range will be 40 x 4/3 = 40 km 4. This means that the rickshaw gets only 20 km from the solar panel.

This arithmetic indicates that the benefit of the rickshaw trade by installing solar panels is proof of the cost of the panel. I am very limited. And that too depends on how much sunshine a rickshaw can eat in the afternoon.

In the future, the efficiency of solar panels receiving solar energy may increase. Then maybe given above There was a lot of improvement in mathematics. But till then, we will have to follow this math!

For more technical support of installing solar panels on E-Rickshaw, call on this number: +91-8103405993

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The weekend read: Building Europe’s battery business

In just three years, Northvolt has progressed from a startup to become Europe’s response to the Asian dominance of global battery manufacturing. pv magazine investigates why Northvolt is setting up units in Sweden, Germany, and Poland, what the firm’s goals are, and how it is attempting to achieve them.

From pv magazine 02/2020

Just 20 people worked for Northvolt two years ago. It has now grown to about 500 staff members. Sara Hermansson, Northvolt’s technical recruiter, informed an audience of this development at event held in Berlin in October 2019, hosted by the EU-funded Innoenergy group. The biggest obstacle to Northvolt’s development is finding the right people and teaching them how to make batteries, said Hermansson – who appeared positive that all other aspects of the company’s business (e.g., the supply chain) are already being dealt with successfully.

Hermansson’s criterion when selecting new staff, she explained are not scientists who aim to develop new battery chemistries, but engineers who are willing to work on existing science to manufacture batteries that are cheaper and more sustainable.

Marcus Ulmefors, a data scientist and battery modeler for Northvolt since April 2019, agrees. Speaking in December at Imperial College London, he told an audience of academics and technology enthusiasts that the company does not design entirely new products. “We rather try proven technologies and aim to improve them, but the key aim is to achieve efficient manufacturing at scale and with good quality,” he said.

Clean manufacturing

Both Hermansson and Ulmefors stress that Northvolt aims to manufacture batteries using electricity from renewable energy sources. This adds to the company’s sustainability targets, but also helps it to manufacture cheaper batteries.

The company currently operates an R&D laboratory and a demonstration line in Västerås, near the Swedish capital Stockholm. Its main production site for battery cells is in Skellefteå, northern Sweden. The Northvolt Ett factory in Skellefteå started construction in October 2019, immediately after it was granted all the required environmental approvals, and is expected to produce its first batteries in 2021. Until then, Northvolt can rely on the Västerås facility, which commenced commercial production in December.

Meanwhile, Northvolt and Germany’s Volkswagen Group announced a joint venture in September to establish the Northvolt Zwei 16 GWh factory in Salzgitter, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The Zwei 16 GWh factory is expected to start construction next year. And a further Northvolt assembly unit in Gdansk, Poland, is already under development.

“In Sweden, we use cheap hydropower, so our batteries will also get cheaper,” said Hermansson. In Germany specifically, added Ulmefors – given that the country has a different energy mix – Northvolt plans to find renewable energy solutions to power the energy-intensive processes of the Zwei factory.

A company spokesperson explained that Sweden’s Gigafactory, the Northvolt Ett, will boast an initial capacity of 32 GWh per year, expandable to 40 GWh per year. Therefore “in Sweden, where we do both upstream and downstream processes – meaning raw material input and finished battery cell output – we will require more than 2 TWh per year if we build 40 GWh of battery capacity,” the spokesperson said.

Electricity requirements for the German gigafactory Northvolt Zwei have yet to be published, but a Northvolt spokesperson said it “will be much lower since the most energy intensive part (upstream) will be done in Sweden. The active material will be shipped to Germany for final processing into finished cells.”

Finally, Northvolt reports that its Polish factory “has comparatively very low electricity requirements, because it is an assembly plant for battery packs, it is not a factory for battery cells. No official numbers are released for this plant, but they will be a small fraction in comparison.”

pv magazine has also learned that Northvolt plans to transfer the generated heat from one of its factories to a neighboring city, so that some of the company’s manufacturing processes are zero carbon. The company confirmed that this is a working plan, however its spokesperson added that “it is a little bit too soon” to communicate specific details at present.

Knowledge and control

“Battery-making was an industry in the previous decades, but now it’s a business,” Hermansson said at the event in Berlin. Apart from using cheap renewable energies (predominantly hydro power, and to a lesser extent wind energy) to lower manufacturing costs, Northvolt claims that at the core of its business model lies the knowledge and control of all parts of the supply chain.

The supply chain for batteries is long, and often Northvolt’s competitors do not know where they buy their raw materials from, argued Hermansson. This is definitely not the case with Northvolt, claimed Ulmefors, which buys raw materials (nickel, cobalt and lithium) directly from the mines that it also visits, so that the company has a clear idea what it buys and from where. “In the end, we are comfortable how things are sourced, how they are produced and what goes into the batteries we make,” said Ulmefors. Northvolt’s exact mine locations and suppliers remain a company secret.

Except for raw materials and mining, the company controls all other parts of the supply chain in house, said Ulmefors. On this front, Northvolt benefits from its vertically integrated structure and logistics on the European continent. “We believe that being a home-grown European actor we can know our customers, we have logistics within Europe,” Ulmefors said. And while “often supply chains can span across the world and across continents, we want to bring that closer. We have a very ambitious plan for data collection, modeling, traceability, connect everything in the factory … we want to go all the way from the raw materials to cells, to packs and eventually recycling, collecting data along the way to create the best models available.”

Another main characteristic of Northvolt’s business model is that the company fosters close cooperation with key clients and other stakeholders. The company does not intend to remain within the boundaries of the automotive industry. It also aims at grid, industrial, and portable battery applications. Sometimes, Ulmefors noted, there are battery business cases that are not immediately obvious, and this is why the company develops partnerships with key actors from all sectors, so that together “we enable the future of energy” and electrify all sectors – not just the automotive industry. Northvolt’s partners include Siemens, the BMW Group, Vattenfall, Vestas, ABB, and other leading European companies.

Ulmefors’ presentation paid particular attention to battery recycling, for both environmental and economic reasons. Battery recycling can increase the competitiveness of the company because it reduces risks. For example, when material prices increase, the end product of the recycling can provide additional income for the company. But the challenge, according to Ulmefors, is that dismantling the batteries is a difficult process (see pp. 60-63), because they contain so many different parts and materials.

