Solar electricity: Stand-alone photovoltaic systems

Wherever a power grid is not or not at reasonable costs available, a stand-alone photovoltaic system can be used to generate the needed electric energy. Examples for such an application are alpine huts or cabins in remote areas, solar-powered water pumps, emergency telephones, but also systems for boats or recreational vehicles (camper vans).

Since the solar modules only produce electric energy during daytime, it is necessary to store energy for the night or for cloudy days. Such storage systems mostly use rechargeable lead batteries, due to their ability to accept with high efficiency both low and high input voltages. A battery regulator prevents overcharging, a load shedding circuit prevents deep discharges. Because of the high differences in energy harvest between winter and summer it is recommended to use hybrid systems for year-round applications. Such can use diesel or biogas generators as well as wind turbines; in most cases they will include a storage battery also.

Picture source: SMART Powersystems.

Picture: Stand-alone photovoltaic system for autonomous electricity supply of a summerhouse or weekend home including a 220Wp PV generator and maintenance free accumulators (100Ah/24V) as well as a 50A charge regulator. The built in inverter supplies 1.200 W continuous power and 3.300W temporary peak power.

The photovoltaic system will provide a battery output voltage of (in most cases) 12 or 24 volts DC. To supply devices which are only available for AC voltages a power inverter can be used.
One of the most important tasks in planning such a stand-alone PV system is to match the prospective energy consumption with the local average solar irradiation, the resulting energy production and the required storage capacity. As a example: A weekend home near Montelimar (France), occupied only during summer, is to supply with electric energy by a PV system. The energy consuming devices are a few (energy-saving or low-voltage halogen) lamps, a small TV, a water pump and a energy-saving refrigerator. Multiplied with the respective power-on time the daily energy demand sums up to about 680 kWh. At this location the daily energy production per 1 kWp module capacity reaches in summer leastwise 4 kWh; so a 0.18-kWp-plant would be fully sufficient, supplemented by a rechargeable battery storage with a capacity of about 280 Ah (at 12 V DC), enough to feed on for about 2.5 days.

Picture source: SMA Technologie AG

Sunlight instead of Oil: stand alone photovoltaic system in the United Arab Emirates. Rural electrification of emerging nations and developing countries is an economically and technical proven application for stand alone PV systems.

Three steps to size a stand-alone photovoltaic system

Some preliminaries: Generally one should utilize only power-saving devices to be fed by a stand-alone PV system. Additionally, by utilizing devices operating at 12 or 24 V DC (since PV systems provide originally DC voltage) some conversion losses can be avoided.

Step 1: Estimating the daily energy consumption:

Picture source: Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DB)

For every device multiply the power input (measured in Watt) with the hours of power-on time. Sum up the results and add some buffer (depending on the uncertainty of your forecast).Since the consumption will differ with the season, you should calculate this independently for summer and winter season (at least).

The PV system of the "Rabenkopf" cabin in the Bavarian Alps nearly replaces a diesel generator for electricity production Picture Source: Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DB)

Step 2: Determine the size (energy output) of the PV system:

The averaged daily energy yield by the PV system should be sufficient to cover the daily consumption (calculated per season, since between summer and winter the »harvest« differs widely).

To forecast the daily energy yield we need data about the daily irradiance at the location of the PV modules. Such data is available from different sources at the web (e.g. http://www.nrel.gov/ for the USA or http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/ for Europe and Africa). To get the energy yield provided by the PV system the radiation (measured in kWh/m2/day) has to be multiplied with the module capacity (nominal output, given in Kilowatt Peak, kWp) and the result corrected by factors including the deviation of the optimal orientation and inclination of the modules. (Some of the sources named above offer such pre-calculated and corrected data, too.)

Now we have to discount the transmission losses caused by the electrical resistance in the cables and during the charging/discharging process of the rechargeable battery storage. Such losses can typically sum up to about 24%.

For instance: A PV system near Cambridge (UK), providing 1 kWp nominal output, would generate 3.6 kWh of electrical power per day on average in July. So it could meet a consumption of about 3.6 * 0.76 = 2.7 kWh/day. However, to plan our PV system, we will use the month with the least irradiation of the season as base – in a summer at Cambridge this would be the September (2.7*0.76 = 2.05 kWh/day), in the winter the December (0.7*0.76 = 0.5 kWh/day).

