Vol.1 No.2, Aug- Oct 2019
Apple Leads
Corporate American
Solar Energy Usage
Solar Industry
Can Generate More Job
France
to Try Again with
Solar Road Plan
Interview with YBrs. Ir. Dr. Sanjayan Velautham, Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Malaysia
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CONTENTS
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> THE LIGHTYEAR ONE IS A PROTOTYPE ‘SOLAR CAR’ WITH 450 MILES OF RANGE
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> SOLAR INDUSTRY CAN GENERATE MORE JOB
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> WOMEN ARE BRINGING SOLAR ENERGY TO THOUSANDS OF INDIAN VILLAGES
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> DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT INSTALLS 15,000 SOLAR PANELS
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> NEW TYPE OF CLEAR GLASS CAN ACT AS SOLAR PANEL 4 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
42
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> AN INTERVIEW WITH
> POLAND HAS BEAUTIFUL
MS. DANY QIAN, THE VICE PRESIDENT OF JINKOSOLAR HOLDING CO., LTD.
SOLAR-POWERED BIKE LANES THAT GLOW IN THE DARK
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> AN INTERVIEW WITH YBRS. IR. DR. SANJAYAN VELAUTHAM, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (SEDA) MALAYSIA
46 >
HOW HAVE SOLAR CELLS UNDERCUT COAL? 5
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EDITOR’S MESSAGE
A S IA
S LAR+PV MAGAZINE
PUBLISHER FBI Publications (M) Sdn Bhd PUBLICATION MANAGER Vanny Lim vanny@fireworksbi.com MARKETING COMMUNICATION Nur Izyan binti Dzulkifli izyandzul@fireworksbi.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Atthira Zawana atthirah@fireworksbi.com CREATIVE Jean Tan BOARD OF DIRECTORS Kenny Yong Susan Tricia FBI PUBLICATIONS (M) SDN BHD (1168942-P)
Unit 9-3, Jalan PJU 5/6, Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel: (+603) 6151 9178
ENDORSED & SUPPORTED BY
Susan Tricia | Editor
This month’s issue highlights on the government’s plan to announce a new policy for developers to incorporate solar photovoltaics (PV) systems in new buildings, Malaysia to raise installed capacity of renewable energy from two per cent last year to 20 per cent by 2025 and the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC) expressed their trust for solar industry to be able to create more jobs in the country. Our International News covers on Dubai International airport installs a solar energy system that is made up of 15,000 photovoltaic panels, Delhi recently announced plans to replace a retired coal-fired power plant with a solar PV power project and much more not to be missed.
We have YBrs. Ir. Dr. Sanjayan Velautham, Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Malaysia for our Cover Story’ interview. With more than 30 years of experience in the industry, he shared with us SEDA’s roles, challenges, the opportunities for solar technology implementation in Malaysia and the aspects of improvement in the solar industry in Malaysia. He also expressed his view on Large-Scale Solar (LSS), Feed-in Tariff (FiT) and Net Metering (NEM) benefits to the industry. Flip on to the Cover Story section for more insights. As one of the only two PV module manufacturers globally to achieve Silver Cradle-to-Cradle certification by CGS, JinkoSolar told us their secret of success, specialty in solar panels, and how they set new industry standard for peak performance breaking the World Record for Cell Efficiency and Module Output, all in The Hot Seat section. They’ve also gave us their two cents regarding the recent South East Asia solar industry development and the reason behind the huge development of China solar industry. On behalf of the editorial team, I thank you for your continuous support to Asia Solar+PV Magazine. Stay in touch with us on www.asia-solarpv.com for more updates.
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ORGANIZATION NEWS
TERRAFORM POWER to Invest $720M in Distributed Solar Portfolio
Because the projects began service several years ago — their average age is 3.5 years old — those returns are likely realistic, according to Michelle Davis, a senior solar analyst at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables. She said the range of the portfolio is also a boon, as TerraForm looks from wind generation to more distributed solar. “The makeup of this portfolio is super diverse, so it’s no wonder that TerraForm wanted it. It’s a great addition to an investment portfolio,” said Davis. “This is starting to change, but of all the ways to invest in solar, [commercial and industrial] is typically viewed as the most risky. Having such diversity to the portfolio across so many...markets is certainly a way for TerraForm to have a good portfolio structure that could yield good returns.”
> Squeezing Out Additional Value John Stinebaugh, the company’s CEO, said TerraForm sees “commercial and operational upside” from the projects. “This demonstrates our strategy of recycling capital from stabilized assets with limited opportunities for further value creation into newly acquired assets that meet our return targets,” Stinebaugh said in a statement on the deal. The company plans to squeeze additional value from the new assets by offering tack-ons like storage and backup generation to the more than 100 commercial and industrial customers associated with the portfolio. Davis said it’s unclear whether that approach will yield success. Brookfield-controlled TerraForm locks down more distributed solar.
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he former SunEdison yieldco hopes to leverage the diverse 300-megawatt portfolio to sell additional services to commercial and industrial clients.
TerraForm Power announced Monday it will take over ownership of a portfolio consisting of 291 megawatts of commercial and industrial solar projects and 21 megawatts of residential solar. The portfolio, sold by Canada-based energy infrastructure company AltaGas for $720 million, also includes 10 megawatts of fuel cells. The yieldco formerly connected to SunEdison, and now managed by Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management, said the purchase would grow its distributed generation portfolio to over 750 megawatts. It adds projects in 20 states and Washington, D.C., on which Terraform expects equity returns of between 9 percent and 11 percent.