Finally, with regard to Northvolt’s practical sales method for the immediate and long-term future, Ulmefors explained that the company can already start selling batteries manufactured in the small Västerås facility, although in two years’ time, sales will come from the Ett gigafactory in northern Sweden. After the Ett plant becomes operational, the Västerås factory will transform into an education and training center. That will allow the company to try different equipment and manufacturing methods without having to interfere with the mass production line in Ett, he said.

The Polish assembly unit will receive cells and make modules and packs for delivery to customers. The Zwei gigafactory in Germany is going to materialize after that, and will aim to become “the first customer-dedicated Gigafactory”. It will be an exercise in what the company is trying to achieve, which is not only building processes for high quality cells and batteries, but also building several high-quality factories, Ulmefors said. “In other words,” he concluded, “we aim to set up a blueprint and repeatedly build factories at high pace and high quality.”

Nevertheless, Northvolt customers will not have to wait until the full plan unfolds. The company told pv magazine that “Li-ion cells produced in Västerås will be suitable for all applications and segments that are addressed by Northvolt, including but not limited to electric vehicles, grid applications, and industrial applications.” The initial manufacturing capacity of the Polish plant in Poland is also 10,000 modules per year, or approximately 100 MWh of battery packs.

Asia’s dominance

Many market analysts have claimed that Northvolt is Europe’s answer to Asia’s dominance in battery manufacturing. But Matthias Machnig, a German politician responsible for Innoenergy’s industrial strategy, said at the event in Berlin that Europe still lags behind. Northvolt’s 32 GWh and 16 GWh capacities in the Ett and Zwei gigafactories, in Sweden and Germany, respectively, will provide only 12% of the estimated 400 GWh of cells required by Europe’s automotive industry when it is up and running by 2025, Machnig said. And that leaves him wondering what will happen to the 88% shortfall.

From 70 GWh of annual global lithium ion battery demand in 2016, Northvolt predicts that annual demand in 2020 will reach about 200 GWh, and will grow to around 1000 GWh by 2025, Ulmefors said. Of this demand, its gigafactories will only supply 48 GWh by 2024. The company estimates that Europe will need roughly about 20% of the global market and the reason is that 20% of the electric vehicles – 20 million out of 100 million cars – are manufactured in Europe. Assuming a 64 kWh EV battery size and Northvolt Ett’s 32 GWh of annual output – expandable to 40 GWh per year – Northvolt can provide about 500,000 to 600,000 EVs per year. China, South Korea, and Japan’s dominance in the battery manufacturing will hardly be challenged.

But Ulmefors remains upbeat. The reason, he argued, is that by doing something new in Europe, Northvolt can develop new processes without taking into account legacy systems and manufacturing traditions. Instead, it can enable new ideas and adopt new approaches that will allow it to be competitive. An example of this is siting the Swedish factories where energy is plentiful and cheap, offering it a competitive advantage. All battery manufacturers are racing to achieve their targets and meet demand. The goal is to scale and meet demand, while not cutting corners on quality. Every company that reaches its quality targets will be able to sell, said Ulmefors.

Coronavirus concerns overshadow PV Expo in Tokyo

The annual trade show was not particularly well-attended this year, but market sentiment is still positive in Japan – nobody believes that installations will drop due to the coronavirus outbreak. And the country's upstream industry – modules, batteries, and hydrogen tech – clearly remains compelling, given the number of brave souls who actually did make the trip out to Tokyo Big Sight this year.

Those who did show up to PV Expo in Tokyo this week were greeted by infrared cameras and were kindly told to put on face masks, only to find a largely empty trade show floor, as coronavirus fears prompted many industry participants to take a pass on Japan’s leading energy exhibition this year.

It was an unfortunate situation for exhibitors, organizers, and stakeholders in Japan’s renewables business, because 2020 could be another 7 GW to 7.5 GW year in terms of annual installations, according to RTS Corp., a Tokyo-based research outfit.

On Tuesday, the day before the show, the Japanese Cabinet held a press conference outlining the government’s plan to build a more resilient national power system. Weeks-long power outages in Hokkaido and Chiba prefecture have forced politicians to draw up a disaster resilience plan.

“We are aiming to establish a resilient and sustainable electricity supply system in view of the intensification of disasters that has changed the energy environment,” Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshi Kajiyama said.

The government endorses the value of distributed solar+storage. Additionally, the cabinet has tabled a bill regarding the feed-in premium, which is set to replace the feed-in tariff. To date, electricity companies are being forced to buy solar power at rates set by the FIT, which has been worryingly expensive. The country holds the world record when it comes to end-user power prices.

In response to this, Japan has started to hold competitive tender rounds with undisclosed ceiling prices for utility-scale PV projects. The fifth round was designed to allocate 416 MW of capacity, but ended up only awarding 27 projects with a cumulative capacity of 39.8 MW. With the feed-in premium, solar plant owners would receive a premium on current market prices to refinance their assets, but the government has yet to determine the exact details so they can be signed off by parliament. Japan’s political elites aim to get it done by April 22, but overall the plan appeared to be welcomed on the trade show floor.

Dominik Grützner, representative director of mounting system supplier S-Rack, said that there are enough projects that have been developed and tendered over the last few rounds to keep the industry bustling for a while. But RTS Corp. claims that utility-scale PV projects in Japan actually have a low commissioning rate of just 35%. Of the 21.9 GW of approved projects above 2 MW in size, just 7.2 GW have actually been commissioned to date.

Empty booths

The hall for PV suppliers at PV Expo was particularly empty this week, as exhibitors from China mostly decided to skip out on the annual show. This meant that PV Expo 2020 did not provide the first glimpse of new module tech that will be rolled out this year, as expected. That’s unfortunate, as Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) has managed to produce a 30x30cm perovskite module with an efficiency rating of 16.09%. That said, Japanese PV module heavyweights such as Panasonic and Sharp stayed clear of the trade show floor this year, anyway.

There were some developments in terms of products at the show, with Trina Solar announcing a 500 W bifacial module, for example. Beyond that, Japanese conglomerate Marubeni had a number of big announcements to make this week related to the acquisition of Taiwanese solar developer Chenya Energy. However, it didn’t get the chance to share the news at the show, as its booth was completely empty.

On the inverter side, Sungrow showed up with an AC-coupled solution, the ST159KWH-50HV, as well as a DC-coupled offering: the ST751KWH-D350+SG49K5J for C&I-scale containerized storage. The devices come in three-hour versions, as the company claims that under current C&I solar market conditions in Japan, such systems are the most economically viable option.