So, if we need only about 500 Wh per day, this system would suffice even for the winter season – but it could produce four times our needs in summer and would be totally oversized for more than half of the year. If we use the facility only in summer, a system with 0.5/2.05 = 0.24 kWp (consumption divided by production per kWp installed nominal output) would be fully sufficient. It would therefore be economically advisable to install an hybrid system including a PV system of about 0.25 to 0.3 kWp and an additional generator to bridge the winter season.

Step 3: Dimensioning the storage capacity

Since the PV system generates electricity when the sun is shining, which is in many cases not the time we need the energy, we use rechargeable batteries to store electrical energy. The capacity of such batteries is measured in ampere-hours (Ah). If we divide the assumed consumption per day (in Wh) by the output voltage (in V DC) of the storage system (mostly 12 V DC or 24 V DC, depending on the interconnection of the batteries), we get the capacity we need to bridge one day, e.g. with a daily consumption rate of 0.5 kWh: 500Wh/12V = 41.7 Ah.To avoid damages by deep discharge, we should double this value to 84 Ah per day. If the facility is used only in summer, we calculate 2.5 days at max to bridge, resulting in a total capacity of about 210 Ah; in winter we have to calculate with up to 5 days to bridge, so the total capacity would be 420 Ah.

source: http://www.solarserver.com

Intersolar North America expands conference offerings, off-site tours, networking opportunities

 

Intersolar North America, the most attended solar industry exhibition and conference dedicated to the North American market, will feature an expanded conference program, including four conference tracks and access to the co-located ASES conference SOLAR 2016.

Over the course of three days, conference speakers will discuss the key technologies in the areas of solar and energy storage, financial tools and legislative actions driving the North American solar market, and the solar industry’s worldwide growth.

The event will be held July 11–13 at the InterContinental Hotel in San Francisco, and program registration is now available online. In honor of Intersolar’s 25^th anniversary, a 25 percent discount is available on all conference registrations until May 6^th.

With more than 200 reputable solar executives confirmed to speak, attendees will learn about the new technologies and financing options innovating and improving the North American solar energy market, as well as the drivers behind the global expansion of solar. Confirmed program tracks include:

• Markets, which includes sessions on global PV markets, such as “Emerging Markets Across the Americas: Mexico / Chile / Brazil”, “A Sustained Boom Across North America?”, “Asia’s Support Policies,” and “Net Metering: Present and Future”, among other sessions, including Asset Management Sessions and the popular Growth Company Forum.
  
• PV Technologies, which includes panels such as “Crystalline Silicon PV: Addressing the Future”, “PV Plants: Design, Reliability and Monitoring”, “Balance of Systems: Inverter – the Pacemaker of PV Power Plants”, and “The Future of PV: Executive Panel”.
  
• Smart Renewable Energy, which will feature the sessions “Building a Smarter Grid”, “Grid Structure & Big Data”, and “State Approaches to Distributed Energy Sources”.
  
• Finance, which will offer discussions like “Improving the Bankability and Investability of Solar”, “Smart Energy Asset Management”, and “Advanced Topics for New Business Models and Operations”.   

Several conference sessions, such as “The Future of PV: Executive Panel” and “Hot Spots of the U.S. Storage Market” will cover the broad policy, financing and technical trends shaping the solar and energy storage industry.

Intersolar North America organizers drew on the input and expertise of its roster of conference partners to develop this year’s program. This year’s partners are the California Solar Energy Industries Association (CALSEIA), American Solar Energy Society (ASES), Fraunhofer ISE, Greencity Freiburg, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), Joint Forces for Solar, NAATBatt International, the North California Solar Energy Association (NorCal Solar), Solar Energy International, NABCEP and the Sunspec Alliance.

Key information on the rapidly evolving U.S. solar market

“Year after year, Intersolar is a major event for North America’s solar industry. CALSEIA is proud to partner with Intersolar event organizer to bring the latest news on financing, net metering and smart grid technologies to this international stage,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of CALSEIA. 