“It’s yet to be seen whether or not that strategy of trying to sell multiple services to the same customers is really a big advantage in the C&I space,” she said. “There have been other asset owners or developer owners in the past who have tried to do the same type of business strategy, where they sell solar and then they offer other services with the hopes of being able to have customers already at the ready. […] That strategy hasn’t necessarily led to any sort of significantly better success.” The new scale of TerraForm’s portfolio, at over 7 gigawatts, should allow it to take advantage of reduced operation and maintenance costs, the company said. For AltaGas, the sale is part of a larger effort to shed assets. The company said this agreement brings its total 2019 asset sales to $1.3 billion, as it looks toward an annual target between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.
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Source:
www.greentechmedia.
ORGANIZATION NEWS
Tesla Opens Vegas V3 Supercharger Station Powered by Solar and Battery
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esla is opening a V3 Supercharger station right on the Las Vegas Strip. The automaker released a video with more details about its newest charging site, located next to the LINQ hotel’s High Roller ferris wheel. Drivers can take advantage of Tesla’s latest charger, which has a charging capacity of 250 kW (a rate which adds 75 miles to a long-range Model 3 in 5 minutes). Unveiled earlier this year, the company claims its next generation model can cut down average charging time by 50 percent.
The new V3 site will be capable of serving 1,500 owners per day -- a significant increase in capacity given that the city’s Supercharger stations see about 6,500 sessions on average per month. While Sin City is still behind cities like San Diego and Los Angeles in electric vehicle ownership, a 2016 ChargePoint report listed it as the fastest growing city for sales. With Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 in Reno, it’s clear that Nevada will play a huge role in the automaker’s future.
In line with founder Elon Musk’s promise to take Supercharger stations off the grid, the Las Vegas site will rely on a combination of solar and battery power. A solar array will power the site during the day, and Powerpacks will provide energy at night. The station will contain a total of 24 stalls and 15 Wall Connectors.
Source: www.engadget.com
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ORGANIZATION NEWS
The Lightyear One is a Prototype ‘SOLAR CAR’ with 450 Miles of Range
Image: Lightyear
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ightyear has unveiled the first prototype of the Lightyear One, an electric vehicle covered in solar panels that it plans to start delivering to consumers in 2021. The car company was founded in 2016 by ex-members of Solar Team Eindhoven, a team of engineering students who won the solarpowered World Solar Challenge race in 2013, 2015, and 2017. While the team claims that the car will get 450 miles (725 km) of range from its built-in battery, the real draw is the car’s five square meters of solar panels, which cover its roof and hood and can charge the car’s battery with up to 12 km of range an hour. Lightyear claims these solar cells are 20 percent more efficient than traditional models, and they’re encased in safety glass to protect them from damage. Twelve kmh isn’t a lot of charge, so it’s probably better to think of the Lightyear One “solar car” as a 450-mile electric car that also happens to have solar panels. If true, that would be a pretty impressive range by itself, outpacing the market-leading 370 miles of range that the Tesla Model S is capable of, even taking into account differences in electric vehicle range standards. Thankfully, considering how little power you’re going to get from sunlight, the Lightyear One can also be charged like a more traditional plug-in electric vehicle. It will support up to 60kW of fast charging, giving it 507 km of range per hour of charge. The car has a total of four electric motors, which will allow it to accelerate from 0 to 100 kmh in 10 seconds.
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The Lightyear One is covered with a total of five square meters of solar panels. Image: Lightyear
Lightyear was founded by a group of former University of Eindhoven students who won the World Solar Challenge race with their “Stella” solar cars. These vehicles were actually able to generate more power from their solar panels than they consumed on average, meaning you could end a journey with more charge than when you started. Lightyear is taking preorders for the first 500 Lightyear One cars now for a reservation price of €119,000 (around $135,000). The car itself is expected to have a starting price of €149,000 (around $170,000). Electrek reports that production is expected to start at a slow rate at first, and Lightyear did not provide too many details on how it’s manufacturing the cars. That high asking price could also be a tough sell. For that money, you could probably buy yourself a top-of-the-line electric car, install solar panels on your house, and still come away with change. Plus, the increased power output of your panels could mean your electric car is technically more solar-powered overall. Source: www.theverge.com
ORGANIZATION NEWS
Amazon Has Bright
Outlook on Solar Energy
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mazon is running ahead of its aggressive growth plans for rooftop solar systems.
The e-tailer has already met its commitment to install 50 solar systems on its fulfillment and sortation center rooftops globally by 2020. The on-site solar systems reduce Amazon’s reliance on fossil fuels, and can generate as much as 80% of a single fulfillment facility’s annual energy needs. Amazon’s on-site solar investments support Shipment Zero – the company’s initiative to make all Amazon shipments net zero carbon, with 50% of all shipments net zero by 2030 – as well as its companywide goal to use 100% renewable energy across its global operations and infrastructure. Additionally, Amazon was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. for the amount of corporate on-site solar installed in 2018 by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
“Online shopping is inherently more sustainable, and with Shipment Zero, we’re working to make all Amazon shipments net zero carbon, with 50% of all shipments net zero by 2030,” said Kara Hurst, director of sustainability, Amazon. “Our investments in renewable energy – including reaching our goal of 50 solar rooftop installations a year early – are another important milestone in building a more sustainable business. Thanks to all the teams working hard to deliver this – we’re going to continue our investment in renewable energy.” Globally, Amazon has 32 rooftop systems in the U.S., 12 in the EU, and seven in India, totaling over 98 MW of installed capacity. In total, Amazon has 61 operating solar and wind projects that are expected to generate over 1,044 MW and deliver over 3.1 million MWh of energy annually.