Sungrow introduced the product to the Japanese market in 2019 and has already sold about 30 MW. The Chinese inverter manufacturer is now targeting the C&I storage retrofitting market, which it sees as particularly promising. It also offers a Japan-licensed version of its 100 kW string inverter. In addition, Sungrow currently has a 5 kW inverter in the licensing process on the residential side. Once cleared, the company hopes to capture about 10% of the traditionally hard-to-access Japanese market.

The company also appears close to finalizing a 100 MW supply deal with Japan’s GS Yuasa. The agreement involves PV and storage solutions alike and could provide a significant boost for the company’s business in the country. Thus far, Sungrow has supplied about 50 MWh of storage in Japan, and it has been involved in a few single-digit, megawatt-scale landmark projects throughout the archipelago.

Current health concerns aside, PV Expo is part of a group show – World Smart Energy Week – that includes a Battery Expo and Fuel Cell Expo. The latter two were somewhat better attended, with more exhibitors in the halls. The reason could be that visitors and exhibitors from Europe and North America attended in greater numbers than their Chinese counterparts. Of course, the PV industry – especially the manufacturing business – relies heavily on Chinese suppliers, as the empty booths at PV Expo show.

But the higher attendance at the other parts of the show can also be attributed to the fact that Japan has a very strong hydrogen and battery sector. The country currently hosts a significant amount of residential hydrogen capacity and a potpourri of companies from all over the world have come to join the party.

Sebastian-Justus Schmidt, the founder of Enapter, tells **pv magazine** about the potential for the company’s modular electrolyzers in the booming Japanese hydrogen market.
*Image: pv magazine*

One of those companies is Enapter, which showcased a modular electrolyzer approach in Tokyo this week. The device uses a new method in the electrolyzer process known as REM. The technology makes the device smaller and more efficient, and the hydrogen product more pure than rival PEM technology, which is the most widely used option at the moment.

Enapter says its electrolyzer can produce 1 cubic meter of hydrogen at 4.4 kWh. Sebastian-Justus Schmidt, the founder of the company, put the future into perspective. “Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry issued a hydrogen strategy by which it wants to achieve 1 cubic meter of hydrogen production at 4.3 kWh by 2030. So we are 10 years ahead, so to speak,” he said.

Despite the unusual circumstances at this year’s PV Expo, spirits were high on the trade show floor and analysts expect the Japanese market to continue to flourish. In short, the relative lack of exhibitors and visitors at the show this year largely came down to health-related concerns, and did not reflect market sentiment.

Storage Highlights 2020 – Megawatt Winner: Lumenion

With the new decade, pv magazine brings forth yet another energy storage highlights. Approximately two weeks of work went into sifting through this year’s 22 highlights submissions, conducting research, and preparing them for the jury. Once again, this year’s work was crowned by the moderation of the jury meeting, in which six leading industry experts discussed the technologies and solutions. Differing from previous years, the jurors have selected the top five “Gigawatt” winners, followed by five “Megawatt” winners, and a series of “Finalists” which we are publishing here, leading up to Energy Storage Europe.

Built in partnership with Messe Düsseldorf and Energy Storage Europe, pv magazine’s annual Energy Storage Highlights 2020 special edition is hot off the press. Join us at the Energy Storage Europe trade fair and conference, taking place March 10-12 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Celebrate this year’s top five awardees at our Insight panel session with discussion among our Gigawatt winners and panel of expert jurors.

Introducing Megawatt Winner…

Lumenion

Combining electricity and heat with low-priced storage

Berlin startup Lumenion is advancing “flexible sector coupling.” The company has installed a steel storage system in one of Vattenfall’s Berlin district heating networks, which can temporarily store excess solar and wind power with a high degree of efficiency. The solution is capable of converting 25% of thermal energy back into electricity.

If you think steel is “old economy” or outdated technology, think again. Assuming Lumenion’s projects are successful, this heavy-industry material will solve a problem that lithium-ion batteries have not been able to cope with so far. Solar radiation generally fluctuates in 12-hour cycles, and wind power also comes in waves with 18 to 24-hour intervals of little or no wind, according to Lumenion. This means that a storage system is needed that can be operated economically at an average of 180 cycles per year. In addition, the peak loads at which this energy has to be stored are about three times as high as the peak loads at which the storage systems are later discharged.

With purely electrical storage, this translates into comparatively high costs for power electronics. If lithium-ion batteries were used for this type of storage, in the very best case, the power they store would cost at least €0.08 per kilowatt-hour, according to Philip Hiersemenzel, Lumenion’s press officer. By contrast, the steel storage system can be operated at €0.02 per kilowatt hour, assuming a service life of 40 years and just 150 cycles per year.

For storage, electrical energy heats a huge steel block by up to as much as 650 degrees Celsius. This can be done with low tech, so to speak, which means that the high feed-in peaks do not drive up the cost of power electronics. The thermal energy is then used either as industrial high-temperature process heat, or as low-temperature heat, in a district heating network or for greenhouses.

If necessary, up to 25% of the energy can be converted back into electricity. To accomplish this, a steam turbine can be connected to the system which can be operated due to the high temperature. It is well known that reconversion of thermal energy into electricity is not very efficient when only the electrical energy is considered. However, the remaining low-temperature heat of 100 to 120 degrees Celsius can still be used in the heating network. As a result, the overall efficiency of the system is around 95%, according to the company. If you subtract what the heat is worth from the price of electricity, you might even be able to achieve electricity costs of €0.03 to €0.04, competitive with gas-powered plants.

At the end of the day, Lumenion is not competing against battery storage systems, but against thermal storage systems that use other materials – with the most well-known likely being hot water. However, these storage systems are operated at just 150 degrees, which is insufficient for some applications, as it doesn’t allow for efficient reconversion into electricity. With concrete or molten salt, similar storage concepts can be implemented as with the steel storage tank. Lumenion argues that the steel concept is ultimately more cost-effective, that steel is easily recyclable, and that it retains much of its value – which after 40 years of service life still offers positive benefits to the operator.

In 2019, such a steel storage system with a capacity of 2.4 megawatt-hours and a charging power of 340 kilowatts went into operation in a Berlin district heating network operated by Vattenfall, but still without a gas turbine for reconversion. A 40 MWh project is planned for 2020.

