Utilities Must Commit to Renewable Energy or Industrial Clients May Turn to Alternative Power Sources

Recently, Black & Veatch, a sustainable engineering and construction solutions company, released a report that examines the shared challenges among critical infrastructure providers and their commercial and industrial customers as they each push for resilience, reliability, and sustainability. The purpose of the report is highlight the benefits of renewable energy for industrial clients who are facing serious challenges related to global warming.

“2020 Strategic Directions: Megatrends”, a report by Black & Veatch marks the company’s inaugural mining of its cross-sector data to gain deeper insights into the future of the world’s most important resources. The authors analyzed two years of survey data collected from water, power, telecommunications, and commercial and industrial respondents. The high-altitude look at the data explores:

• Renewable energy: Today’s electric utilities, those historic keepers of a reliable and resilient grid, are tested in their ability to align with growing clean energy and de-carbonization mandates. The report cautions that without significant utility commitments to green energy, power-hungry industrial clients with growing sustainability goals may turn to renewables or distributed generation resources of their own.

• Sustainability: Concern over climate change is a big issue in the current era where industries are in the quest of finding sustainable energy that could handle global warming caused by industrial pollutions. They are setting off alarms about the future of our water and power supplies, and fueling new scrutiny of the mechanics, cost, and ROI of sustainability solutions.

• From many, one: As questions about the reliability of traditional utility services, the rollout of projects to enhance resilience and improve operational efficiency continues. Advances in information technology, operational technology and artificial intelligence blur the lines between traditional organization silos. Yet, survey data shows that integrated planning is far from a high priority, signaling potential trouble for utilities in areas that are prone to nature’s worst.

• Data’s risk-reward: The proliferation of smart devices that measure everything from consumption habits to asset management and system health are gaining traction and continue to create new opportunities to collect and embrace actionable data. But, it also pose a challenge. With every new remote sensor, drone, iPad, or other IoT tool deployed on our systems, the more vulnerable we become to hackers and network intrusion.

Related Topic:

https://www.reonenergy.com/commercial-industrial-c-i-segment/

The World’s Most Promising Renewables Market Has Taken a Turn for the Worst

The Economic Times quoted that growth in India’s renewable energy output has plunged to 5.7 percent over the seven months to October 2019, from 28.5 percent a year earlier, the country’s Central Electricity Authority said. Reasons cited by authority is the energy output curtailment by different states as well as a slump in energy demand.

Last month, a number of coal-fired and nuclear power plants were shut down temporarily due to lackluster energy demand. Some of these, according to the data, had been idle for months.

India has set ambitious goals regarding their renewable power programs in the world, with plans to have wind and solar account for 55 percent of the total energy mix by 2030. In terms of capacity, the government plans to have 200 GW installed by 2022. That would up from the current 87 GW. There is 31 GW in renewable energy capacity under construction currently and another 35 GW at the bidding stage.

Last month, the government minister said, “So this becomes 140,000-145,000 MW. In hydro, we have installed capacity of around 45,000 MW and under installation capacity is about 13,000 MW. Which makes it around 60,000 MW. So we will cross 200,000 MW capacity of renewable energy by 2022”.

Over the last five years, growth in renewable energy generation in India has never fallen below 20 percent, not least because of government efforts in this area. However, in addition to lukewarm energy demand growth, the industry has had to contend with the weak financial performance of state power distribution companies.

Such condition has affected the financing of new renewable power projects and the reason in the reduction of production from existing installations, “as they do not want to submit bank guarantees or letters of credit in favor of such plants,” The Economic Times reported.

For More:

https://www.reonenergy.com/our-projects/
https://solar-energy-in-pakistan.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-role-of-black-silicon-solar-cells.html

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/giant-solar-park-in-the-desert-jump-starts-egypt-s-renewables-push

An Overview to Solar Panel Mounting Structures

Mounting structures are made of steel or aluminum, support PV modules on the ground or roof and allow modules to be mounted at a precise tilt angle to receive maximum sunlight.  Hence, choosing the right material for the structure is one of the most critical steps when installing a Solar PV system. Beneath, let’s look at the structures that are durable, cost-effective and adaptable to most terrains.