Source: www.chainstoreage.com
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ORGANIZATION NEWS
Apple Leads Corporate American Solar Energy Usage
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pple led the way in solar usage as technology companies step up their development of renewable energy projects to offset their carbon emissions. That’s the word from the Solar Energy Industry Association in its latest tally of leading corporate solar energy installers across the U.S. Last year, Apple installed 400 megawatts of solar capacity to lead all companies in the U.S. “Top companies are increasingly investing in clean, reliable solar energy because it makes economic sense,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), in a statement. “[And] corporate solar investments will become even more significant as businesses use solar to fight climate change, create jobs and boost local economies.”
Four of the top 10 corporate solar users in the U.S. were tech companies. Amazon was No. 2 on the Solar Energy Industry Association’s list of companies tapping solar energy to power
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their businesses. The data center company Switch and search giant Google (a subsidiary of Alphabet) came in as the fifth and sixth companies. “Playing a significant role in helping to reduce the sources of human-induced climate change is an important commitment for Amazon,” said Kara Hurst, director of Sustainability, Amazon, in a statement. “Major investments in renewable energy are a critical step toward addressing our carbon footprint globally. We will continue to invest in these projects and look forward to additional investments this year and beyond.” The price for solar continues to come down, which is increasing the adoption — and scale — of solar installations in the U.S. According to the SEIA, the biggest jump in solar installations have happened in the last three years. In all, 7 gigawatts of solar capacity has been installed at commercial locations, which is enough to power 1.4 million homes. Of course, these numbers still need to increase even more dramatically for the corporate world to show that it’s serious about addressing climate change. While it’s important to acknowledge the successes of companies that are taking strides to incorporate more renewable energy into their operations, the goal for these massive industrial and technology giants (and really the goal for every institution) should be to get to as close to full decarbonization as possible. The world has 10 years to wean itself off its current emissionsheavy consumption habits. Increasing solar usage is a step in the right direction, but it’s only a step. Source: techcrunch.com
ORGANIZATION NEWS
C h i n a’ s CAT L to H e lp Japa n es e H om es Store S ola r P ow e r Ch e a ply
Solar panels line roofs of houses in Ota, a city near Tokyo. Demand for storage batteries is expected to grow as the government phases out feed-in tariffs for solar power. © Reuters
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V battery giant looks to rev up market hampered by high prices. China’s CATL, the world’s largest maker of electric car batteries, will start selling products for homes and businesses in Japan in 2020, with an eye toward tapping a market stunted by high prices. Under the arrangement announced Thursday, CATL will provide the components for storage batteries and Japanese partner Next Energy & Resources will be in charge of assembly. They aim to kick off sales by next summer. Tokyo will start phasing out its feed-in tariffs for solar power producers beginning in November, which will likely push more households to consume the electricity they generate instead of selling to a utility. CATL aims to tap this shift with much cheaper batteries than those currently available. A 10 kilowatt-hour battery for homes now costs about $20,000 to $25,000 in Japan, including installation. CATL and Next Energy are looking to possibly sell their batteries for under 1 million yen ($9,200). “We want to cut prices to about a quarter of current levels in three to five years,” Next Energy President Atsushi Ito said. Much solar power in Japan is generated through the thirdparty owner model, in which utilities set up panels on homes and factories. This lowers the power bill for participating households and businesses without requiring them to shell out for installation. CATL and New Energy will first distribute cheap
batteries through the utilities, with plans to eventually consider selling directly to households. “Japan is important strategically,” a CATL executive said. Founded in 2011, CATL became the world’s top automotive battery maker six years later, overtaking Panasonic and other rivals with help from the Chinese government. Its clients include BMW and Volkswagen, and Toyota Motor announced a partnership with the company earlier this month. The company produced a total of 21.31 gigawatt-hours of storage capacity in 2018, and is aiming for 50 GWh in 2020. Its massive war chest allows it to produce high-quality products cheaply. High prices so far have limited the spread of batteries for storing solar power in Japan. The market for those designed for households came to just 80 billion yen in fiscal 2017, according to the JMA Research Institute. “They wont become popular until the batteries go down to 500,000 yen on their own, or about 1.5 million yen with the panels and other equipement,” an industry insider said. The rise of inexpensive Chinese batteries - such as through CATL - is expected to pressure Japanese producers to drive down prices as well. Source: asia.nikkei.com
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INDUSTRY NEWS
T Penang Government to go Big on Solar Farming with TNB
he Penang government today said it wants to venture heavily into solar farming, spearheaded by its two local councils, in a push to harness renewable energy.
