The global solar inverter market is set to grow over the coming years owing to the massive deployments expected for utility-scale solar power consumption as well as solar deployments in residences, commercial establishments, industries, and institutions. The solar inverter industry is likely to be largely driven by technological improvements, increasing demand for solar power and cost reduction in components.
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The use of robotic cleaning solutions is gradually gaining traction and will become more cost effective as project sizes grow larger. Utility-scale developers and operators of solar parks prefer automated cleaning solutions since the expense of manual labour for cleaning panels increases with the project size. It might take some time before robotic cleaning totally replaces manual cleaning due to the low labour costs in some regions, but as the cost of these solutions falls, more developers are opting to use this innovative technology.
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The increased injection of renewables causes voltage fluctuations in the grid, causing harmonics, flicker phenomena, unbalanced loads and power oscillation, thus impacting power quality and power transfer capability. Therefore, reactive power management is crucial to ensure grid stabilisation, enable voltage management and maintain power quality. Reactive power management reduces voltage fluctuations and improves the stability of AC systems.
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At the beginning of each year, we pause to reflect on what has happened in our industry and gather our thoughts on what to expect in the coming 12 months. These 10 trends highlight what we think will be some of the most noteworthy developments in energy storage in 2023. Lithium-ion battery pack prices remain elevated, averaging $152/kWh. In 2022, volume-weighted price of lithium-ion battery packs across all sectors averaged $151 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), a 7% rise from 2021 and the first time BNEF recorded an increase in price.
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A virtual power plant (VPP) is a collection of small-scale energy resources that, aggregated together and coordinated with grid operations, can provide the same kind of reliability and economic value to the grid as traditional power plants. If homes and businesses can save the grid from going dark for free just based off a text message, imagine what they could do if there were a proper market for VPPs.
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Module mounting structures have an important part to play in the functioning of a solar power plant. They are the supporting structures that hold solar panels to the ground. In order to harness solar power efficiently, mounting structures need to be manufactured and installed at sites in a specific way. However, the quality of mounting structures is often compromised to cut costs.
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Currently, most EVCSs operate on traditional grids. However, such uncoordinated charging with sudden peaks and troughs in demand can potentially cause fluctuations, leading to outages and deterioration of the grid. Hence, in the upcoming years, the growth of EVCS will be accompanied by the growth of smart grids and captive sources of power. It makes more business sense for an EVCS to have captive capacity, as this reduces the operational overheads related to power procurement.
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Drones and Robotics have quickly found their places in electricity sector. Their cost effectiveness and ease of use, are expanding their employability in the industry. Use of drones and robotics for power grid inspection brings several advantages such as higher safety and low risks to maintenance technicians, reduction in maintenance equipment downtime, enhanced accuracy in data collection of an asset’s condition, reduced staffing need and associated employment cost, and more accurate asset inventory management.
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The performance of solar plants is a function of multiple components such as panels, inverters and transformers. These devices are subject to malfunctions and failure due to environmental and systemic factors. In order to effectively and timely manage inefficiencies in the solar power system, remote solar monitoring systems are being deployed.
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Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and computer vision (CV) are gradually occupying room in the renewable energy generation space. The deployment of these modern technologies alongside robots and drones plays a significant role in the operations and maintenance (O&M) of renewable energy parks. With the help of these advanced automated technologies, the landscape of field inspections and monitoring of renewable energy projects is changing for good.
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A range of wind turbine drivetrains with various costs, technologies, physical features, efficiencies, degrees of reliability and materials currently exist in the market. Another crucial component of a wind energy system is the turbine tower. The material, height and size of turbine towers are key determinants of the power outcomes and economic returns of wind energy projects.
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The solar industry’s continued ability to drive down costs while improving performance is a primary reason solar accounted for the largest share of new US electricity generation capacity in 2021. This trend is best exemplified by continual changes to module designs and cell technologies. This year, RETC is closely monitoring another technology trend that is quickly gaining market traction and acceptance, the rise of next-generation n-type PV cells with passivating contacts.
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The installed capacity of variable renewable energy (VRE) such as solar and wind power is estimated to rise significantly on a global level as countries move towards achieving their net zero targets. Correspondingly, the exponential capacity growth will necessitate the development of transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure such as reactors, transformers, substations, etc., to a similar degree. Transformers are critical components in solar energy production and distribution.
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Wind energy technology has undergone a sea change over the years. The turbine capacities have shifted from kW to MW with improved efficiency parameters. The technology is constantly evolving towards improved reliability, increased capacity factors, and reduced associated fixed and variable costs. Modern wind turbines incorporate longer and lighter rotor blades, taller turbine towers, more reliable drivetrains and performance optimising control systems.
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Several developments have occurred in the PV market. These include the entry of new players, increase in wafer sizes to increase in the power output of modules and commercialisation of new technologies. Technologies such as heterojunction, bifacial modules and perovskite cells are being increasingly explored. However, in 2020, silicon-wafer based PV technology accounted for 95 per cent of the total production, with monocrystalline technology accounting for 84 per cent of the total crystalline-silicon production.
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As the UK strives towards its ambitious target of 50GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, large-scale investment will be required in the offshore wind industry. It is increasingly clear that point-to-point connections between offshore wind farms and the grid will not be efficient for an expansion of this magnitude. Multi-purpose interconnectors combine the transmission of offshore power with cross-border interconnection between the power grids of nearby countries.
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The c-Si module market shift to mono-Si continued in parallel with the implementation of innumerable module products deploying more and more M10, and M12 wafer formats together with bifacial module technology. Efficiency improvements in PERC technology and the deployment of large wafers in large modules resulted in higher average module efficiencies.
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Cables and connectors form a crucial supporting network in the solar power generation set-up. Since such systems comprise a large number of electrical connections, they are also vulnerable to energy losses at contact points. To limit these losses, long-lasting and secure cable connections with low contact resistance are required. Meanwhile, connectors are needed to facilitate and ease the installation process.
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The ASEAN region homes the youngest coal power plants in the world. Partial or complete shutdown will give financial challenge to the plant owners/ investors and the utility companies who signed construction and operation contracts. The energy security and reliability of the power system would be a huge challenge for the countries and the region. Shutting a large portion of coal power generation down would require large-scale deployment of renewables to be able to supply the energy that is not served by putting coal plants offline.
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The recently concluded EU-SysFlex project aims to address system operation and flexibility challenges associated with EU’s goal of integrating 50 per cent renewables by 2030. Based on demonstrations and trials, the final roadmap contains eight key recommendations or findings, i.e., technical scarcities, required flexibility, financial gaps, market evolution, new operating tools, TSO-DSO coordination, aggregation of decentralised resources, and data management.
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