After that, the growth in size is expected to continue, as the technology becomes cheaper and is deployed on a larger scale. The vision is to expand to gigawatt-scale storage systems that are the size of home improvement stores. Then, finally, the turbines for reconversion of heat into electricity would also be installed.

Jury comments

Julian Jansen: “The Lumenion energy storage system can provide crucial capability for realizing the wider energy transition. It is a strong example of how technology innovation will drive sector-coupling and help decarbonizing both electricity and heat.”

Nina Munzke: “Very interesting approach for a future large-scale heat supply.”

McCarthy begins construction on 61-MW Turquoise Solar project in Nevada

McCarthy Building Companies recently began construction on a large solar project in Sparks, Nevada. The Turquoise Solar project encompasses a 61-MWDC solar farm located on approximately 180 acres in Washoe County, Nevada. Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company, a utility-scale solar energy development company, received the green light to proceed with the project after acquiring the project…

The post McCarthy begins construction on 61-MW Turquoise Solar project in Nevada appeared first on Solar Power World.

Thứ Sáu, 28 tháng 2, 2020

Panasonic adds top-tier Elite level of residential solar installer program

Panasonic today announced the addition of an Elite tier to its Residential Solar Installer Program to recognize and reward standout installers with best-in-class benefits. This exclusive tier is only available to the highest-performing Panasonic residential solar installers that have established successful, longstanding partnerships between their businesses and Panasonic. This new addition introduces the third level…

The post Panasonic adds top-tier Elite level of residential solar installer program appeared first on Solar Power World.

RPCS strengthens partnership with Today’s Power, Inc. with 2020 pipeline

RP Construction Services, Inc. (RPCS) has strengthened its partnership with electric cooperative subsidiary Today’s Power, Inc. (TPI) by announcing their 2020 pipeline of projects to be built in TPI’s home state of Arkansas.

The projects, totaling more than 5 MW DC, will be supplied and installed in partnership with RPCS. All will feature DuraTrack HZ v3 single-axis solar trackers by Array Technologies. Array’s mounting technology keeps the modules following the sun on its course throughout the day, ensuring up to a 20 to 25% increase in energy production over fixed-tilt systems.

Today’s Power, a wholly owned subsidiary of Little Rock-based utility service cooperative Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (AECI), will receive RPCS’s turnkey service and support throughout the design and installation processes.

The newly established 2020 pipeline comes in the wake of recently completed projects built under the RPCS-TPI partnership, including the Fayetteville East and Fayetteville West projects in Fayetteville, Arkansas, totaling over 11MW. These TPI projects include the first solar-coupled battery energy storage systems (BESS) in the Mid-South, and the largest solar array on municipal land in Arkansas.

Other projects, namely those for the City of Paris, Arkansas, and for Southland Gin, a cotton gin, will soon be underway and are expected to be completed in the spring and summer, respectively, of 2020. The 1 MW Southland Gin project, which will be owned and operated by Today’s Power, will consist in part of a DuraTrack HZ v3 single-axis tracking system, and will offset the power costs of the gin and through net metering. The array will also feature on-site battery storage, using battery backups for power savings during peak demand, reducing the load on the overall system.

“It has truly been a great pleasure working with Today’s Power,” says RPCS Sales Director Patty Thornton. “The knowledge they bring to the table coupled with the speed and accuracy that they complete the projects is beyond a five-star rating. RPCS is looking forward to building on the partnership we established in 2019.”

-- Solar Builder magazine

Panasonic launches new Elite Tier in its Residential Solar Installer Program (with cool perks)

Panasonic added an Elite tier to its Residential Solar Installer Program to recognize and reward standout installers with best-in-class benefits. This exclusive tier is only available to the highest-performing Panasonic residential solar installers who have established successful, longstanding partnerships between their businesses and Panasonic.

This new addition introduces the third level of the program, building on existing Authorized and Premium installer categories.

Panasonic Elite Installers will be the first in Panasonic’s network to gain access to new products and rebates, while enjoying preferred access to product availability and the best pricing. These installers will also retain their Premium Installer benefits, including exclusive access to leads generated from Panasonic’s website, cooperative marketing funds and a robust Installer Portal, which is designed to help them grow their business.

“As solar energy gains momentum in the U.S., knowledgeable and skilled installers are more critical for customers and vital to our business than ever. As trusted advisers, they are responsible for providing customers with the best recommendations for effective and reliable solar solutions on the market,” said Mukesh Sethi, group manager, Panasonic Life Solutions Company of America. “The new Elite tier of the Panasonic Solar Residential Solar Installer program is our way of saying Thank You to those installers who consistently exceed Panasonic’s high standard of excellence.”

February is Operations & Maintenance Month here at Solar Builder. Check out all of our O&M news and insights this month right here.

Since its U.S. launch in 2016, the Panasonic Solar Installer Program has grown to include 51 Premium Installers and 176 Authorized Installers.

“We are excited to introduce this new tier to our top-achieving premium installers in the Panasonic Residential Solar Installer program,” said Yessica Castillo, National Marketing Manager, Panasonic Life Solutions Company of America. “These installers have shown they are committed to providing the best solutions to homeowners together with Panasonic, and we want to thank them for their business, loyalty and trust.”

-- Solar Builder magazine

क्या E-रिक्शा सोलर पैनल से चल सकती है?

आज-कल हम हर शहर की सड़कों पर बढ़ती संख्या में E-रिक्शाएं देख रहे हैं। इन रिक्शाओं को चलाने का काम बिजली की मोटर करती है। मोटर को बिजली मिलती है रिक्शा के साथ लगी हुई बैटरीओं से। इन बैटरीओं को पावर सप्लाय के २३० वॉल्ट वाले सामान्य सॉकेट से चार्ज किया जाता है। पूरे चार्ज पर रिक्शा कुछ ६० कि॰मी॰ जितना चलती है।

आज हम सोलर पैनल्स की मदद से अपनी बिजली भी पैदा कर सकते हैं। सौर्य बिजली हमें कुछ हद तक पावर सप्लाय की बिजली से स्वतंत्र कर देती है। तो सवाल यह होता है कि क्यों ना रिक्शा के ऊपर ही सोलर पैनल लगा कर रिक्शा को चलाया जाय? क्या यह संभव है कि ऐसी सोलर रिक्शा के चलते-चलते उसकी बैटरी चार्ज भी होती जाय? और बार-बार उसे २३० वॉल्ट के सॉकेट तक चार्जिंग के लिए ले जाना ना रहे?

