Tag Archive for: solarenergy

By 2025, BMW Group Plants Dingolfing and Regensburg (both in Bavaria, Germany) will obtain electricity from solar panels on their roofs.

BMW to generate 14 MWp solar energy from Bavarian factory roofs

By 2025, BMW Group Plants Dingolfing and Regensburg (both in Bavaria, Germany) will obtain electricity from solar panels on their roofs. Dingolfing’s rooftop photo-voltaic system, with a capacity of 11.1 MWp, will be one of the most powerful in Germany.

To achieve this objective, the premium automotive manufacturer is renting roof space at its two plant sites in Eastern Bavaria to Sunrock Holding Deutschland GmbH, which will generate electricity using photovoltaics and make it available to the plants under direct supply contracts from 2025 onward.

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Source: New Mobility News

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Tesco Supermarket will buy almost two-thirds of the energy generated by the new £450m Cleve Hill solar park in Kent

Tesco signs deal to buy enough solar energy to power 144 large stores

Tesco has struck a deal to buy enough solar power to run 144 of its large supermarkets, buying almost two-thirds of the entire electricity output from the Cleve Hill solar park in Kent.

The £450m solar park is being built on farmland near Faversham by Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, a London-based firm that invests in renewable and low-carbon energy in the US, UK and Australia.

The site will provide Tesco with up to 10% of its UK electricity demand over 15 years. Tesco said the amount of clean energy generated would be enough to power 144 of its large stores for a year.

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Source: The Guardian

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Researchers from China have designed a novel building-integrated photovoltaics system that integrates a layer of PCM on each side of the wall

Building-integrated photovoltaic system integrating PCM on sides

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Researchers from China have designed a novel building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) system that integrates a layer of phase change material (PCM) on each side of the wall.

Dubbed double-PCM BIPV composite envelope (BIPV-dPCM), the new system was experimentally validated via a numerical model and was compared to reference systems. Per the results, it achieved superior thermoelectric coupling performance compared to all of the other systems.

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Source: PV Magazine

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By 2023, off-grid solar solutions provided electricity to 560M people, needing more investment to help 398 million in energy poverty by 2030.

660 million will lack electricity access by 2030, off-grid solar could provide power for 398 million

By the end of 2023, off-grid solar solutions helped deliver electricity access to 560 million people worldwide, and further investment in the sector will be essential to provide “the most cost-effective” way to provide electricity to around 398 million people, almost 60% of those who are expected to be in energy poverty by 2030.

These are the headline takeaways from a report published by the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) and the Global Association for the off-grid solar energy industry (GOGLA). The study, ‘Off-grid solar market trends report 2024’, finds that the number of people living in energy poverty reached 685 million in 2022, and that, based on current trends, 660 million people will have no access to electricity by the end of the decade.

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Source: PV Tech

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MIT engineers have built a new desalination system that runs with the rhythms of the sun which requires no extra batteries.

Solar-powered desalination system requires no extra batteries

MIT engineers have built a new desalination system that runs with the rhythms of the sun.

The solar-powered system removes salt from water at a pace that closely follows changes in solar energy. As sunlight increases through the day, the system ramps up its desalting process and automatically adjusts to any sudden variation in sunlight, for example by dialing down in response to a passing cloud or revving up as the skies clear.

Because the system can quickly react to subtle changes in sunlight, it maximizes the utility of solar energy, producing large quantities of clean water despite variations in sunlight throughout the day. In contrast to other solar-driven desalination designs, the MIT system requires no extra batteries for energy storage, nor a supplemental power supply, such as from the grid.

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Source: MIT News

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Solar windows generate clean energy while letting in light, aiding the shift from petroleum as the technology matures for widespread use.

It’s happening: See-through solar windows kick fossil energy to the curb

Big Milestone For See-Through Solar Window Firm

Innovators have come up with two main kinds of solutions for see-through solar windows. One consists of a thin solution of photovoltaic particles, which can be coated over window glass. The other involves steering sunlight towards the edges of a pane of glass, where it can be collected by silicon solar cells.

The latest development in the see-through solar window field comes from the Australian firm ClearVue, which has focused on the silicon solar cell pathway. The company has been making some big moves of late, having set up an office in San Jose, California.

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Source: Clean Technica

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As solar grew in CA batteries were added to store excess midday energy and release it during evening peak demand, addressing the "duck curve"

This chart shows how California is massively extending solar use into the evening

As solar energy became a larger and larger portion of California electricity generation, there were rising concerns about the infamous “duck curve.” Solar energy was starting to dominate midday electricity generation, forcing curtailments even, while peak electricity demand in the evening was a tad too late for solar to be helpful.

The core solution, of course, was for batteries to come in and soak up extra midday electricity generation and then disperse it in the evening. Thus, California has installed a lot of battery storage on the grid in the past few years.

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Source: Clean Technica

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Solar energy potential is immense with solar tech improving and costs dropping. Global installations are surging but challenges remain.

Even solar energy’s biggest fans are underestimating it

Every day, the sun’s rays send 173,000 terawatts of energy to Earth continuously, 10,000 times the amount used by all of humanity. Which is to say, the potential for solar energy is immense, and we’re nowhere near the limit.

That’s why solar energy is such an appealing prospect, particularly as an alternative to the fossil fuels that cause climate change. And over the past decade, solar energy technology has vastly improved in performance and plummeted in cost.

As a result, photovoltaic panels have cropped up like dandelions across fields and rooftops at a stunning pace. Yet even the people most plugged-in to the energy industry and most optimistic about solar power continue to underestimate it. In fact, it’s a long-running joke among energy nerds that forecasters keep predicting solar will level off as it continues to rocket up to the sun.

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Source: Vox

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced an expansion of the National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP).

DOE expands programs that increase access to solar energy in disadvantaged communities

At the RE+ clean energy industry conference, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced an expansion of the National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP). The expanded program, now called NCSP+, grows the successful program beyond supporting community solar to include residential and distributed rooftop solar + storage, and commercial solar projects with an emphasis on expanding access to the benefits of affordable clean energy in low-income and disadvantaged communities. This announcement also includes an expansion of the Community Power Accelerator and new work to protect consumers from predatory practices in the rooftop solar industry.

“DOE is committed to ensuring the meaningful benefits of solar energy are available to all Americans, especially those who need it the most,” said Jeff Marootian, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at DOE. “NCSP+ will expand the program’s reach and impact, helping schools, nonprofits, and affordable housing communities unlock access to solar resources and more equitable clean energy options across the nation.”

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Source: Energy.gov

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California Assembly passed a bill allowing schools & apartments to use on-site solar energy directly instead of buying it back from utilities.

Assembly passes legislation to help schools and renters benefit from solar energy

The California Assembly passed legislation on Thursday by a 42:7 vote that would allow schools and apartment buildings to use solar energy they generate on-site, instead of having to buy it back from utilities. SB 1374, authored by state Sen. Josh Becker, would reinstate rights that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) took away from Californians in 2023. Until then, Californian utility customers such as schools could use the solar energy they generate on one electric meter, like their parking lot, to power their separately-metered buildings, making full use of their own energy and avoiding higher utility bills.

California has significant potential to generate more clean electricity from rooftop solar panels; we’ve only taken advantage of about 10% of our state’s rooftop solar potential. Passing this bill will re-incentivize on-site rooftop solar installations, thereby accelerating California’s transition to clean energy and letting schools and renters enjoy the many benefits of solar panels, including less pollution and lower electricity bills.

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Source: Environment California

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