Vietnam install solar power surge to 5 gigawatt in only 2 years

The Economist reports that Vietnam undergoes an unexpected surge in solar power. In 2017 solar power played almost no part in Vietnam’s energy mix so to speed the technology’s adoption, the government offered that year to pay suppliers a generous $0.09 for every kilowatt-hour produced by big solar farms. However, under the conditionthatthey started operations within the following two years. The Vietnam government expected some 850MW of capacity to be installed. Instead, by the end of 2019 the country found itself with 5 gigawatts.

Full article: Vietnam grapples with an unexpected surge in solar power (LINK)

 

 

This map is taken from Global Solar Atlas, available at: https://globalsolaratlas.info/downloads/vietnam 

US Federal officials plan to approve a massive solar farm with energy storage in the desert outside Las Vegas

According to the Los Angeles Times United States Federal officials plan to approve a massive solar farm with energy storage in the desert outside Las Vegas. A $1-billion project that will provide electricity to Nevada residents served by Warren Buffett’s NV Energy. At 690 megawatts across 7,100 acres, the facility would generate more power than the largest solar farm currently operating in the United States.

 

 

2nd double-digit-gigawatt scale renewable energy project start in China

PV Magazine reports (LINK) that Huanghe Hydropower Development has started work on of a renewable energy project featuring 10 GW of solar generation capacity, 5 GW of wind and 1 GW of concentrating solar power. Trina will supply 600 MW of modules to the first phase of the facility.

This facility is one of two double-digit-gigawatt scale projects being planned by the China State Power Investment Corporation. The other is a 16 GW facility that is being constructed in Hainan prefecture.

Photo credit: Huanghe Hydropower Development LINK

In addition, JA Solar will supply 485 MW,  Longi 470 MW, Eging 420 MW, Solargiga 407 MW, JinkoSolar 314 MW, CPI Solar Power Xi’An 288 MW, Jolywood 150 MW and GS-Solar 48 MW. All of these panels will be bifacial products with an output of more than 400 Wp.

The monocrystalline manufacturer Longi willsupply the project with 445 Wp modules employing its new M6, 166mm wafer and PERC cells.

Earlier this year the big news was that Zhonghuan Semiconductor unveiled a 12-inch super solar wafer (LINK). The manufacturer said that its 12 inch "Kwafoo" product would improve efficiency and, if used in the optimal p-type PERC type of panel, could boast a module output of 610 W.

 

Credit : Zhonghuan Semiconductor (LINK)

US Installed 2.6 GW New Solar In Q3/2019 - Up 45%

According to Taiyangnews citing the Solar Market Insight report (LINK), the US saw 712 MW of new residential solar installations in the third quarter of 2019 which is a record for this segment and helped take total PV installations in the reporting period to 2.6 GW, growing 45% over last year and 25% up from the previous quarter, according to the Q4 2019 US Solar Market Insight report. The cumulative solar PV capacity of the US market until the end of Q3/2019 has now reached 71.3 GW.

• In 2019, the report forecasts the US market to install 13 GW of total capacity, growing 23% annually
• Growing more than double over the next five years, annual installations are expected to reach 20.1 GW by 2021

Source: Taiyangnews US Installed 2.6 GW New Solar In Q3/2019

Wind energy to become Germany's most important energy source for the first time in 2019

[Press release, BWE, German, LINK] In 2019, wind energy will for the first time generate more electricity than all other energy sources in the German energy mix and lignite will therefore replace it as the number one electricity source in Germany. 

Although the expansion of wind energy in Germany is faltering, wind power generation is reaching record levels. Due to good wind conditions worldwide in 2019, the nearly 30,000 wind turbines installed in Germany generated 118 TWh of green electricity by mid-December. Never before has so much electricity been generated from wind energy in Germany. By the end of November 2019, the total electricity generation for 2018 had already been reached and exceeded.

