Milk the Sun Team Posts

Photovoltaic in the United Kingdom – an overview

Nov 29, 2012 No Comments

Country: United Kingdom (UK)United Kingdom UK Solar PV
Area: 244,820 km2
Population: 61.8 Million
Language: English
Government: Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy

Electricity Consumption: 341,918 GWh/Year
Electricity Import: 5,234 GWh/year
Percentage Renewable Energy: 5.1%
Percentage Photovoltaic: 0.07%
Installed Photovoltaic Output: 1 GW
Solar Irradiation: 750kWh/m2 to 1,100kWh/m2

Solar PV UK Britain Marketplace

© Katarzyna Chojnacka

Electricity and PV in the United Kingdom

The largest energy sources in the UK are Coal, Gas and Oil, comprising over three quarters of the country’s total energy production. Renewable energy is receiving more and more government support, however, due to the UK’s geographic location photovoltaic plays only a minor role in these developments. Currently only 0.07% of electricity production comes from solar installations.

Policy and Feed-in Tariffs

Since the 1st of April 2010, the United Kingdom provides feed in tariffs for renewable energy. The primary beneficiaries of these tariffs are private households. They receive subsidies when they produce electricity that is not fed back into the grid, but rather used directly at home. Installations over a total capacity of 5MW are not supported.

The original range of the subsidies was between 0.1049 €/kWp and a maximum of 0.5343 €/kWp. The following cutbacks of 2011 were further decreased in September and November 2012, with a current subsidy range of 0.0876 €/kWp to 0.19 €/kWp. The larger the installation, the lower the tariff.

Grid Parity in the United Kingdom

Net parity in the United Kingdom has still not been achieved. Predictions place grid parity in the year 2020.

Outlook

The United Kingdom must fight to keep the momentum of its renewable energy development going. To this end, this year more money has been freed up. At any rate, discussions are already in progress regarding the establishment of feed in tariffs for renewables. Low acceptance in industry and politics, and well as the difficult geographic situation, do not bode well for PV development. Oft overlooked, however, is the fact that London lies farther south than Berlin – conditions exist for photovoltaic in the southern parts of the UK.

Source: British Photovoltaic Association UK Solar PV Update, November 2012

Photovoltaic in: France – an overiew

Nov 28, 2012 No Comments

Country: FranceFrance PV Solar Milk the Sun
Area: 668,763 km²
Population: 65.4 Million
Language: French
Government: Republic
Electricity Consumption: 425. 655 GWh/Year
Electricity Export: 56.570 GWh/year
Percentage Renewable Energy: 13.3%
Percentage Photovoltaic: 1%
Installed Photovoltaic Output: 3.6 GW
Solar Irradiation: 900kWh/m² bis 1,600 kWh/m²

Solar in France PV

iStockphoto.com©Gyula Gyukli

Electricity and PV in France

France is known in Germany as „Atomland” (over 75% Nuclear powered). Although at 13.3% they are similar to Italy in their percentage of electricity sourced from renewables, in light of their high export of energy (above all nuclear), these numbers are relative. Photovoltaic is still skeptically received in France by industry and policy makers alike, the effects of which are seen in the low quantity of installed PV at around 3.6 GW. Just recently, the country approved construction of several additional nuclear plants, and when it comes to renewable energy there is a clear preference for hydroelectric. Photovoltaic comprises less than 1% of the total energy consumption, divided between more than 258,800 plants.

Policy and Feed-in Tariffs

French legislation regarding solar plants began with the first administrative regulation in July 2006 („Arrêté du 10 juillet 2006“). A peculiarity of the French regulation is that compensation varies depending not only on the type of plant, but also on its geographic location. Especially high tariffs are in place for overseas “Départments“ and Corsica.

With the “Arrêté du 12 janvier 2010“, the second administrative regulation in January 2010, France has aligned itself with the EU directive requiring that at least 20% of energy consumption be provided from alternative energy sources by the year 2020. The compensation clauses were modified, and since this last “Arrêté” rooftop installations in France can receive up to 0.58 €/kWh, the highest tariff for rooftop PV worldwide. At a minimum building and roof installations will make 0.42 €/kWh.

Grid Parity in France

Grid parity has still not been achieved in France. Current prognoses predict parity by 2020.

Outlook

Should the 20% renewable energy mark not be achieved by 2020, France will fall under the jurisdiction of hefty EU sanctions. Likely in response to this, the current president François Hollande seems to be taking steps to separate his party from nuclear energy in general.