Local Government Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said the Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) had signed up for a solar power programme with Tenaga Nasional Berhad. He said the Penang Island City Council was also ready to go big on solar farming. Jagdeep said MPSP had signed an agreement with TNB as part of the SARE renewable energy plan in May, making it the first local council in the country to sign such a deal with TNB. SARE or Supply Agreement of Renewable Energy, is a programme that covers the related agreements and policies for the supply and consumption of renewable energy in Malaysia. With SARE, there is no upfront cost to install photovoltaic panels, which can be leased from a company through a fee agreed upon and would be reflected on the TNB bill. The solar panel installation will let MPSP sell excess power generated by the panels to TNB and get energy credit on a “one-on-one offset basis” to further reduce its bills. Jagdeep said that under the plan, solar panels had been installed on three of MPSP’s properties in Bukit Mertajam, while another 31 buildings on the mainland had been identified as potential for solar farming. He said the Penang Island City Council had also identified 15 spots on the island to be used for possible solar farming projects. Jagdeep also said the state government would spend RM75 million to convert all street lights from using conventional bulbs to LEDs by 2022 to reduce power consumption and bills in the long run. He said 17,542 street lights would be replaced on the island and Seberang Perai. He said Penang had 105,813 street lights in total – 34,104 of them on the island and the rest on the mainland. A total of 31,596 are local government-owned while TNB owns 74,217. He said 17,451 street lights out of 34,104 had been converted to LED on the island so far. “This will reduce power costs by 50% to 60%. Currently, the Penang Island City Council pays RM6 million for street lights a year. I think we will save half of that sum when we convert all the lighting to LED,” he said.
The Seberang Perai Municipal Council is the first local council to sign a deal with Tenaga Nasional Berhad. (Bernama pic)
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Source: www.freemalaysiatoday.com
INDUSTRY NEWS
SJK(C) Beng Teik is Penang’s
First School to Use Solar Energy
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JK(C) Beng Teik in Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang became the first school in the state to install solar panel systems on the rooftops of school buildings.
The school signed a supply agreement for renewable energy (SARE) with Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and its subsidiaries, TNBX Sdn Bhd and GSPARX Sdn Bhd for the initiative. According to a statement by TNB, once installation is completed in October this year, the school will generate 77.5kW of electricity to partly cover the cost of its electricity bill. The SARE signed is a tripartite contract between TNB, GSPARX as the registered solar PV investor (RPVI) and SJK(C) Beng Teik as the customer. It allows SJK(C) Beng Teik to enjoy a lower electricity rate than the gazette tariff. The SARE scheme is presently offered by TNBX Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of TNB. SJK(C) Beng Teik can also sell the excess solar energy from the solar PV installation to TNB and get energy credit on a ‘one-on-one’ offset basis to further reduce its electricity bills via the net energy metering (NEM) scheme. Speaking at the signing ceremony at the school, Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow commended SJK(C) Beng Teik for the solar installation project which he hoped will be emulated by other schools in Penang. He also expressed hope that the project would spur green mindset among the 900 pupils in SJK(C) Beng Teik.
Chow said the state government is actively promoting environmental awareness and encouraging renewables mindset among the younger generation. “We are happy to see TNB supporting Penang’s Green Initiative through SARE scheme,” he said. Meanwhile, TNB chief retail officer Megat Jalaluddin Megat Hassan said the scheme is generally offered to local and federal governments as well as commercial and industrial customers to help reduce their electricity costs through renewable energy generation. “We hope the SARE scheme will be one of the initiatives to ensure sustainable value creation,” he said. Megat Jalaluddin also disclosed that TNB was exploring collaboration opportunities with several experienced companies with an established footprint in renewable energy markets. Signing the SARE for TNB was Megat Jalaluddin while GSPARX was represented by its chief operating officer Khirul Nizam Shamsudin together with the headmaster SJK (C) Beng Teik, Tan Lee Eng. The signing was witnessed by the Penang chief minister, Penang Education Department director Dr. Mahanom Mat Sam, and SJK(C) Beng Teik Secretariat LPS cum Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) Penang chairman Dato’ Ooi Eng Hock. “We hope that the solar PV system will inculcate RE awareness among our students and the general public,” SJK(C) Beng Teik headmaster Tan Lee Eng said. SARE leverages on TNB’s integrated billing system, whereby customers benefit from the convenience of monitoring their total energy consumption and cost. Source: www.nst.com.my
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INDUSTRY NEWS
S olar Industry Can Gener ate More Job
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he Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC) is confident that the solar industry will be able to create more jobs in the country. Minister Yeo Bee Yin said more than 54,300 Malaysians have been working in related fields in the industry since 2011. “In line with the government’s aim to provide sustainable solar energy, we have been creating jobs in the industry,” she told reporters after attending the launch of ‘Malaysia’s Largest Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Project’ under the net energy metering (NEM) scheme by Goodyear Malaysia Bhd (Goodyear). Also present was Ramon Le, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company’s director of Manufacturing Operation, Asia Pacific. Yeo said currently, the solar industry is not only focused on the installation of solar panels on commercial buildings, but also on factory premises.
“This has been done by Goodyear, who had installed solar panels on its factory premises as a step towards reducing its carbon footprint as well as ensuring a more environmentally-friendly future. It will also help the company to reduce electricity consumption and cut down its electricity bills,” she said. Meanwhile, Le said Goodyear had installed 6,680 solar panels, which are connected to six low voltage substations capable of generating 2.5 megawatts not only for the manufacturing plant, but also for the office building and the warehouse. He said the panels were made from 375W Bifacial Monocrystalline Perc Double Glass Solar Modules, capable of reducing 1.98 million kilograms in carbon emissions annually for 25 years. The NEM scheme is a solar PV initiative by MESTECC to encourage Malaysia’s renewable energy uptake.
The Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin is confident that the solar industry will be able to create more jobs in the country.