The record year for wind energy is associated with an important milestone in the energy turnaround: Wind energy was the first single renewable energy source to become Germany's most important energy source. Since 2011, this top position has been occupied by lignite, which is harmful to the climate. In figures, German wind energy contributed 24%, lignite 20%, nuclear 14%, gas 11%, hard coal 10%, solar 9%, biomass 9% and hydropower 4% to net electricity generation in Germany in the current year. (Source: Fraunhofer Energy Charts, figures rounded)

 

Net electricity generation from power plants for public electricity supply. Data source: 50 Hertz, Amprion, Tennet, TransnetBW, Destatis, EEX last update: 13 Dec 2019 13:37
 

"Wind energy is Germany's most important energy source for the first time. That makes us proud. Our thanks go to the medium-sized sector, which has repeatedly demonstrated its innovative strength and entrepreneurial spirit over the past 20 years, and to the EEG, which provided the right investment incentives to develop wind energy in Germany into a worldwide cutting-edge technology. Together with its members, the BWE is working on developing wind energy into a reliable foundation for a CO2-neutral energy system and further expanding this year's record figures.

However, the current figures must not obscure the fact that the German wind energy industry is in a serious crisis in view of the collapse in new construction. Politicians now have to assume responsibility for the energy turnaround and the employees in the wind industry by bringing about rapid improvements in the approval process and in the provision of land and legal security for wind energy projects. It is also necessary to flank this with a courageous, legally defined timeframe and quantity structure for the expansion until at least 2030. This record year underlines the importance of the future-oriented wind energy industry for Germany as a business location," comments Hermann Albers, President of the German WindEnergy Association.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

EU solar boom: over 100% solar market increase in 2019

• Strongest growth year for solar since 2010
• More new solar capacity installed than any other power generation technology in 2019
• Spain is Europe’s largest solar market adding 4.7 GW

SolarPower Europe’s first EU Market Outlook for Solar Power shows that 2019 was one of the best solar years on record for the European Union, with 16.7 GW of installations added in the region, representing a 104% increase over the 8.2 GW added in 2018. This makes 2019 the strongest growth year for solar in the EU-28 since 2010.

EU-28 annual solar PV installed capacity 2000-2019 © SolarPower Europe 2019

Solar-Powered Plant in Kenya Gives Drinking Water to 35,000 People a Day

GivePower is a global foundation that provides solar energy technology to deliver clean water, food and light to those who need it most. GivePower has brought clean, renewable energy to over 2,500 schools in 17 countries and impacted the lives of more than 300,000 people. One of their solar powered desalination systems produces enough clean healthy for about 35,000 people every single day. 

Compared to most traditional water wells, one GivePower solar water farm produces a higher quality of water over a longer period of time — powered by renewable energy, and delivered in an economically sustainable, and affordable, manner. Each Solar Water Farm can provide access to clean water for up to 35,000 people every single day. See how it has already changed the lives of thousands of villagers in Kiunga, Kenya.

Source: Youtube and GivePower (LINK)

IRENA report on accelerated solar PV deployment until 2050 reaching >8,500 GW global capacity

A recent report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) presents options to speed up deployment and fully unlock the world’s vast solar PV potential over the period until 2050. The report states that Solar PV project costs, already below marginal fossil-fuel costs in global terms, are set to decline further in the decades ahead.

According to the IRENA scenario, Solar PV would have the most significant installed capacity expansion by 2050. Graph Credit: IRENA

New efficiency world record for organic solar modules

[Press release - EurekAlert!] A research team from Nuremberg and Erlangen has set a new record for the power conversion efficiency of organic photovoltaic modules (OPV). The scientists from Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), the Bavarian Center for Applied Energy Research (ZAE), and the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (HI ERN), a branch of Forschungszentrum Jülich, in cooperation with the South China University of Technology (SCUT), designed an OPV module with an efficiency of 12.6 percent over an area of 26 square centimeters. The former world record of 9.7 percent was exceeded by 30 percent. 

 

Dr. Andreas Distler (ZAE Bayern) with the organic record solar module at the Solar Factory of the Future. In the background, the pilot line for printed thin-film photovoltaics. Credit & Copyright: ZAE/Kurt Fuchs.