FuturENERGY Dec.19 - Jan. 2020
Another year on, CSP plants in Spain have continued to demonstrate their reliability, achieving peak contributions of around 10%. During the summer months they usually supply more than 7% during a large part of the day, with synchronous generation and the provision of mechanical inertia to strengthen the system’s stability… By Luis Crespo. Chair of Protermosolar.
Australia’s growing battery storage industry has prompted the update of battery rules. From June to July Growatt will join a number of senior industry experts in New Battery Rules Training Workshops held by Australia’s SEC (Smart Energy Council) and present its smart solar storage solutions to the audience. PV and battery installers, designers, electricians and sales representatives are coming together for training on battery installations, system configurations and storage solutions.
Growatt provides a wide range of solar storage solutions for customers. Growatt SPH single-phase and three-phase hybrid inverters can work at both on-grid and off-grid modes, and they are also compatible with a variety of lithium batteries. For existing solar system, owner can choose to retrofit the system with Growatt SPA single-phase or three-phase inverter and turn it into energy storage system.
Yet, that’s not all. At the event in Melbourne on June 27, Growatt product manager Rex Wang introduced a neat storage ready inverter, TL-XH. The inverter works with low voltage battery and is perfect for home owners who are looking to convert their rooftop PV systems into solar storage systems in the future. What makes it more special is its smart storage management system. With the system, Growatt can gather real-time battery data, including cycle number, cell information, voltage and current of each battery cell. Customers can read the electricity generation, battery status, power consumption on Growatt OSS(Online Smart Service) platform. This data can also help service engineers quickly analyze and diagnose the system and locate faulty part in case of a system failure.
Furthermore, Growatt has been developing and testing its Smart Home Energy Management System that will maximize energy production and optimize power consumption of your solar storage system according to your system location, power consumption habits, etc. In addition, grid operators can access Growatt storage system and integrate the system into the “Micro Grid” to enhance grid stability.
For better customer experience, Growatt offers battery, inverter and accessories as a package. Customers can avoid the hassle reaching out to both inverter and battery manufacturers in case there’re system issues. With extraordinary products and services Growatt has become the World Top 3 Single-Phase PV Inverter Supplier by 2018 according to IHS Markit. Globally, Growatt shipped a total capacity of more than 3.3 GW inverters in 2018 and the number is expected to reach 4 GW this year.
Source: Growatt
The consortium, made up of the French Electric Company EDF, the Masdar Company from Abu Dhabi and the Moroccan Company Green of Africa, have chosen TSK for the design and construction of this innovative solar plant, with an investment of over 700 million Euro.
Five international consortiums were preselected in the bidding for the hybrid Project that combines photovoltaic solar energy (PV) and thermosolar energy (CSP) for Noor Midelt, 1 for the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen), being EDF-MASDAR-Green of Africa the winning consortium.
The project consists of a PV-CSP hybrid plant, with a minimum of five hours of storage and a total installed capacity of 800 MW.
The plant, which is completely designed by TSK, will be the first in the world to integrate the two technologies in a single hybrid installation utilizing the advantages that each one has. On the one hand, the main advantage of thermosolar technology that we can outline allows for the generation of electricity at any time of the day in a manageable way due to having the capacity to store energy on a large scale. On the other hand, the main advantage of photovoltaic technology is its competitiveness when referring to investment and maintenance cost. With this type of technology a plant can be designed that can generate electricity from the sun for 24 hours a day at a cost that allows to compete with conventional energies from fossil fuels.
The project will rely on the funding agencies like the German Development Bank KFW, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the French Development Agency, the European Commission and the Clean Technology Fund.
TSK closed 2018 with sales of 1,107 billion Euro, making it one of the main Spanish engineering and construction firms with presence in the Power Sector, industrial plants, oil&gas, environment and mining. At present, its international activity represents more than 96% of sales and it is executing projects in more than 30 countries on 4 continents.
Source: TSK
European electricity markets
Since April 1, prices in Europe have had certain stability. The rise in the CO2 emission price was offset by lower gas and coal prices and also by the slight decrease in electricity demand due to the better weather conditions in spring, with somewhat higher temperatures and more hours of sunshine in this 40-day period. The price fluctuations in this period are mainly due to variations in wind energy production, especially in Germany and Spain, which are the European leaders generating energy with this technology. In the case of Germany, prices could have been stable at 40 €/MWh but when there was a lot of wind they fell below this value, even reaching negative values on April 22 at 14 €/MWh. In the Spanish electricity market, fluctuations in wind energy production caused prices in the band between 40 €/MWh and 60 €/MWh. Also in this period of 40 days there were fluctuations in temperature and in solar energy production.