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Source: www.nst.com.my
INDUSTRY NEWS
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he government is committed to fulfilling its promise in the Pakatan Harapan manifesto to raise Malaysia’s installed capacity of renewable energy from two per cent last year to 20 per cent by 2025. “We are on track. Although some detractors say this renewable energy target in our country’s power mix may seem ambitious, I believe it is doable,” said Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin. In making renewable energy financing more attractive, Yeo said the government had expanded the list of assets available for the Green Investment Tax Allowance from nine to 40 items. Many of these are renewable energy items for Biogas, Biomass and Small Hydro installations. Yeo was officiating at the opening ceremony of the Evolution of ESG Investing seminar hosted by Malayan Banking Bhd and Bursa Malaysia Bhd. Also present were Bursa Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, Bursa Malaysia chief commercial officer Selvarany Rasiah and Maybank Kim Eng Group chief executive officer Ami Moris and Maybank Investment Bank Bhd chief executive officer Fad’l Mohamed.
Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin (fourth from left) said the government would continue to host more bids for large-scale solar (LSS) power projects.
Malaysia Wants
In February this year, the government called for bids for RM2 billion projects under the third round of the large-scale solar (LSS) scheme to increase electricity generation from renewable energy. Yeo said the government would continue to host more bids for LSS power projects.
More Solar
Investments
“In the next round, there will be some changes on how we will tender the LSS project. It will be more innovative to lower costs,” she added. Yeo expects commercial and industrial buildings to tap into solar and be early adopters of the revised Net Energy Metering (NEM) scheme. The NEM offers those who opt for solar energy lower tariffs, tax incentives, solar leasing programmes, and reduced electricity
bills through the one-on-one offset, where every 1kWh exported to the grid will be offset against 1kWh consumed from the grid. It was reported that the government had allocated a 2019 NEM quota of 500 MW, with 450 MW allocated for commercial and industrial buildings, and the remaining 50 MW for residential buildings. Source: www.nst.com.my
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INDUSTRY NEWS
New Policy Soon to Boost Solar PV Adoption
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he government will soon announce a new policy for developers to incorporate solar photovoltaics (PV) systems in new buildings. Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change minister Yeo Bee Yin said the move was part of efforts to encourage more use of solar PVs in the country. According to her, the country boasts vast rooftop spaces where solar PV systems can be installed with the aim of reducing electricity usage. “Malaysia has about 3.2 million landed houses, 450,000 shop lots, 21,000 standalone factories and 1,000 shopping complexes. That is a lot of rooftop space. “That is why the government is encouraging solar PV panels on rooftops instead of having it mounted on the ground, as the land can be used for other purposes. “Roofs cannot be used for anything else except to collect dust. So it can be utilized to produce electricity. We foresee the early adopters of NEM (Net Energy Metering) system will be industrial and commercial corporations with large rooftop spaces before it trickles down to domestic use,” she said.
According to Yeo, the government’s efforts to encourage the use of solar photovoltaics (PV) was paying off, as Malaysia has emerged as the third largest manufacturer in the world, providing employment opportunities in the engineering, technical sectors as well as service providers in the industry. “We are Asean region’s biggest solar photovoltaics (PV) employer, as announced by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) recently. “More than 54,300 local Malaysians have been hired to work in the industry since 2011 till now. That is good news. “I am confident that with the NEM Scheme introduced by the government which encourages more usage of solar PV, there will be more jobs created in the future,” she said. Yeo added apart from boosting the economy, the use of solar PV also helps consumers to save electricity and sustain the environment. Some of the huge solar PV manufacturing players in the country have plants in Cyberjaya, Kulim, as well as Sarawak.
Yeo also encouraged households to install solar PV systems at their properties where they can turn into “pro-sumers” (producer-consumers) of electricity. “We expect go-green advocates and environmentalists to use the system once the market matures. “They have a choice of whether they want to buy electricity from Tenaga Nasional Berhad or produce it themselves. Instead of becoming a consumer, you can be a prosumer,” she said at the launch of Malaysia’s largest rooftop solar PV project under the NEM Scheme: 2.5 MW PV system by Goodyear. Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change minister Yeo Bee Yin said the move was part of efforts to encourage more use of solar PVs in the country. (BERNAMA)
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Source: www.nst.com.my
INDUSTRY NEWS
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Penang in Solar Power Push, to Start with Chowrasta Market
enang is turning to solar energy as part of its green agenda and will install solar panels at public facilities across the state, said exco Jagdeep Singh Deo.
The local government, housing development and town and country planning committee chairman said the initiative would both improve the state’s energy efficiency and reduce its power costs. “I have instructed both local councils in the state to identify more public facilities to expand the solar energy project in line with our green agenda,” he said in a press conference when he visited Walk@Chowrasta. He said Chowrasta Market is the first market in the country to be green building index (GBI) certified and will soon have solar panels installed along the walkway next to it. A total of 110 solar panels will be installed on the canopy of the walkway — named Walk@Chowrasta — at a cost of RM180,000 by the MBPP. Jagdeep said the solar panels will be spread out along the 105m lane and will be completed by October. He said the panels will save the city council about RM3,000 each month in energy bills at the site and expected to pay for themselves in about six years and that the project is one of the many by the local government to benefit the people and ratepayers. Walk@Chowrasta is the first canopy project on the island to provide shade to market-goers and traders along the lane. “Walk@Chowrasta is built with rainwater harvesting tank and it can collect up to 9,000 liters of water for irrigation and cleaning works,” he said. The Walk@Chowrata project was awarded at RM2.5 million through an open tender to contractor Nazareka Sdn Bhd with Perunding YAA Sdn Bhd as the consultant. The project started on November 1 last year and had been due for completion on April 30, but this has been extended to October 15. The RM2.5 million was only for the construction of the canopy and does not include the RM180,000 to install the solar panels. MBPP Mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang said the city council is now looking at other premises to install solar panels for energy efficiency and to cut energy costs. “This is part of our green agenda so we will identify more premises to install solar panels and harvest the energy,” he said.