If and to what degree photovoltaic is a factor here is still unknown. At any rate, the high feed-in tariffs for PV in France are attractive for international, as well as local, investors. Potential changes to these tariffs are currently in debate, with arguments being made for increases as well as decreases.

Photovoltaic in: Italy – an overview

Nov 27, 2012 No Comments

Country: ItalyItaly Photovoltaics Milk the Sun
Area: 301,338km²
Population: 61 Million
Language: Italian
Government: Parliamentary Republic

Electricity Consumption: 313.433 GWh/Year
Electricity Import: 47.573 GWh/year
Percentage Renewable Energy: 13.7%
Percentage Photovoltaic: 6%
Installed Photovoltaic Output: 15 GW
Solar Irradiation: 1,100kWh/m² to 1,800kWh/m²

Milk the Sun Italy PVElectricity and Photovoltaic in France

Italy, a prime travel destination for Germans due to its warm summers and numerous coasts, knows how to benefit from its high solar irradiation.

After Germany, it is the second largest producer of solar energy in Europe. Around 426,000 photovoltaic plants are installed in Italy, and more than 51,000 of these with capacity in excess of 20kWp.

Photovoltaic provides 6% of Italy’s power consumption, and constitutes 7% of all power generated in-country.

Policy and Feed-in Tariffs

The first law supporting photovoltaic in Italy came into effect in 2001. The “Tetti fotovoltaici” resulted in the construction of 22MW.

In 2005 the “Conto Energia” was adopted, in response to the success of the German Renewable Energy legislation.

In 2007 it was replaced by a second piece of legislation, the aptly named “Conto Energia II”. With feed-in tariff rates from 0.36 to 0.48 €/kWh, this policy resulted in the construction of over 6,600 MWs of solar plants.

The next significant developments took place in 2010 with the “Conto Energia III,” only to be replaced a few months later by a fourth Conto Energia.

The current law: Conto Energia V

Since the end of August 2012, the Conto Energia V has been the legal policy for the development and feed-in tariffs of renewable energies at large, and specifically photovoltaic.

Conto Energia V, following the trend of renewable energy policy in Germany, provides noticeably less support for photovoltaic as its predecessors. Especially small  scale systems of under 20kWp benefit from the new formulation, and systems installed in conjunction with the renovation of asbestos roofs stand to gain a great deal. Ground based systems, however, no longer qualify for subsidies in Italy. The Italian government’s focus is clearly on boosting local consumption through small scale systems on existing rooftops.

In order to receive subsidies, owners must register their systems. The budget is divided up as follows:

– 50 Million € for communal projects, especially innovative ideas in PV
– 140 Million € until February for new plants, the bigger, the smaller the subsidy
– After February, 120 Million € over six months, afterwards biannually another 80 Million €

Grid Parity in Italy

In Italy grid parity for PV-power has been achieved. That is to say, the production of solar electricity is cheaper than its purchase from the grid. Several specialized companies buy and sell privately produced electricity.

Outlook

Current prognoses do not predict major development of solar in Italy, at least not to the scale of what occurred between 2005 and 2010. Nevertheless, in light of the achieved grid parity, it is likely that photovoltaic will continue to be an important topic in Italy. Subsidies for rooftop systems remain profitable and continued development in this sector is to be expected. Businesses and private individuals in possession of large rooftops will doubtless begin thinking very seriously about whether and how a solar system could be implemented on their property.