E Rickshaw Battery

यह सचमुच में एक अच्छा सवाल है। जवाब में हम देखेंगे कि ऐसा क्यों पूरी तरह से संभव नहीं है।

वीडियो जरूर देखें

मान लीजिए कि रिक्शा की मोटर १००० वॉट की है। और मान लीजिए कि पूरे चार्ज पर रिक्शा ६० कि॰मी॰ चलती है। यह आंकडे थोड़े कम-ज़्यादा हो सकते हैं, पर फिर भी इन्हींसे हम एक सादा सा हिसाब लगाएंगे।

रिक्शा की रफ्तार तो शहर में कम-ज़्यादा होती रहती है, पर मान लीजिए कि वह औसतन २० कि॰मी॰ प्रति घंटे की रफ्तार से चलती है। इसका मतलब हुआ कि पूरे चार्ज पर रिक्शा ६०/२० = ३ घंटे चलती है।

e rickshaw

अब क्योंकि रिक्शा की मोटर १००० वॉट की है, रिक्शा एक दिन में १००० वॉट x ३ घंटे = ३ किलोवॉट-अवर (kWh) = 3 युनिट जितनी बिजली ऊर्जा का उपयोग करेगी।

मान लीजिए इस रिक्शा की बैटरी को रात में पावर सप्लाय से पूरा चार्ज किया गया था। तो इसका मतलब हुआ कि बैटरी की क्षमता है ३ युनिट, या उससे ज़्यादा। रिक्शा में अगर १२ वॉल्ट की ४ बैटरीयाँ लगी हैं, तो हर बैटरी की रेटिंग हुई ३०००/४८ = लगभग ६० Ah, या उससे ज़्यादा।

वैसे तो बहुत बड़ी बैटरी लगाने से रिक्शा ज़्यादा चलेगी। मगर यह सुझाव पूरी तरह से व्यवहारू नहीं है। क्योंकि बहुत बड़ी बैटरी का वजन भी बहुत बड़ा होगा, जिसके कारण रिक्शा की औसतन रफ्तार कम हो जाएगी।

ऊपर किया हुआ सारा हिसाब उस रिक्शा को लागू होता है जिसमें सोलर पैनल नहीं लगी है। अब हम देखेंगे कि सोलर पैनल लगाने से कितना फ़ायदा हो सकता है।

सोलर पैनल लगभग १० वर्ग मीटर में १००० वॉट = १ किलोवॉट सौर्य बिजली पैदा करती है। E-रिक्शा की जो साइज़ होती है, उसके ऊपर ज़्यादा-से-ज़्यादा कुछ ४ वर्ग मीटर की पैनल लग सकती है। उससे भी बड़ी पैनल लगाने से रिक्शा को चलाने और पार्क करने में दिक्कत आएगी, और पैनल को नुकसान भी हो सकता है।

loom solar panel size

अपनी ४ वर्ग मीटर की पैनल से रिक्शा को दोपहर में ४०० वॉट बिजली मिलेगी। अगर रिक्शा दोपहर के पूरे ५-६ घंटे धूप में रहे या धूप में चले, तो ४०० वॉट की सोलर पैनल लगभग २ युनिट सौर्य ऊर्जा पैदा करेगी।

ऊपर हमने देखा कि बैटरी की क्षमता है ३ युनिट या ज़्यादा। रिक्शा अगर दोपहर के ५-६ घंटे धूप में रहे या चले, तो उसे अतिरिक्त २ युनिट ऊर्जा मिलेगी। तो रिक्शा की रेंज, याने दूरी काटने की क्षमता, ठीक उसी प्रमाण में बढ़ जाएगी। याने उसकी रेंज हो जाएगी ६० x ५/३ = १०० कि॰मी॰, बशर्ते यह कि दोपहर के पहले बैटरी को पूरा चार्ज कर दिया गया था।

पर हकीकत यह है कि शहर में E-रिक्शा को दोपहर के पूरे 5-6 घंटे धूप में रखना या चलाना संभव ही नहीं है। पतली सड़कें होती हैं, और उनके दोनों बाजू बड़ी-बड़ी बिल्डिंग्स। मान लीजिए कि रिक्शा को ५० प्रतिशत ही धूप मिली। तो उसकी रेंज हो जाएगी ६० x ४/३ = ८० कि॰मी॰। याने की सोलर पैनल से रिक्शा को मिले अतिरिक्त सिर्फ २० कि॰मी॰।

इस गणित से यह संकेत मिलता है, कि सोलर पैनल लगाने से रिक्शा के व्यापार में जो फ़ायदा होता है, वह पैनल की लागत के प्रमाण में काफ़ी मर्यादित है और वह भी इस पर निर्भर करता है कि दोपहर में रिक्शा कितनी धूप खा सकती है।

भविष्य में सोलर पैनल्स की सौर्य ऊर्जा ग्रहण करने की कार्यदक्षता (efficiency) शायद बढ़े। तब हो सकता है कि ऊपर दिये हुए गणित में काफ़ी सुधार आए। पर तब तक तो हमें इसी गणित के आधार पर चलना होगा!

Tunisia introduces new rules for self-consumption, net metering

The new regulatory framework includes the option to sell electricity to large energy consumers through bilateral PPAs.

The Tunisian government has issued a decree that will allow private companies to produce renewable energy for self-consumption purposes, with excess power to be sold to utility STEG under net metering rules, in addition to the right to sell electricity to large energy consumers.

The authorities did not specify the maximum limit for the sale of surplus power. The new rules set out the conditions under which national grid infrastructure can be used by projects to sell electricity to third-party customers through bilateral PPAs.

The measures are also aimed at increasing the competitiveness of energy-intensive businesses in Tunisia, the government said. “They may now secure an important part of their electricity at a low and stable cost,” it explained, without providing additional details about the new scheme.

So far, the government has mainly supported large-scale solar projects through a series of tenders, including auctions for projects up to 10 MW and tenders for larger projects.

Tunisia had installed around 47 MW of solar by the end of 2018. Under its renewable energy strategy, the North African country aims to reach 4.7 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Solar energy growing faster than all renewables in latest U.S. Energy Information Administration report

What he said.

Renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) accounted for 18.2% of net domestic electrical generation during 2019, according to a SUN DAY Campaign analysis of just-released data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). A year earlier, renewables’ share was 17.5%, and if present trends continue, electrical generation by the mix of renewable energy sources could overtake nuclear power in 2020 and coal in 2021.