Jagdeep and Yew (left) showing the artist’s impression of the canopy at Walk@Chowrasta July 24, 2019. — Picture by Opalyn Mok
Chowrasta Market was originally a collection of market stalls at the junction of Jalan Penang, Lebuh Tamil, Jalan Kuala Kangsar and Jalan Chowrasta back in the 1890s. A modern market building was constructed on the site in the 1960s and it was the first market complex with an escalator. The century-old Chowrasta Market was given an RM13.18 million facelift several years ago and the newly renovated complex was opened in late 2016.
Source: www.malaymail.com
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
France to Try Again with Solar Road Plan
This file photo taken on December 22, 2016 shows a solar panel road pictured following its inauguration in Tourouvre, Normandy, northwestern France. (AFP/Charly Triballeau)
F
rench local authorities said Wednesday that a highprofile “solar highway” experiment in Normandy had failed, but vowed to try again with new panels on a shorter stretch of road. “As time went on, we realized that on an economic and financial level, in terms of producing electricity, it was a failure,” said Alain Pelleray, a senior regional official in the Orne department. From the time the one-kilometer-long road was inaugurated with great fanfare in December 2016 until March this year, the experimental route had produced 229 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity, far less than an initial forecast of 642 MWh, he added. Instead of bringing in the expected 22,000 euros ($24,500) by selling the electricity generated to the state-owned power company EDF, the department had only received 8,000 euros, the official said.
20 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
The road in Tourouvre, population 1,500, had been financed by five million euros in state aid, and the environment minister at the time, Segolene Royal, had announced a four-year plan for a national roll-out. But problems cropped up with excessive noise and rapid wear on the road, forcing officials to curb the speed limit on the stretch to 70 kilometers per hour. The panels will now be taken up and replaced new-generation ones on a 400-meter stretch, Pelleray said. All was not lost, he added, since the project had already attracted international interest. “We have no regrets, the department did not spend anything on this and we are talking about applied research. In terms of renown, we hit the jackpot. We’ve had visits by Korean and Chinese tourists and industrialists.”
Source: www.thejakartapost.com
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Delhi to Replace Retired Thermal Power Plant with Solar Project
I
n its efforts to reduce air pollution, the Delhi government A significant announcement had come from the state of is taking steps beyond shutting down aging thermal power Punjab, which has little to no power generation resources plants within city limits. of its own, like coal or gas and importing them from other states hugely increases the cost of generation. The government of the Indian capital city of Delhi recently announced plans to replace a retired coal-fired power plant India’s largest power generation company, NTPC Limited, with a solar PV power project. The thermal power plant has set up several small solar power projects at its thermal power been non-operational for a couple of years and will make way plants. The capacity of these solar power projects ranges from for a 5-megawatt solar power plant, and a museum. 5 megawatts to 25 megawatts. A very large area within these power plant complexes is The Rajghat thermal power used for disposal of ash. plant sits at the heart of the These ash dumps have now Indian capital city. The power been reclaimed by setting plant was commissioned in up solar power projects, 1989. Following the increased ecological parks (in case of air pollution in the city, officials NTPC Badarpur, located at decided to shut down all coalDelhi’s limits), or museums based power plants within city (in case of Rajghat power limits. The Rajghat power plant, plant). with its low efficiency and aged technology, was among the first While NTPC has to be shut down. Another coal- Courtesy: MNRE, India installed solar power fired power plant owned by projects at its thermal India’s largest power generation company, and located at the power plants voluntarily, new Indian regulations now city limits, has also been shut down. mandate thermal power project developers set up renewable energy projects equivalent to at least 10% of the planned While 5 megawatts may not sound a large project, it would thermal power capacity. The amended Indian Grid Code be among the largest within Delhi due to the lack of large- calls it the Renewable Generation Obligation. enough open spaces within the city to support big solar power projects. Power distribution companies and large power With the air quality of Delhi being highlighted on a global consumers like the Delhi Metro, hospitals, and malls have scale, the government was forced to take several measures to opted for rooftop solar power projects, or have signed power reduce air pollution. Decommissioning the coal-fired power purchase agreements with large-scale projects located in other plants was among the first steps taken by the government. states. Other measures include the mandatory switch from diesel to compressed natural gas as a fuel for commercial vehicles, There have been reports in the past when state governments levying an environmental tax on all commercial vehicles or private companies have announced plans to replace existing entering Delhi, and suspension of all construction activities or planned thermal power plants with solar power projects. within and around city limits.
Source: cleantechnica.com
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ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Dubai International Airport Installs 15,000 Solar Panels √ KEY POINTS • Dubai Airports says the system will produce 7,483,500 kilowatt hours of energy per year • This will help to cut carbon emissions by more than 3,000 metric tons annually.
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solar energy system made up of 15,000 photovoltaic panels has been installed at Dubai International airport.