Future Market? Renewable energies and photovoltaics in Poland

Nov 15, 2012 1 Comment

EEG PV PolenWierzchosławice has made the decision – further installations should follow soon: in September 2011 the village counting 10.000 inhabitants inaugurated its 1 MW solar park and thanks to this produced ten times more electricity from photovoltaic than all other PV-installations in Poland together. Poland seems to be the future market for photovoltaic. Many businessmen and investors await curiously the news from the Polish government. For one thing is clear: the Law on Renewable Energies will come soon!
Already at the end of 2011 the Minister of Economy, Wlademar Pawlak, has presented a draft for Renewable Energy Law. However, it is expected that the actual legislation will enter into force only in the middle of next year. As regards content it appears that the share of renewable energies in the energy mix will be required to rise to 19% by 2020. Also a guarantee of feed-in-tariffs for 15 years appears on the horizon. With this mean the small and mini installations are to be heavily subsidized. However, also for the bigger PV system profitable funding is planned.
Certificate trade over quotas
Until now the renewable energies have been integrated into the general energy law through the system of Tradable Green Certificate. According to it, the energy providers have to prove to have bought the appropriate (established by the state agency) share of green certificates. The certificates can be obtained though production of renewable energy or be bought on the market. Their value lies at around PLN 277 (Złoty), so around € 66,50. However, there are plenty loopholes. The energy providers can provide compensation fee, which is only slightly more expensive than the certificates. To do that, energy providers only have to prove that there are no renewable electricity producers in the vicinity.
As an additional incentive for developing renewable energies in Poland serves the current state of energy generation in Poland – over 80% of the Polish electricity production comes from the coal-fired power plants dated for the 1970s and 1980s. Many of them will be soon disconcerted from the grid due to their old age – for this reason until 2020 coal power stations with the total capacity of 7 GW will be closed and until 2030 around 15 GW. Meanwhile the demand for electricity is increasing. Hence, this poses perfect conditions for renewables to fill this gap.
Change is dependent on the administration and the society
The rapid development could be hindered through bureaucratic obstacles. Investors should definitely inform themselves beforehand whether the planned area has the original agricultural use. Successful rededication of such land will only be possible in case of poor conditions for cultivating this area. Additionally, for installation with capacity of above 2 MW there has to be a grid-testing expertise issued, what can lead to delays in receiving the grid connection.
The Polish government assumes in its planning scenarios a maximal growth of photovoltaic of 1,8 GW until 2020. There was nothing said about an overall cap of the capacity, however, one could fear that an enormous (over)growth of PV in a short time will lead to cuts in subsidies.
One is clear – in the next years the energy mix in Poland will change. Vital for the extent and most importantly the speed of change will first of all be the details of the upcoming Renewable Energy Law, as well as the readiness of the society and communities to offer the area for PV projects.
Sources: photovoltaik.eu, photovoltaik.org, Sonne Wind & Wärme 8/2012 S.228-229, EurObserv’ER, Gramwzielone.pl

Solar energy investment: a good idea?

Dec 5, 2011 No Comments

Milk the Sun BlogOn June 29th 2011, the European Commission presented its proposal for the Union’s financial agenda till 2020: the aim concerning environmental issues is to reduce gas emissions of at least 20%. Furthermore the 20% of EU energy consumption shall come from renewable resources. Solar energy investment is gaining popularity as people realise the many benefits resulting from it. In the past years many people have opened their minds to the possibility of turning to solar energy, so investments in photovoltaics’ research and innovation have significantly increased. Consequently, this source of energy has now a significant role in the electricity grid of many European countries.

 

In the current economic downturn, consumers wonder if an investment in photovoltaic energy is still profitable. In the first instance such an investment seems to be a good option, because the source of energy (the sun) is direct, constantly available and not conditioned by the state of the economy or financial markets. On the other hand it does not damage the environment.

 

Several European nations have launched programmes to foster investments in renewable energy solutions. Such laws are called “Feed-in Tariffs”. These laws enable residential or commercial customers who produce their own renewable electricity to receive compensation for every kWh they generate. If generated electricity for residential or commercial needs is not used, it will be sold to the traditional grid at fix granted prices. A combination of reasons as for instance better cell efficiency and improvements in solar manufacturing costs of solar electricity are causing the fall of the costs of photovoltaic electricity. In a few years many European countries will reach grid parity, i.e. the equivalence of the price of electricity from traditional sources and solar power.

 

Currently, some European governments pay a certain amount a year, in some cases for the next 20 years (like in Germany and Italy). Although the Feed-in Tariffs change depending on which kind of installation is adopted, the investor has always a positive return. As a result solar investments are more advantageous than other types of investments such as shares, government bonds or saving plans.

 

The last and maybe most important point to invest in solar energy is supporting a green economy, which implies that a business has not just a lucrative interest, but is also a responsible towards society and the environment by providing valuable products in a way that does not infringe upon the atmosphere and the climate. By using a solar panel we help the environment by reducing the amount of pollution generating from fossil fuels, the most common polluting source of energy. The only environmental problem of a solar panel may arise from recycling them at the end of their “lives” – which can last up to 25 years or more. Discarded panels might release chemical nanoparticles into the environment.  However, it is to hope that the solar industry will consider not just how panels are manufactured but also how they will be disposed when their function is over.