The latest issue of EIA’s “Electric Power Monthly” (with data through December 31, 2019) reveals that solar and wind both showed continued, strong growth, expanding faster than all other energy sources.

Solar, including small-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, grew 14.9% compared to 2018 and accounted for almost 2.6% of total electrical output.

Small-scale solar (e.g., distributed rooftop systems) – which increased by 18.6% – provided nearly a third (32.7%) of total solar electrical generation. The growth rate of distributed solar was greater than that of any other energy source.

In addition, U.S. wind-generated electricity increased by 10.1%, accounting for 7.2% of all electricity produced.

Combined, wind and solar accounted for almost a tenth (9.8%) of U.S. electrical generation through the end of December. In addition, biomass provided a bit more than 1.4% and geothermal contributed almost 0.4% (with the latter reflecting 0.3% growth).

In total, non-hydro renewable sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, solar, wind) accounted for 11.6% of total U.S. electrical production during 2019 and grew by 8.5% compared to 2018.

Notwithstanding a 6.4% decrease in hydropower’s output and a 5.6% drop in that of biomass, electrical generation by the mix of all renewables, including hydropower, was 2.6% higher than a year earlier.

By comparison, nuclear-generated electricity increased by just 0.3% while that from coal plummeted by 15.7%. However, much of the latter was replaced by natural gas which grew by 7.7%.

NOTE: The figures cited above include EIA’s “estimated small-scale solar photovoltaic” which totaled 35,041 thousand megawatt-hours for 2019. The latest issue of EIA’s “Electric Power Monthly” was officially released late on February 26, 2020. For the data cited in this news update, check here and here.

-- Solar Builder magazine

Portuguese fossil fuel giant creates renewables unit

Galp Energia aims to develop a sustainable power project portfolio based on solar and wind. It will devote up to 15% of its total investments to its renewable energy plans.

From pv magazine Spain

Last week, Portuguese gas and oil producer Galp Energía held a meeting to present its new strategy and its 2019 financial results.

The company’s net profit fell 21% in 2019, which prompted it to launch an internal reorganization effort, with a new customer-centered approach and a new division dedicated to renewable energy.

“Galp is committed to developing a sustainable portfolio based on the generation of electricity from renewable sources, with an investment of between 10% and 15% of the group destined to this energy source and with the objective of capturing new business opportunities,” the company said. “These investments represent a natural coverage for the Iberian activities, in line with the trend of global electrification.”

Galp recently acquired a 2.9 GW portfolio of solar energy projects in Spain from Spanish construction group ACS, with a secured network connection and 914 MW already in operation. These projects, together with others that are under development on the Iberian Peninsula, will provide 3.3 GW of capacity by 2023. The company claims that the capital returns of the portfolio will be greater than 10%.

Although its installed capacity in the coming years will be based on its existing portfolio, Galp’s ambition is to expand its renewable footprint to 10 GW by 2030, with a particular focus on the Iberian Peninsula.

Connecticut solar installers are in legal fight over property tax exemption language

Connecticut Superior Court

This article was originally published on Energy News Network.

Court cases dispute the definition of “private residential use” for exempting solar installations from property taxes.

At least 15 municipalities in Connecticut are locked in court battles with solar companies who say they are wrongfully taxing residential solar installations. Since 2017, nearly 200 lawsuits involving hundreds of properties around the state have been filed in the state Superior Court. At the root of the challenges is a state statute granting a property tax exemption to renewable energy sources that generate electricity for “private residential use.”

A few years ago, some municipal tax assessors began interpreting that wording to mean that solar panels that are owned outright by the homeowner and/or produce power solely for the property are exempt, while those that feed power onto the grid or are owned by a third party are not. So they began assessing property taxes on systems in which the homeowner relied on leases or power purchase agreements. In some cases, installations were assessed after having previously been exempted.

“The problem is the statute is very gray and people have different interpretations,” said Shawna Baron, assessor for the town of Cromwell and president of the Connecticut Association of Assessing Officers. “It’s our job as assessors to follow the law and implement it the best we can.”

Cromwell is among the towns being challenged in court. Solar companies argue that systems with leasing or power purchase agreements should be exempt under the law.

Municipalities have a lot at stake

The solar companies are seeking a refund of the taxes they’ve paid out in the past few years. In Cromwell, that adds up to more than $200,000 in revenue so far, Baron said.

Attempts to reach a legislative fix have so far failed. Last year, lawyers for the municipalities proposed legislative language to counsel for the solar companies that would have expressly exempted all residential panels moving forward, while at the same time allowing towns to keep the revenues they’d already collected, according to Donna Hamzy, advocacy manager for the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, an organization representing all 169 communities in the state.

“They discussed it as the most uniform and equitable way of moving forward,” she said. “It would also eliminate the need for litigation.”

But the municipalities were caught off guard, she said, when a bill suddenly “popped up” that clarified the scope of the exemption but omitted any language holding towns harmless for the previous assessments. It passed the House, but stalled in the Senate.

“Now here we are having had a year pass without any effective legislation to negate the need for continued litigation, which would have saved the towns additional legal fees,” Hamzy said.

February is Operations & Maintenance Month here at Solar Builder. Check out all of our O&M news and insights this month right here.

Similar legislation is back this year.

The sponsor, Rep. Joseph P. Gresko, D-Stratford, said he hopes lawmakers are able to put the matter to rest this session. His town is also a party to the lawsuits, with solar companies seeking to recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Ideally, I would love to stop this from happening in the future,” said Gresko, who works as sustainability coordinator for the city of Bridgeport. “We could say to the solar companies, ‘We closed the door going forward, but you’re not getting your money back from the towns.’ This is where the compromise would have to come in.”

That’s exactly what counsel for several of the towns asked for at a public hearing on the legislation last week. Attorneys Benjamin Proto and Kari Olson submitted testimony seeking an amendment that would validate the collection of taxes on commercially owned residential solar systems through the October 2019 grand list.

“With the difficult fiscal situations that municipalities presently find themselves in, as well as the substantial cost to continue litigating these tax appeals for both the municipalities and the solar companies, this amendment is the most appropriate and cost-effective compromise,” they said.

The lawsuits were consolidated late last year and are scheduled to move forward with discovery this year in Superior Court in Waterbury.