In an announcement, Dubai Airports said the system would produce 7,483,500 kilowatt hours of energy per year, helping to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 3,243 metric tons. Etihad Energy Services Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, was involved in the project’s installation. Michael Ibbitson, who is executive vice president for Infrastructure and Business Technology at Dubai Airports, said in a statement that a number of initiatives had been undertaken to limit its carbon footprint. “These include the use of energy efficient fittings, the optimization of cooling systems, the installation of energy efficient LED bulbs and many others,” he explained. “In addition to enabling us to limit our carbon footprint while cutting costs, these initiatives also support our long-term vision for a carbon neutral future in line with the aviation industry’s target.” Around the world, a number of airports have installed solar panels on their estates in a bid to green operations. In April 2019, Hawaii’s Department of Transportation announced that 2,980 photovoltaic panels had been installed on the fifth floor of the Terminal 2 garage at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu. In October solar business Solarcentury said it had signed a contract with the International Civil Aviation Organization to install a ground-mounted, 500-kilowatt solar system at Moi International Airport, in Mombasa, Kenya.
22 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
Source: www.cnbc.com
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Solar Street Lights Improve Quality of Life in Indian Villages
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government program in India helps provide solar-powered street lights to rural communities.
Solar lighting is bringing changes to many areas, including the village of Balla, near the Himalayas in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh. In the past, many villagers never left homes after the sun went down. The reason: the streets usually went completely dark at night. “We used to be scared. This is a lonely area and wild animals used to come,” villager Umesh Chandra Awasthi told VOA. But life changed a lot in this rural community after solar-powered lamps were set up on Balla’s streets. “Now we have a free pass to go outdoors after dark. Animals, even pigs that wandered into our gardens, don’t trouble us any longer,” Awasthi said. The addition of the lamps is part of a government program to expand solar energy in rural areas. Most people living in rural and mountainous areas have limited access to the main electrical system. The program was launched three years ago with the goal of adding tens of thousands of solar-powered street lights. Today the lamps are found in hundreds of villages in the northern Himalayas, as well as poor, underdeveloped states like Bihar and Jharkhand in India’s east. Nationwide about 240 million people lack access to dependable power supplies because of operational issues, inability to pay or other reasons. Government incentives have made solar energy more appealing for local communities because of its low cost. The government pays 90 percent of the cost of the solar lights, which cost $350 a piece.
People in the villages make up the difference. Surender Dhiman is a project officer for Himachal Pradesh’s energy agency, which oversees the program. He says the lamps have become popular in villages that did not have street lighting before. He added that people are now going out after dark because they feel safer. Solar lights are also popular because once the lights are paid for, there are no other costs for villagers or officials to worry about. The lighting also helps in India’s mountains, where power outages are common. “Due to frequent storms, conventional power lines often go down, and sometimes lights are out for long stretches while repair work carries on,” villager Ajay Awasthi said. “Now even during outages, the solar lights keep the area lit.” With a newfound sense of security, women are now going out after dark and some mothers are letting their children go, too. “Now my children can play outside in the courtyard,” said Shivani Sharma, a mother of a young son and daughter. “If they have examinations and there is no light, they can even study outside,” she added. The solar street lighting is proving so popular that many people now want solar equipment where they live to light up their homes. The villagers say such equipment could especially help needy families who often keep lights off at home to save money. It remains to be seen whether government-supported housetop solar collectors will someday become a reality in Balla. For now, the villagers are happy to enjoy a new kind of freedom created by light. Source: learningenglish.voanews.com
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ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
S
outh Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that it will develop a 2.1 GW floating solar power plant which, upon completion, will be 14-times larger than the world’s current largest floating project.
The new mammoth floating solar PV plant will be built atop the Saemangeum Seawall dyke, located on the southwest coast of the Korean Peninsula, which is the world’s longest man-made dyke and separates the Yellow Sea from the former Saemangeum estuary. According to a translated press release from MOTIE, the Saemangeum water condition lighting power plant will be built over two stages – a 1.2 GW first stage which is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022, and a 900 MW second stage to be completed in 2025. The project will be able to generate the equivalent power demand of about 1 million households and will serve to accelerate efforts to meet the South Korean Government’s 2030 renewable energy plan, which requires 20% of the country’s electricity to be generated from renewable energy sources.
Earlier this year, analysts from Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables predicted that South Korea would likely miss its 2030 renewable energy target, but with an additional 2.1 GW of capacity, the new Saemangeum floating solar project could go a long way to bridging any perceived gaps in renewable energy generation. A month later, however, South Korea announced plans to boost its renewable energy generation through a 35% renewable energy target by 2040. “We have decided to increase the share of renewable power to between 30 percent and 35 percent by 2040 to move toward cleaner and safer energy based on an advisory group’s recommendation,” Park Jae-young, director of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, told a public hearing in Seoul in April. The new floating solar behemoth will be 14-times larger than the world’s currently largest floating solar PV project, a 150 MW project under construction in China’s Panji District. 24 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
South Korea
Unveils Plans for 2.1GW Floating Solar Plant Further, the ministry also claimed that the project “would be 1.6 times more than the combined capacity of the global floating solar facilities for all of last year.” The project will require approximately 4.6 trillion won (AU$5.56 billion) in private investment but the ministry also claimed that the project will require 1.6 million construction workers, greatly boosting the local economy. Announcement of the new floating solar project came only a few days after Norwegian oil, gas, and wind company Equinor announced that it would partner with the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) and the Korean power company Korea EastWest Power (EWP) to develop a 200 MW floating offshore wind project off the southeast coast of South Korea. The Donghae 1 project could begin construction as early as 2022 and reach completion and operation by 2024. “We are very pleased to be member of the partnership involved in realizing the first floating offshore wind farm in Asia,” said Stephen Bull, senior vice president for the wind and low carbon cluster of New Energy Solutions in Equinor. “If we succeed in realizing the project, the Donghae floating offshore wind project will be the world’s biggest floating wind farm, more than twice the size of Hywind Tampen on the Norwegian continental shelf. A floating offshore wind farm of this size will help further increase the competitiveness of floating offshore wind power in the future.”