“We have designed sessions at Intersolar 2016 to provide attendees with key information to help them master the rapidly evolving U.S. solar market.”

Private Tesla factory tours

Additionally, due to popular demand, Intersolar North America has expanded the number of its special events and site tours. These events provide valuable networking opportunities, in addition to showcasing landmark Bay Area solar installations, as well as some of the companies moving the solar and energy storage industry forward.

Attendees can register for private Tesla factory tours, tours of San Francisco solar sites, a SF Bay Area sailing tour, and a trip to a solar-powered winery, which benefit CALSEIA and NorCal Solar. New this year is the Sol Systems Run for the Sun, a 5k benefitting CALSEIA.

A full schedule for the Intersolar North America conference program, including off-site events, is available online.

Registration for the Intersolar and ees North America conferences brings added value this year in the form of access to the co-located SOLAR 2016. All Intersolar and ees conference attendees (either the full three-day package or one-day ticket) can gain access to concurrent tracks at the other event free of charge.

ees North America upgraded from a program track to a standalone event

After a successful debut at last year’s Intersolar 2015, where conference panels drew standing-room only crowds, ees North America has been upgraded from a program track to a standalone event. ees North America’s 2016 program tracks, curated with NAATBatt and other industry partners, will discuss emerging policies promoting adoption of renewable energy solutions and showcase the latest energy storage and management technologies.

“This year’s ees program includes an inside look at the energy storage technologies transforming our relationship with solar energy,” said James Greenberger, executive director of NAATBatt International.

“From financing to applications, panels at ees in 2016 will share how developers can maximize profits with innovative energy storage solutions.”

Additionally, Intersolar is proud to announce that the 2016 conference will also be held in conjunction with the American Solar Energy Society’s (ASES) SOLAR 2016.

ASES SOLAR 2016 will discuss the advancement of renewable energy in the United States, and share cutting-edge research contributing to the advancement of the PV, solar thermal, and energy storage industries. The powerhouse combination of Intersolar North America, ees North America, and SOLAR 2016 will provide attendees with the most comprehensive overview of factors driving solar industry growth.

All registered conference attendees are also welcome to attend the opening ceremony and welcome reception of Intersolar North America on Monday, July 11^st, 2016.

source: http://www.solarserver.com

Business and Investment Opportunities in India’s new Solar Rooftop Market

 

Business and Investment Opportunities in India’s new Solar Rooftop Market

from 2016-06-23 to 2016-06-23
14:00-17:30

ICM Hall 21
Messe München Messegelände
81823 Munich
Germany
Tel.: +49 30 33 84 24 462
Fax: +49 30 33 84 24 22 462

Further Information

The Indo-German Energy Forum Support Office implemented by GIZ and KfW invites you to participate in the upcoming Indo-German Energy Dialogue on “Business and Investment Opportunities in India’s new Solar Rooftop Market” on June 23 at
Intersolar Europe. The Indo-German Energy Forum is one of the bilateral energy partnerships of the German government under the lead of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi).

With 40 GW of grid connected solar rooftop installations as part of India's overall solar target of 100 GW by 2022, grid-connected solar rooftop but also off-grid applications are considered to have an enormous development in the upcoming years. In 2015 more than 3 GW PV capacity has been added in India. The annual growth rate of the market is higher than 80 % per year. As per the last renewable energy country attractiveness index by Ernst and Young, India is now rated the 3rd most attractive market in solar energy worldwide.

Which rooftop market segments will boost within the next 5 years? Which new business opportunities will come up with as much as 30 % of grid connected rooftop investment costs being eligible for public funding? This Indo-German dialogue focuses on upcoming business models for solar rooftop, financing possibilities and public support schemes as well as trends in self consumption. Well-known market players will share up to date sector insights directly from the market.
source: http://www.solarserver.com

Brazil’s new legislation to foster investment in distributed solar

 


Brazil has made international headlines on political and economic issues lately, most of which did not paint a rosy picture of the country’s current situation. Nonetheless, development of the solar sector is on a promising path, with the successful execution of several large-scale PV auctions and increasing interest from industry players to set up a local value chain. The much touted small-scale distributed generation (DG) PV segment, however, is still struggling to meet growth expectations. Brazil has recently introduced new legislative measures to stimulate the DG segment, yet will these provide the remedy the market needs?

