Solarletter #2_EN - Intersolar Europe 2023, world’s leading solar exhibition
Also: Exiom is building a module factory in Asturias, the largest self-consumption facility with 100 MW will be constructed in Cartagena, and the evolution of wind and solar energy since the year 2000
Please note that text below has been translated from the spanish version by using AI
Hello everyone and welcome back to Solarletter. My name is Imanol Matanza, and I aim to share with you the latest news, technological advancements, and trends in the field of photovoltaic energy. Through Solarletter, I hope to provide you with valuable information, market analysis, state-of-the-art updates, and practical tips that will help you stay informed about the latest developments in the photovoltaic industry.
I am always open to suggestions, questions, and comments, so please feel free to contact me. If you like it, don't hesitate to subscribe and share!
After successfully automating the blinds in my house, let us move on to the newsletter of news!
Intersolar Europe 2023
As many of you may already know, last week one of the largest trade fairs in the world took place, Intersolar Europe 2023 (from June 14th to 16th). With around 2,800 exhibitors and 95,000 visitors, it is one of the most important events worldwide.
This year, I was there again and had the opportunity to see how the different companies in the market are performing. Undoubtedly, the largest booths belonged to Asian manufacturers of photovoltaic panels and solar inverters, but there were also certain market trends that caught my attention. Here are the ones that stood out for me:
More and more manufacturers are venturing into battery production. This includes both new companies that exclusively manufacture batteries and companies that come from the manufacturing of other photovoltaic components. As renewable penetration increases, the need for energy storage in installations will also grow.
Module producers showcased their new products, but it seems that there is a growing trend towards bifacial modules and power outputs exceeding 500 W (or even more).
Regarding bifacial modules, there is an increasing presence of structures that allow for the continued use of agricultural land (commonly known as "Agri-PV" or "Agrivoltaics"). I'll leave an article from Fraunhofer ISE if you want to delve deeper into the topic.
Tracker standards seem to be leaning towards 1P and 2P models (with "P" standing for "Portrait," referring to one or two vertical modules).
String inverters are becoming increasingly powerful (if I am not mistaken, the largest ones are from Sungrow with 352 kVA and Huawei with 330 kVA), although central inverters remain equally competitive. On the other hand, it seems that Western producers are falling behind in the race and prefer to leave utility-scale projects to the Asian companies, focusing instead on private and Commercial & Industrial (C&I) self-consumptions.
Certainly, I did not have enough time to thoroughly investigate, and I am probably leaving out many things. It is not due to a lack of interest, but the size of the event calls for bringing an electric scooter for the next edition. And what about you? Can you think of anything else that could be added to the list?
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New Exiom factory in Asturias
Exiom Solution S.A. is a manufacturer of photovoltaic panels. Up until now, everything is normal. However, what is relevant is that a week ago, they shared a post on LinkedIn, where they showcased their preparations for a factory here in Europe (specifically in Asturias, Spain). This factory is expected to have an annual production capacity of 500 MW. What I'm not sure about is whether they will handle the entire assembly chain or just the panel assembly.
This news has prompted me to investigate further into the current production capacity of photovoltaic panels in different regions of the world. The production superiority of China is truly overwhelming. Below, I have included a graph from 2021, obtained from an article by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
With the conflict in Ukraine, it has become evident that foreign energy dependencies are not advisable. Could we be witnessing the first steps of the industry returning to European soil? I am sure I will revisit this topic in future editions because it certainly provides a lot to discuss.
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La mayor instalación de autoconsumo de Europa estará en Cartagena
Another piece of news that I came across through Energías Renovables is that the Saudi Arabian multinational SABIC has just announced that they will be building the largest self-consumption facility in Europe at one of their industrial complexes in Cartagena, Spain.
Once completed, the facility, which already has the construction permit, will have a power capacity of 100 MW, and they aim to reduce the carbon footprint of part of their production process. Iberdrola will be responsible for its construction, and they have signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the next 25 years.
Undoubtedly, on-site photovoltaic generation helps reduce electrical losses in the grid, partially decarbonizes the manufacturing process, and probably reduces production costs.
What I am unaware of or have not been able to find is whether the installation will serve solely to provide electricity or if they are considering the possibility of generating green hydrogen for some of their plastic manufacturing processes (I am unaware of potential applications of green hydrogen in that sector).
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Wind and solar globally on the rise
The other day, RWE CEO Markus Krebber shared a post on his LinkedIn profile featuring an interactive graph showcasing the evolution of the percentage of electricity production in different countries worldwide from 2000 to 2022. It was definitely interesting, and I'll provide it below:
In the first edition of Solarletter #1, we already shared the strong penetration of photovoltaics in electricity generation across different countries. This time, the historical evolution of photovoltaics is presented alongside wind energy. And wind power is also celebrating, as Sergio Fernandez tells us in Windletter #45 (sadly it is just available in spanish, so you will need to push him to translate it into english), wind energy has reached 1,000 GW of installed capacity. This milestone was reached by photovoltaics in 2022.
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Edition´s microtip
And to conclude this second edition, let us move on to the next mini-tip. Last week, we talked about how temperature negatively affects almost all components of a solar installation (inverters, panels, modules, etc.). This time, let us focus on thermography. I often come across misconceptions or incorrect beliefs due to a lack of information. Here are some that caught my attention:
"When the photovoltaic string is operating, the panels heat up more." This is incorrect because it is actually when the panels are not functioning that some of the energy is not converted into electricity and instead remains as heat.
Incorrect temperature readings can occur when comparing color palettes between the same components (provided they have the same material and color). The value given by the thermal camera is often inaccurate. The reading will be more accurate with higher emissivity factors. (I will leave a video below that helped me understand this concept).
When conducting a proper fault search, it is important to consider the time (especially irradiation) and the operating point of the MPPt (Maximum Power Point tracking) of the inverter. Sometimes, different temperatures between strings do not indicate that they are out of service; it simply means that the different MPPts of the inverter are operating at different points (which is often the case when the equipment reaches its nominal power).
For more information, you can always refer to the IEC-62446-3 standard or even the following article by Sitemark, where they explain it in more detail.
I am sure you can come up with more misconceptions or tips. Feel free to share them in the comments!
That concludes the second edition. I hope you enjoyed and it made your coffee break, public transportation ride, or nap more enjoyable. If you have any suggestions, recommendations, or comments, feel free to reply to this email.
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Sunny Regards!