Electricity futures
The prices of European electricity futures for the third quarter of 2019 increased in most markets between 0.3% and 1.6% on Friday, May 10, compared to Friday of previous week. In the case of the OMIP market of Spain and Portugal, as well as the MTE market operated by GME, they remain unchanged, while the UK futures decreased in both the ICE and EEX markets.
In the case of futures for 2020, the increase was more widespread between 0.5% and 1.4%. Only the MTE market operated by GME remained unchanged and the UK’s ICE and EEX markets declined, as did the future for the third quarter of this year.
Wind and solar energy production
In the second week of May, the wind energy production had an increase in the main European markets except in Germany with a drop of 3.3%. The increase in France was 58%, in Portugal 99%, in Spain 36%, and in Italy 37%.
For the current week, the third of May, a decline in wind energy production is forecasted after the rise of the previous week. The most pronounced fall is expected in Italy and Portugal, somewhat less in Spain and France, and even a slight increase in Germany.
As for solar energy production, which includes photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies, during the second week of May fell by 4.3% in Germany, while in Spain the fall reached 20% with respect to the previous week. For its part, in Italy the previous week registered an increase of 5.3% in the solar energy production.
For the current week it is expected a decrease in solar energy production in Italy of about 20%, while in Germany and Spain the trend is expected to be bullish between 15% and 20%.
Source: AleaSoft
CSP with thermal storage will bridge dispatchable energy gap according to GlobalData. The company’s latest report ‘Energy Storage – A Key Determinant for the Future of Concentrated Solar Power Market’ reveals that retirements of coal based plants and increase in influx of intermittent renewable power sources in order to achieve climate goals provide potential market opportunity for CSP with thermal storage.
The influx of renewable power sources such as wind and solar backed by ambitious targets and plans to phase out coal- or decommission coal fleet to reduce carbon footprint by various countries will lead to an energy gap for dispatchable generation. CSP with energy storage has the ability to bridge the demand and supply gap for dispatchable electricity.
Global installed capacity for CSP was around 5.6 GW at the end of 2018, of which only 2.6 GW is with energy storage. In contrast, of the total CSP projects under various stages of development, 95.8% of the upcoming capacity has storage. Majority of the active CSP projects with storage are with a thermal storage capacity in the range of 6-10 hours. In case of the under-development CSP capacity, 62.8% is with storage of 10-13 hours and 14% has over 13 hour storage. This shows the increased importance given to long hours of storage by project developers and owners to not only provide stable and reliable power 24/7, but also reduce the cost of electricity generation from CSP by using longer duration of thermal energy storage.
Auction results over last few years indicated declining cost of generation for CSP projects with storage. The years 2017 and 2018 have been breakthrough years for CSP in terms of cost reduction with prices for projects expected to be commissioned from 2020 onwards to be in the range of $0.06/kWh to $0.12/kWh.
Source: GlobalData
The global CSP capacity is estimated to increase significantly from 5.6 GW in 2018 to 22.4 GW in 2030 following significant capacity additions by China, Chile and countries in Middle East North Africa (MENA) region according to GlobalData.
The company’s latest report ‘Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Market, Update 2019 – Global Market Size, Market Segmentation, Competitive Landscape and Key Country Analysis to 2030’ reveals that the prospects of the global CSP market are bright with improved efficiencies, energy storage, cost reduction through competitive bidding and the development of PV-CSP hybrid systems.
The CSP industry added around 601 MW annual capacity in 2018 with projects being operational in countries such as Morocco, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. China added around 200 MW of CSP capacity in 2018 which is almost seven times its cumulative installed capacity at the end of 2017. China CSP market gained momentum after the announcement of 20 CSP projects as part of the first batch of demonstration projects, which will get a feed in tariff of 0.172 $/kWh.