This article explains the structural reasons for the slower than expected market development and examines the effectiveness of the government’s newly introduced legislation to stimulate demand for solar DG systems.

Falling short of expectations

Much promise has long been attributed to the small-scale DG PV sector. Since the introduction of a net-metering scheme in 2012, policy makers and stakeholders from the PV sector have been emphasizing its huge potential. Indeed, as we outlined in a previous newsletter article from August 25, 2014, many preconditions for the healthy development of a self-sustaining residential and commercial PV segment under a net-metering scheme can be found in Brazil, and the market is undoubtedly attractive in terms of size.

Demand for distributed solar systems, however, has fallen short of expectations until now. Recent figures put the total installed capacity registered for net-metering at 27.15 MW from a total of ~2,500 PV systems. As a comparison, the Federal Government in Brazil is planning 1,593 GWh of electricity from small-scale DG by 2024, equivalent to ~1 GW of installed PV power.

So why has DG failed so far to live up to its promised potential?

Interest rates render investment in solar unattractive

As investments are driven chiefly by expected financial returns, the conclusion is simple that DG solar investments in Brazil are not economically attractive – mainly due to the high interest rates investors need to pay for a loan to finance such systems. In our article from August 2014, we outlined that an annual debt interest rate of ~12% on a long-term loan would be required to attract investment in solar systems from a meaningful share of private and commercial customers. Brazil’s Central Bank, however, recorded annual interest rates averaging 35.7% for private and 19.5% for commercial borrowers in 2015. If directed (subsidized) lending is excluded from this view, these rates climb to 59% and 28% respectively. In fact, the likelihood is high that investors will not find a lender for a loan with a 15 or 20 year tenure at all.

Solar systems are not per se a high risk asset class (indeed, rather the contrary), and best practices for evaluation and disbursement of debt have become mainstream in many countries over the past years. So why are interest rates in Brazil so prohibitively high and loans so difficult to access?

Typically, high interest rates are driven by a high default rate, a perception of high macroeconomic and political risks and high inflation. Arguably, Brazil cannot match the leading global economies in any of these indicators. But neither is its performance sufficiently bad to fully explain the magnitude of interest rates.

Figure 1: Comparison of interest rates in Brazil, the USA and the EU

Figure 1 shows an example comparison of interest rates for loans in the USA, the EU and Brazil. Apart from the much higher interbank offered rate (IR) at which banks access their funds, the figures show that the banking spread from the interbank rate to the final interest rate is dramatically higher in Brazil than in the USA or the EU. The World Bank found a number of reasons for this, e.g., the amplifying effect of a high central rate, but also an ineffective judicial framework for contract enforcement, high indirect taxation of the banking system, higher than average operational costs and the detrimental effect of high reserve requirements for banks.

All of these reasons are symptoms of a poorly developed and inefficient financial sector that will most likely not be solved in the short-term. The tight corset of Brazil’s banking sector policy and legislation increases short and mid-term interest rates; for commercial credits with duration longer than ten years, there is no liquid market at all.

Consequently, the country has resorted to funding required infrastructure, housing and similar long-term investment projects through directed lending at subsidized rates.

Directed lending for specific sectors or investments occurs mostly through BNDES or Caixa Economica and showed much lower annual interest rates of 9–10% in 2015. In fact, the high share of subsidized directed lending is another factor driving interest rates for non-directed loans. Nonetheless, this source of finance currently is the only means to render most long-term investment projects viable at all. Unfortunately, loans from BNDES are hardly accessible to small-scale solar customers since these (a) are restricted to companies, (b) have fairly high minimum lending amounts and (c) are subject to strict lending terms. Furthermore, a minimum of locally produced components is typically required such as the PV modules, which are currently not available at competitive prices in Brazil. Financing options from Caixa Economica, such as the ConstruCard, are more accessible, but interest rates are in the order of 15–20% p.a. and thus much less attractive.

Measures by the government are helpful, but do not solve the core problem

To encourage investment in DG solar, the government in recent months introduced a range of measures at the state and federal level. Tax exemptions are now a reality in many states for DG PV power; substantial adjustments to the original net-metering legislation came into effect on March 1, 2016. In November last year, the government also unveiled its “ProDG” incentive program for distributed generation that comprises several instruments to further stimulate demand.