Hot-dip Galvanized Steel Structures

Hot-dip galvanized steel structures are made with fabricated steel sheets that are coated in zinc to keep them corrosion free. While regular steel is composed of iron which rusts to the point of disintegration on prolonged exposure to moisture, galvanized steel structures ensure structural durability by creating a physical barrier that prevents water from reacting with iron.

This method of galvanization is two to three times more expensive than pre-galvanized mounting structures. However, while pre-galvanized structures may be fairly popular among Solar Plant Installers due to their cost advantage, they are not sustainable in the longer run and could rust, corrode and crumble when exposed to rain, humidity, etc in access.

Anodized Aluminum Structures

Anodized aluminum is extruded through designed molds to develop durable finish. Anodizing is an electrochemical process where the metal is immersed, for an acid electrolyte bath, in a tank that passes an electric current through it causing an anodic layer to grow from aluminum itself.

Standard aluminum is a durable material, and once anodized the surface becomes three times tougher and more versatile than standard aluminum. Furthermore, anodized aluminum does not rust, peel, flake or chip and is 60% lighter than copper and stainless steel. All told, anodized aluminum is a fairly expensive mounting option.

Typically, Solar mounting structures require minimum maintenance unless they come along with solar trackers. Mounting structures could be galvanized steel or aluminum; however, it’s difficult to say which one is better. It is better to choose the mounting structures, for factors such as weight or durability, based on the type of roof or land space.

The article was originally published on Reon Energy - An Overview to Solar Panel Mounting Structures

Ground vs Roof: Where to Install your Solar Plant?

Photovoltaic modules can be installed practically anywhere that gets direct sunshine for most of the day and is not obstructed by buildings or trees that would cause shadows. However, one’s preference could be influenced by factors such as local requirements, budgets, space and location. Here, we will talk about ground versus roof setups where a Solar Plant can easily be installed.

Ground Spaces

Ground mounted solar panels can be placed anywhere in a field or yard that sees the sun for majority of the day. Ground mounting requires a dedicated space in the field or yard to set up the panels. These are an ideal choice for commercial and industrial businesses that have excess availability of land. Some of the ground types where panels can be installed are:

Standard Ground Mounts

Standard ground mounts use metal framing that is driven into the ground to hold the solar panels up at a fixed angle.

This is the fastest installation technique which requires no concrete work.

Pole mounts

Polar mounts are structures that hold multiple solar panels on a single pole. This helps elevate the panels higher off the ground than a standard ground mount whilst occupying lesser space.

Solar Carports or Canopies

Solar carports are overhead canopies built to cover parking areas or other paved areas to provide shade and generate efficient energy, simultaneously. Solar Carports are ideal for commercial settings with limited roof or land availability.

Here, reinforced concrete foundations hold large steel beams that support solar modules overhead.

Solar Roof Spaces

In urban and commercialized cities with limited land space, roof-mounted racking is a popular choice. Any rooftop that receives ample sunlight during the day can become a source for producing solar energy. Some of the types are:

Inverted T-Beam Roof

An inverted T-beam is a load-bearing structure of reinforced concrete, wood or metal, with a T-shaped cross section. These structures are the most common of all roof types as they can bear maximum weight and can withstand a wind speed of 35 m/s. They have been designed for 2 B seismic zone.

Dome/Shell Shaped roof

Many industrial roofs have a rounded dome type or a shell-like structure. Solar panels can be installed on these roofs by resting the panel structure, and most of their weight, on valley beams, avoiding putting any load over the thin slabs of shell building. These structures can withstand a wind speed of 35 m/s and have been designed for 2B seismic zone.

Corrugated Sheet roof

For pre-engineered building (PEB) roofs, light-weight panel structures are preferable in order to avoid extra load and leakage during rain. These structures can bear  the wind speed of 30 m/s and have been designed for 2 B seismic zone.

No matter how limited space a business might have, Solar can easily be installed anywhere to convert any idle space into a power generator for producing cost-efficient and clean energy.

The article was originally published on Reon Energy.