Other towns named in the suits include Fairfield, East Hampton, Wethersfield, Bloomfield, Norwich, Rocky Hill, Killingly, Groton, Ansonia, Somers, Greenwich, Naugatuck and Griswold.

In testimony submitted in support of this year’s bill, the Connecticut Green Bank’s legislative liaison, Matt Macunas, argued that assessors were “improperly” denying exemptions to systems with a lease or power purchase agreement. Such arrangements make up the bulk of the solar market in Connecticut, and have been critical to fueling adoption, he said.

Taxing the systems “at this critical stage will render previously constructed projects to no longer be viable and cause many future projects to become uneconomic in paying back a consumer’s investment,” Macunas said in his testimony.

Stephen Lassiter, manager of public policy for the solar giant Sunrun, which has filed about a dozen lawsuits challenging assessments, submitted a repeat of his testimony from last year, in which he argued that the assessors’ interpretation would have a disparate impact on lower-income households.

Those residents who are leasing systems wind up paying the tax as a pass-through cost from the solar company, while “those with the wherewithal to purchase a system outright will be granted a tax exemption,” he said.

Lisa Prevost is a longtime journalist based in Connecticut. She writes regularly about housing, development and business for the New York Times. Her work has also appeared in the Boston Globe, CNBC.com, Next City and many other publications. She is the author of “Snob Zones: Fear, Prejudice and Real Estate.” A native New Englander, Lisa covers Connecticut and Rhode Island.

-- Solar Builder magazine

Storage prevails in France’s capacity auction

The Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition's long-term auction was organized by grid operator RTE under the French capacity procurement mechanism. Storage accounted for 253 MW of the capacity assigned in the auction, which was open to all decarbonizing technologies.

From pv magazine France

The objective of France’s long-term auction (AOLT) is to enable the development of capacity to secure long-term electricity supply. The winners will benefit from a guaranteed price over seven years under the capacity mechanism, for assets to be put into service in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

The Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition of France (MTES) published a complete list of winners this week, with storage taking two-thirds of the capacity up for grabs. French energy service providers RES and Voltalis were among the winning companies. According to Réseau de Transport d’Électricité (RTE), the national transmission system operator, around 253 MW of new storage capacity and 124 MW of new generation capacity was allocated in the procurement exercise.

Although the auction sought capacity for four different time frames, only the 2021-27 and 2022-28 periods were successful. The authorities did not assign any capacity for the 2020-26 and 2023-29 periods.

For the first two time frames, the regulated price was €29,000/MW and €28,000/MW, respectively. Pricing for the other two periods was set at €19,000/MW and €21,800/MW, respectively.

“For each auction, the guaranteed price corresponds to the price offered by the selected offer closest to the price of the demand curve. The demand curve, reflecting the value brought to the community, was proposed by RTE and approved by the Minister of Ecological and Solidarity Transition and the Energy Regulation Commission,” RTE said.

For 2021-27, eight projects were selected, representing 151.1 MW in total, including 93 MW of storage and 58.1 MW for generation. For 2022-28, another 225.7 MW was allocated, of which 159.7 MW went to battery systems and 66 MW to generating plants.

In terms of storage, Total – via its subsidiary, BHC Energy – won 103 MW, with 58 MW for the 2021-27 period and 45 MW for 2022-28. AFD7, a project company owned by Amarenco France, won a 75 MW project for the 2022-28 period, while RES won two 24 MW projects. The other winners of smaller projects, ranging from 1 MW to 7.6 MW, were ZE Energy, Valorem, Entech, Neoen, Aloe Energy, and Innergex.

Employee engagement: Tips to retain top talent at your solar company

By the Omnia Group When moving to solar power, your customers are making a huge investment and changing the way they think about energy. Plus, there are many factors for them to consider when buying solar panels such as roof space, mounting, type of panel, inverter efficiency and product warranties. Thankfully, maintenance is low and…

The post Employee engagement: Tips to retain top talent at your solar company appeared first on Solar Power World.

EMC to work with Corning’s flexible Willow Glass for printed perovskite solar cells

American solar innovation company Energy Materials Corporation (EMC) signed a joint development agreement (JDA) with Corning Inc. Working together, the companies are focused on bringing low-cost, high-performance perovskite solar photovoltaic panels and products to the energy industry. The JDA focuses both companies’ respective industry leading capabilities using Corning’s flexible Willow Glass as the printing substrate…

The post EMC to work with Corning’s flexible Willow Glass for printed perovskite solar cells appeared first on Solar Power World.

Quantum dot hybrid HTJ cell with 12.82% efficiency

South Korean researchers have developed a hybrid tandem solar cell based on quantum dots and organic bulk heterojunction (BHJ) photoactive materials. They claim that the cell could reach an efficiency rate of around 15% if they continue to reduce energy losses in the quantum dot cell and enhance near-infrared absorption.

Scientists from South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) have developed hybrid tandem solar cells with quantum dots and organic bulk heterojunction (BHJ) photoactive materials, for which they claim to have achieved a conversion efficiency of 12.82%.

This efficiency level is among the highest recorded for single-junction and tandem devices, the research team claimed, while adding that the rate was achieved by optimizing the short-circuit current density balance of each sub‐cell. The achieved efficiency is also higher than that of each single-junction device, which is 11.17% for the quantum dot device and 11.02% for the organic BHJ device.

They said that the organic bulk heterojunction photoactive materials with which the cell was hybridized are designed to compensate for the external quantum efficiency (EQE) loss in the near-infrared (NIR) region. “The NIR-absorbing organic BHJ devices were employed as the back sub-cells to harvest the transmitted NIR photons from the CQD front sub-cells,” they explained.

Although quantum dots are good at absorbing light in the NIR, they may not be able to absorb light in all of the cell areas, the researchers said.

“This study suggests a potential route to improve the performance of CQDPVs by proper hybridization with NIR-absorbing photoactive materials,” they said, noting that they are convinced that the new cell could reach an efficiency rate of around 15% if they continue to reduce energy loss in the quantum dot cell and enhance NIR absorption.

The research team manufactured the cell through a simple production process and at room temperature. It exhibited almost negligible degradation after air storage for three months, they noted. The cell is described in the study Efficient Hybrid Tandem Solar Cells Based on Optical Reinforcement of Colloidal Quantum Dots with Organic Bulk Heterojunctions, published in Advanced Energy Materials.