Chile will be another major country, which will have significant CSP capacity additions during the outlook period. The CSP market in Chile is mainly driven by its goal to achieve 20% renewable of the national energy mix by 2025. In order to achieve its goal, the country held a series of technology neutral auctions through which the average tariff plummeted from 129 $/MWh in 2013 to 32.5 $/MWh in 2017.
In MENA region, countries such as Morocco, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel will play a major role for CSP development during 2019-2030. Morocco had set a plan to source 2 GW from solar power by 2020. The country plans to set up and implement sustainable CSP plants to cover 42% of Morocco’s power needs by 2020 and bridge the demand supply gap during peak evening hours through thermal storage.
On the other hand, the UAE is promoting solar through auction mechanism. In July 2017, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) received four bids for the fourth phase of the 200 MW Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar project. The bids reached a record low, with the lowest offer of $94.5/MWh while the other three bids offered 105.80 -173.50 $/MWh.
The global CSP market is on a revival mode with reducing cost of generation through auction mechanism and hybrid PV-CSP. CSP with thermal storage will gain prominence due to increasing demand for reliable and stable power.
Source: GlobalData
Lointek’s technology has been selected for the turnkey supply of the integrated steam generation system and the oil-salt thermal storage system for DEWA IV, the world’s biggest thermosolar power plant that will start operating in 2022, in Dubai (United Arab Emirates).
The firm is in charge of the engineering, manufacture, installation and launch of the power island. This will take place in three phases: the first of 18 months, and the following two in consecutive 8-month periods. These systems are considered to be critical elements in the plant’s development and of high thermomechanical complexity in their design and implementation.
Record figures
The DEWA IV project entails an investment of $4 b and breaks a number of records. In terms of its capacity, it has a total power of 950 MW, of which 600 are from parabolic trough generation (three times the maximum capacity of existing facilities), 250 MW from photovoltaic generation and 100 MW from the central tower system. Another remarkable feature of the project is that it produces the cheapest known kWh, at a cost of 7.2 $ cents.
With regard to its dimensions, the solar park has a surface area of 3,750 hectares, in addition, the central tower is the tallest of all the solar plants built up to now, reaching a height of 260 metres.
DEWA IV (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority) is situated 50 km outside Dubai and forms part of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which sets a target for renewable energy of 7% of total energy production by 2020, 30% by 2030 and 75% by the middle of the century.
Global leadership
The award of this contract is a reinforcement of the company’s position of global leadership, with its market share of more than 70% of thermosolar power plants across the world, and a reaffirmation of its competitiveness. In this regard, LOINTEK particularly appreciates the acceptance of its proposed technology in the face of international competition and the positive assessment of its reliability.
The company has delivered around 1,000 heat exchangers in a decade, a figure ten times greater than the second company in the sector’s ranking. LOINTEK has supplied power systems to 55 thermosolar plants in ten countries across America, Europe, Africa and Asia, with a total renewable thermosolar electrical power generation capacity of 3,500 MW.
In 2018, LOINTEK also participated in thermosolar plants in South Africa and Morocco that were already fully operational and, currently, it is working on the testing phase of a plant in Israel and the installation of another in Kuwait.
Source: Lointek
Renewable energy is the most competitive form of power generation in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, according to a new report published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Abundant resources, together with strong enabling frameworks have led to solar PV prices of below 3 cent$/kWh and dispatchable concentrated solar power (CSP) of 7.3 cents$/kWh, which is less than some utilities in the region pay for natural gas.
IRENA’s new ‘Renewable Energy Market Analysis: GCC 2019’, says achieving stated 2030 targets can bring significant economic benefits to the region including the creation of more than 220,000 new jobs whilst saving over 354 mboe in regional power sectors. The targets could reduce the power sector’s CO2 emissions by 136 million tonnes (22 per cent reduction), while cutting water withdrawals in the power sector by 11.5 trillion litres (17 per cent reduction) in 2020.
The findings come as GCC economies seek to diversify their economies against the backdrop of fast-growing domestic energy demand and a desire to safeguard hydrocarbon export revenues for the future.
“The GCC is among the most attractive regions in the world to develop large-scale solar and wind energy projects as a result of resource abundance and a favourable policy environment, a fact that is backed up by record low prices,” said IRENA Director-General, Adnan Z. Amin. “As a fossil-fuel exporting region, the GCC’s decisive move towards a renewable energy future is a signal to global investors and to the energy community that we are experiencing a step-change in global energy dynamics and a true energy transformation.”