The question is whether these changes will suffice to attract more investment from private and commercial customers. As outlined above, until now the lack of financial attractiveness has been the main reason for the sluggish adoption of DG solar. Measures to stimulate the sector should thus be mainly directed at improving investors’ bottom lines. The following tables examine the latest legislative initiatives and assess their suitability and effectiveness in stimulating demand for DG.

Tax exemptions

Overhaul of net-metering legislation

ProDG initiative

All of these measures mean positive news for the distributed generation sector, however, they are likely not sufficient. While many of them are effective in increasing the total market size, customer base or system capacity, they fail to clear the financial roadblocks that have been hindering faster development of DG solar in Brazil – access to long-term lending at an acceptable cost and lower solar system costs. Lowering taxes and charges on net-metered electricity to improve the financial attractiveness of solar electricity is a step in the right direction, but likely not enough to tip the financial balance. Under the umbrella of the ProDG initiative, a working group has been created to identify means for improved credit access, yet has not delivered tangible results so far.

Consequently, investments in distributed solar systems are unlikely to become financially compelling for a broad share of potential investors as a result of the new regulation. The introduced measures are well suited to expand the market reach of DG solar in principle, but will only achieve its full impact once economic viability has been attained. A true leap forward for the DG segment would be to provide the target group for DG solar with access to long-term loans at acceptable interest rates.

What industry can do

In the short-term, the evolution of a mature financial sector with efficient long-term lending in Brazil is unrealistic. Hence, if the government is serious about its deployment targets, it should consider making existing BNDES credit conditions available also to home owners, small and medium commercial enterprises and other potential investors.

Unfortunately for players in Brazil’s solar industry, the ability to directly influence debt interest rates is limited. But it’s not all bad news, there are some actions that solar industry players can take, in addition to continuous communication with the authorities in Brasília, e.g., to prepare the ground for an effective disbursement of debt once conditions improve. Here are some examples:

-  Develop business models and solar products eligible to access available BNDES funding (e.g., through consortia)

-  Liaise with the financial sector and raise awareness for the low risk profile and securitization measures for solar systems

-  Cooperate with utilities, mobile phone providers and credit card companies to develop a quick and cost-effective process for the evaluation of creditworthiness of solar loan applicants

-  Work with commercial banks to standardize loan application and disbursement processes

Ironically, the largest incentive for the distributed sector in Brazil may have inadvertently come from the government via the substantial hike in electricity prices set by the federal regulatory body. Tariff increases of ~50% for residential and commercial customers make investments in solar self-generation much more attractive and will probably be the main driver of growth for the distributed solar segment in Brazil. To tap the true potential of distributed solar, however, solving the financing puzzle is the key.

source: http://www.solarserver.com

IHS: North American solar PV tracker market increased by 135% in 2015; NEXTracker became #1 supplier

 

The solar photovoltaic (PV) tracker market in North America increased by 135 percent year over year to reach 5.5 gigawatt (GW) shipments in 2015, according to IHS Inc. (Englewood, Colorado, U.S.).

Raising its market share by 22 percentage points over 2014, NEXTracker Inc. (Fremont, California, U.S.) moved ahead of Array Technologies, becoming the leading supplier of PV trackers last year.

Despite Array Technologies (ATI, Albuquerque, NM, U.S.) dropping to second place in the rankings, the company increased its market share and continued to increase unit shipments by a factor of 2.5.

“Leading module producers like First Solar and SunPower remained in the top five rankings in 2015, thanks to their large ground-mount utility-scale pipeline,” said Camron Barati, North America solar analyst for IHS Technology.

“SunPower’s market share loss can be attributed to lumpiness of the company’s utility-scale development business, which greatly affected its single-axis tracker shipments.”

Because of its involvement in the large OCI Solar Power PV project in Texas, Sun Action Trackers was the only leading dual-axis tracker supplier to enter the top-five ranking in 2015. However, in response to the rapid adoption of single-axis trackers, the company also released a single-axis tracker in 2015.