This is your SolarWakeup for February 28th, 2020

Friday Rundown.Big news on the rundown today, moving parts all over the Country in markets and issues within supply chains and DC. It’s always helpful to read what public companies are saying to get a grip of the market and risks around our market. Now that Sunrun, Enphase, Solaredge, SunPower and Sunnova have reported, take the weekend to read some filings..
.
Have A Great Weekend!

Opinion

Post and Courier: Editorial – SC needs more solar energy, don’t let Dominion delay it

Best, Yann

The post This is your SolarWakeup for February 28th, 2020 appeared first on SolarWakeup.com.

Integrating stress and temperature sensors in crystalline silicon cells

Fraunhofer ISE researchers have integrated stress and temperature sensors within a PV module. They claim that the devices cover a very minimal part of the cells, and that their interaction with the module and the cell itself is quite limited. The sensors can be manufactured as part of a regular cell manufacturing process.

A research team from Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE are developing ways to integrate stress and temperature sensors into crystalline solar cell wafers, in order to achieve direct and continuous measurement in conventional PV module setups.

The scientists explained that the tested sensors cover a very minimal part of the cell, and that their interaction with the module and the cell itself is quite limited. The sensors can be produced through a regular solar cell manufacturing process, they claimed, and can be applied to both the front and back sides of the cells.

“Also, existing solar cell production lines could be modified for the sensor implementation,” they wrote in Silicon solar cell–integrated stress and temperature sensors for photovoltaic modules, published in Progress in Photovoltaics.

The research team said that the stress sensor is piezoresistive, which means that it is able to respond to externally induced mechanical stress through changes in its electrical resistance. The device was applied to float zone solar cell wafers made of p‐type monocrystalline silicon. “The stress sensor is realized as a rectangular piezoresistive resistor using high local n‐doping by ion implantation and subsequent silver metallization,” the researchers said.

The sensor was laminated using a conventional PV module setup, with a 14.7×10.5‐cm² and 1‐mm thin glass, ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) film, and a Tedlar Polyester Tedlar (TPT) backsheet.

The process to embed the temperature sensor followed the same proceedings for the metallization that were adopted for the stress sensor. The researchers defined the process as common practice for the contact formation of high‐efficiency solar cells.

The integration of the sensors was tested with six different designs. “All designs resolve the stress in the test specimens and have sensitivities in the range between −45 and −65%/grade point average (GPA),” the scientists stated. “The module integration of this design shows that the sensors are capable of measuring the stress in laminated solar cells.”

The laminated sensors showed good stability in 145 temperature cycles from −35°C to +85°C, the research team said. They added that the devices are only being used for R&D purposes, and that the path to commercialization will require further research.

Australia’s AEMC rejects new rule for calculating transmission losses

The Australian network regulator has ignored pleas from some of the biggest solar and wind project owners in Australia to change the way marginal loss factors (MLFs) are calculated. While it has acknowledged that transmission has failed to keep pace with renewable energy investment, it did not offer any suggestions on what should be done to ameliorate the problem.

From pv magazine Australia

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has rejected a request to change how transmission losses are calculated. much to the disappointment of large-scale renewable energy investors. Coupled with connection delays and extra firming required by regulators, worsening transmission losses – known as marginal loss factors (MLFs) – have been a major hurdle for wind and solar developers in Australia.

The consultations on changes to MLFs were opened in June 2019 on the request of Adani Renewables, which proposed the allocation of intraregional settlement residues (IRSRs). Other big investors later backed the Indian developer’s proposal to move to average loss factors (ALFs), arguing that the new system would simplify the way transmission losses are calculated and increase certainty by averaging out losses instead of applying them based on the circumstances of individual generators.

The AEMC rejected the proposal on Thursday. It justified its decision as a way to protect consumers from bearing the cost of electricity losses. This came as no surprise, given the AEMC’s draft determination in November, which described ALFs as a wealth transfer from customers to generators, and said that it dampened signals to build assets in good locations. “Consumers shouldn’t have the cost of individual business decisions simply transferred to them,” AEMC Chairman John Pierce said.

What is not mentioned, however, is that the businesses are solely responsible for building the new generation, which is reducing the nation’s supply shortfall and driving down wholesale prices. In return, they expect fair market conditions without the risk of MLFs hurting their revenues by 10% to 20%, which may come as a result of the decisions of other generators to join the same part of the grid.

No options

But the AEMC said on Thursday that there is no need to create new rules to help accommodate the influx of renewable generation in the grid. The network regulator said that it agreed that volatility and uncertainty are affecting the investment environment, but it disagreed on the reason. It said that worsening MLFs are just a symptom of the rapid energy transition of the National Electricity Market (NEM).

“The rapid pace of renewable investment has meant that generation has got ahead of transmission,” Pierce said. “Changing to ALFs could increase total losses, which means more electricity needs to be generated to meet consumer demand. It could also increase wholesale energy prices and overall make the operation of the NEM less efficient.”

A group of 25 leading renewable energy investors known as the Clean Energy Investment Group –representing investments of more than 6.5 GW of installed capacity and a development pipeline in excess of 10 GW, including names such as John Laing, Total Eren, Innogy, BlackRock and Neoen – said the AEMC decision was disappointing, but not surprising.

“Sadly, the AEMC blame the volatility of the MLF on the transformation currently underway from thermal to renewable energy,” the group said in a post on LinkedIn. “The decision seems to be all about maintaining the status quo to slow or stop the transformation rather than embracing the transformation and doing everything in their power to ensure it is achieved at the lowest cost to consumers.”

‘Deeply problematic’

According to the Clean Energy Council (CEC), the AEMC decision to retain the existing MLF regime, which is “no longer fit-for-purpose,” will further undermine investor confidence in new clean energy generation. In the past year, the lack of investor confidence has already seen new investment in large-scale renewables collapse by more than 50%, according to data from both the CEC and BloombergNEF.

CEC Chief Executive Kane Thornton said the decision to retain the existing regime did not reflect the needs of the current Australian energy industry.

“While industry welcomes debate and analysis of alternative reforms, simply retaining the current regime is deeply problematic and undermines the energy transition underway in Australia,” Thornton said. “We had expected that the AEMC would consider how losses could be shared by generators in a way that presents less volatility and more manageable risk, without increasing consumer costs or ignoring transmission losses.”

According to Thornton, the AEMC has missed an opportunity to think openly and creatively about reforming the currently flawed MLF framework. He said it undertook very little of its own analysis regarding the possible options, to the disappointment of the entire industry.