“The UAE’s commitment to diversifying the energy mix is central to our long-term economic growth and sustainable development objectives,” said H.E. Suhail Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy. “IRENA’s GCC analysis provides further evidence of the strong socio-economic case for renewable energy deployment, from job creation to emission reductions. As we look to add generation capacity to serve growing populations and expanding economies, renewables will increasingly serve as central pillar of low-carbon development.”
At the end of 2017, the region had some 146 GW of installed power capacity, of which renewable energy accounted for 867 MW. Around 68 per cent this capacity was in the UAE. This represents a four-fold increase on capacity in 2014. Following the UAE are Saudi Arabia with 16 per cent and Kuwait with nine per cent of regional capacity.
With renewable energy targets now in place across the region, the GCC is poised for a significant acceleration in renewables deployment as countries pursue national goals. Under current plans, the region will install a total of almost 7 GW new power generation capacity from renewable sources by the early 2020s.
Solar PV dominates the region’s renewables outlook, accounting for three-quarters of the regional project pipeline, CSP and wind accout for 10 per cent and nine per cent respectively. Solar-assisted enhanced oil recovery in Oman is also expected to contribute about 1 GWth in 2019.
Proactive policies are central to accelerating renewable energy deployment, per the report, suggesting that lessons can be drawn from the GCC countries where substantial inroads have been made thanks to firm government commitments and credible, time-bound targets with a clear focus on a supportive business environment for investments.
Source: IRENA
The year of 2018 witnessed the rapid growth of CSP industry in China. According to data from CSP Focus, three demonstration CSP projects with a total capacity of more than 200 MW were completed and connected to the grid, arming China with three large-scale commercial CSP plants in operation in one year.
In 2018, China completed a total capacity of 215 MW CSP projects, almost 7 times of the 30 MW capacity made before 2018. China has become the No.5 country owning the biggest CSP capacity, and the most popular emerging CSP market with Morocco by contributing 23% of the new capacity in the world.
Looking at the global CSP market, nearly 1 GW CSP plants have been newly built up, of which Morocco contributed with 350 MW (200 MW from NOOR 2 and 150 from MW NOOR 3), China with 215 MW (three 1st batch of demonstration CSP projects and one 15 MW Fresnel CSP plant), South Africa installed 200 MW (100 MW, Ilanga CSP1 and 100 MW, Kathu Solar One), Israel contributed with the 121-MW Ashalim tower CSP project, and Saudi Arabia with the Waad Al-Shamal ISCC 50-MW CSP plant.
Coming to the year of 2019 for China, and looking at the 17 of demonstration projects: six projects with a total capacity of 350 MW are under construction and hopefully to be completed by the end of this year. One project, Shenzhen Jinfan Akesai 50 MW molten salt PT Project, was stopped construction due to some financial problem and the other 10 projects totaling 749 MW are now still under development, pending with little progress, mainly because of financial or internally political obstacles.
Other CSP commercial plants like Luneng 50 MW tower project are also under smooth development. Some industry sources predict that around 600 MW of CSP plants will be completed in this year. With no doubt, China is expected to lead the new CSP market.
As announced and provided by China National Energy Administration two years ago in 2016, only those pilot projects which would be able to be completed by the end of 2018 could enjoy the FiT of RMB1.5 per kWh. New price policy for the others hasn’t been published officially yet till now, however, as CSP Focus reported earlier, the latter projects will be completed, the lower price will be awarded.
At the same time, the 2nd batch of CSP pilot projects is always under great expectation. The practical operation of the completed three CSP demos is one of the key factors for the government to decide on the 2nd batch of demos, it is a quite crucial mission and responsibility for the project developers and O&Ms to continuously optimize the operation.
Source: CSP Focus
FuturENERGY Dec. 18 - Jan. 2019
2018 has been a particularly important year for the CSP sector for several significant reasons. Firstly, this is the year that will see the largest new annual capacity to be commissioned in the entire history of the sector, 1,100 MW (see graph) and the best news is that this new capacity has not been installed in one or two countries, as has occurred in the past, but in countries with a high CSP potential across Africa, the MENA region and Asia…By Luis Crespo, Chairman of Protermosolar and of ESTELA.
English
Spanish