New entrants in the PV tracker market are anticipated to intensify competition

While the single-axis PV tracker market in North America consolidated in 2015 with the top five suppliers accounting for more than 90 percent of the market, new entrants are anticipated and industry competition is forecast to intensify in 2016.

SunLink, GameChange Solar, Solar Flexrack, Shoals and other leading suppliers in the fixed-tilt market launched or updated single-axis trackers last year.

“Although the North American tracker market has traditionally been dominated by U.S. suppliers such as NEXTracker and Array Technologies, European suppliers including Exosun, Clavijo, Ideematec, Soltec and Optimum Tracker are also active and continuing to expand, which is adding some price pressure to the market,” Barati said.

ITC extension gives suppliers a clear roadmap for utility-scale development in the United States

Due to this explosive growth in the North American tracker market, further mergers and acquisitions are expected in 2016 and 2017, as leading engineering, procurement and construction companies seek to become more vertically integrated, and as other balance of system and component suppliers seek to gain access to this fast-growing segment.

Further adding to this growth is the extension to the U.S. investment tax credit (ITC), which gives suppliers a clear roadmap for utility-scale development with full ITC support in the United States until 2020. 

source: http://www.solarserver.com

Recurrent Energy founder, former CEO Arno Harris joins Azure Power's Board of Directors

 

Solar power company Azure Power (New Delhi, India) on May 17^th, 2016 announced the appointment of Arno Harris, former founder, CEO and chairman of Recurrent Energy, one of North America's leading utility-scale solar PV project developers, as an independent director.

Arno Harris comes on board with over 15 years of experience in the solar sector and has helped the industry make the transition to mainstream energy markets. This includes his term as the Founder, CEO and Chairman of Recurrent Energy where he grew annual revenues to USD 1.4 billion, booked over 1.5 GW of utility contracts and built a leadership team widely respected as one of the 'industry's best'.

“We are pleased to welcome Arno as the new board director at Azure Power,” comments Inderpreet Wadhwa, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Azure Power.

“Arno is an industry veteran and his solid reputation for disciplined execution will help Azure Power in its next phase of growth with greater fiscal discipline and governance.”

Commenting on his appointment, Arno Harris added: “Azure Power is an established leader in the solar industry in India and it gives me immense pleasure to join its esteemed board. Azure offers an attractive value proposition for Indian solar power customers by utilizing the best technology with unmatched execution expertise and experience.” 

source: http://www.solarserver.com

NEXTracker receives FINAME certification for solar PV trackers in Brazil

 

NEXTracker (Fremont, California, U.S.), a Flex company, on May 18^th, 2016 announced that it has achieved FINAME accreditation in Brazil which will enable the Company to deliver its advanced solar PV trackers to Brazilian projects under attractive financing arrangements.

FINAME accreditation, granted by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), indicates that a company has produced a product that is compliant with BNDES local content and local manufacturing processes criteria.

FINAME facilitates financing under special terms and conditions, enabling project developers to access local development bank credit lines.

With a growing Brazil presence, NEXTracker, co-located with Flex’s manufacturing center in Sorocaba, São Paulo – and supported by over 9,000 Brazilian Flex employees – is well positioned to supply its advanced NX Horizon trackers to solar developers and engineering, procurement and construction firms (EPCs) throughout Brazil.

Tracker materials produced locally include, besides key structural items, NEXTracker’s advanced self-powered controller, manufactured and tested at Flex.

“NEXTracker is thrilled to receive FINAME accreditation. Combined with our local sales and operations, this solidifies our ability to deliver significant volumes of our advanced solar trackers in Brazil,” said NEXTracker CEO Dan Shugar.

“Brazil represents a boundless new frontier for solar deployment. In addition to serving this important market, we’re delighted to be contributing to the Brazilian economy by adding new, high-quality solar jobs.”

Brazil aims at 7 GW of installed PV capacity by 2024

Brazil’s federal energy planning authority (EPE) recently doubled its forecast for installed photovoltaic capacity to 7 GW by 2024, owing to the country’s initial solar auction results.

BNDES’ FINAME accreditation encourages companies to service the region with local products, which creates more availability and scalability for parts inventory and technical support.   

source:http://www.solarserver.com