The Role of Black-Silicon Solar Cells in Making Solar Energy More Affordable

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a part of the United States Department of Energy, worked on how to produce black-silicon solar cells that is a step ahead of other discoveries. At just above 18 percent efficiency, these solar cells are unique which do not require any additional anti-reflection layers. As a result, they will help bring down the often substantial price tag associated with solar power.

Solar cells are typically expensive because they cost a lot to manufacture. They often need multiple anti-reflection layers, and each one increases the cost of the product. The cells developed by the NREL, however, are different. Their top layer was specifically created so that power can still be garnered from the product even though it is made from black silicon.

The individuals working on the project were also able to manipulate the solar cells so that their efficiency is better than anything that has been seen before. Researchers were able to figure out a way to create billions of tiny holes throughout the top layer of the silicon; these holes are even smaller than the light that shines on the cells, meaning that the wavelengths are not pushed back away from them. They are able to be utilized instead.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has research that backs up the fact that their nanostructures function at a higher level than any other anti-reflection layers, even those that are considered the top ones on the market. While they struggled in the past with solar cell efficiencies, that is no longer an issue. Their black-silicon solar cells are able to compete with any similar product out there, including those that result from the China manufacturing process.

To be successful, workers at the NREL had to figure out why a larger surface area negatively impacted how much electricity current could be harnessed. What they found was that something known as Auger recombination interfered with how many photons could be gathered on the majority of solar cells.

After understanding why Auger recombination happens, they figured out a way to overcome the process with shallower and lighter doping. The result is the creation of a black solar cell with an extremely high efficiency. Researchers want to take things a step further, however. They would like to raise the efficiency to more than 20 percent and get solar panel manufacturers to put more out on the market and in use.

Solar energy saves the earth?

It is important to accept the obvious global warming, although credit should really go to the enormous storms and other damage with the resultant loss of life from recent disasters.

Governments' problems in accepting responsibility looks like the key. The more capitalist regimes demand the right to feed the greed of multinational and local business, they are unlikely to give in to mild requests from organisations that don't pay them. Power politics is the only answer and real people themselves are responsible for this. Solar power is being advocated next as a major player in solving the renewable energy lobbies' perennial problem of getting into the marketplace.

With up to 25% increase in uses of solar PV panels before 2020 and wind energy currently increasing by only 5%. The time is running out for fossil fuel use and solar could eventually supply every energy need.

One of the numerous experts on such things, from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, is Johan Rockstrom. He quotes: "The window is shutting very rapidly on the 2 degrees target," hinting that 3 or even 4 degree target may have to be adopted. The consequences, give recent storms, is misery and death for so many people that the power politics become super-hurricane politics. Food supplies, water and sea-levels are simply the tip of the iceberg of natural disasters prescribed, if these targets were to be allowed.

These are the reasons why the UN are coming out with yet another report on why we have to quickly adopt new ideas. We simply have to move on from the use of 17% of renewable or "clean" (but very, very expensive) carbon fuels to 100%. The projected maximum for 2050 would be 68%, at its maximum. There is simply no solution to that shortfall of at least 32%- and that alone could kill off hopes of preventing further global warming.

Every continent and country is now affected by warming, with their economies suffering badly already from loss of food and water supplies. Paris reports on how to combat the climate change, but every report is against a background of governmental ineptitude and failure to respond.

We had annual totals of 49 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2010 (a rise of 11 billion in only one decade) with the vain prediction of maintaining emissions to that level until 2030. Fossil fuel investment would have to drop by $30 billion with a concomitant increase in renewable energy investments by $147 billion. That leaves some of the decision making in the hands of financial institutions, so there is a need to be careful when you invest your money! Near-impossible!

This is the third and last climate change report by the UN. Opinion polls show people still hanging onto old beliefs, indicating education is essential, not only in poorer countries, but also in the 2 big polluters: the US and China.

The UN indications are that the PV cell in solar panels will be the only possible saviour, although it is hard to believe that wind power and the rapidly-developing tidal and wave systems won't change in impact as yet more technological advances help us out. New PV systems already use low light and employ east or west facing arrays, with amazing contrasts between their multi-crystal, though silicon-based cells.