Source: reneweconomy.com.au
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Women are Bringing Solar Energy to Thousands of Indian Villages
I
Frontier Markets now has around 3,000 women employed as “Solar Sahelis.”
ndia is trying to bring electricity to hundreds of millions of its citizens who live off the grid. And it’s trying to ensure that the power comes from clean and renewable sources.
Frontier Markets is helping to achieve both those goals in the Western desert state of Rajasthan, selling solar-powered products to hundreds of villages. The company is thriving by turning its customers into salespeople. The company employs women to sell products like lamps, stoves, and even TVs that run on solar power through a program called Solar Sahelis (Solar Friends). Each woman is in charge of selling products to hundreds of rural households. “We learned that while the customer — the person paying for the product — was a man, the person using the product was a woman,” Frontier Markets CEO Ajaita Shah said in an interview with CNN Business. “In fact, 70% of our users were women and that is when we realized that in order to properly serve the right households needs, women had to be at the center of that value chain,” she added. Shah founded Frontier Markets in 2011, with the goal of providing clean energy to millions of rural Indians while also giving women a source of employment and income. The goals encapsulate some of India’s most urgent issues. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made rural electrification a big priority, announcing last year that 100% of the country’s villages now have access to power. But the government considers a village electrified if just 10% of its houses are on the grid, meaning over 200 million people still don’t have access to electricity. The Modi government has also set aggressive targets to increase solar energy capacity, and it has succeeded in going from less than four gigawatts in 2015 to nearly 30 gigawatts — about 8% of India’s total energy capability. The government wants to increase that to 100 gigawatts by 2022.
The 3,000 women that Shah employs have helped to provide energy to more than half a million village houses in Rajasthan, she said. The women communicate the benefits of clean energy to rural households, but also help Frontier Markets understand the kind of innovations that those households need most, she added. Another pressing need that Frontier Markets is helping to solve is getting more women into work. Only 22% of India’s workforce is female, according to the latest data from the World Bank, one of the lowest rates in the world. India lags behind countries such as Sudan, El Salvador and Afghanistan.
Ajaita Shah founded Frontier Markets in 2011.
“As India starts growing and moving and changing and evolving, especially with the digital revolution, women are still being left behind,” Shah said. “It’s really important for us to continuously invest in our women’s skills and their education to be able to catch up.” The business model appears to be working. Frontier Markets’ annual revenue has gone from around $300,000 in 2015 to nearly $2.7 million this year, and the company has partnered with big global names like Philips and Unilever (UL). “We are very proud of how we’ve been able to succeed with Frontier Markets,” Shah said. “It’s a part of my mission to make sure we understand that investing in women is not just an impact story but smart business and the key to end poverty.” Source: edition.cnn.com 25 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT NEWS
Brand New Material Could Lead to Cheaper Solar Cells
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cientists may have found a pathway to designing interfaces of hybrid materials that are capable of turning light into electrical currents with high efficiency — a breakthrough that could potentially boost the performance of solar cells and slash their manufacturing costs.
research groups, said, “So-called ‘free electrons,’ which wander freely in the material and conduct electricity, are rare and can’t be generated readily by light absorption. This impedes the use of these organic materials in applications like solar panels because panels built with these materials often have poor performance.”
In one of the latest scientific research into novel materials and technologies to boost solar cell performance, scientists at the University of Kansas said this week that a breakthrough material combining organic semiconductors with a recently discovered two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor could overcome the current limitations of generating free electrons and charges from organic semiconductors.
The KU researchers therefore focused on “freeing the electrons” as a potential breakthrough in developing organic semiconductors for solar cells, light sensors, and many other optoelectronic applications. By adding the 2D layer, researchers allow the electrons to “to escape from holes” and “move freely”. The findings of the groups led by Chan and Hui Zhao, professor of physics & astronomy, “will help develop general principles of how to design the ‘landscape’ to free the electrons in such hybrid materials,” the University of Kansas said. The KU research is the latest discovery that could, in the future, lead to much higher solar cell performance than previously thought. Recent research and experiments have led to discoveries in both organic semiconductors and conventional silicon-based solar cells.
Organic semiconductors, a type of carbon-based materials with optical and electronic properties, currently have significant limitations in generating free charges, which prevents them from being used on a wide scale, the University of Kansas says. But two physics research groups at the university have recently managed to generate free electrons by combining organic semiconductors with a single atomic layer of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) — a recently discovered two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor. Commenting on the properties of organic semiconductors themselves, Wai-Lun Chan, associate professor of physics & astronomy at the University of Kansas and leader of one of the 26 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
Earlier this month, physicists from the Dresden Integrated Center for Applied Physics and Photonic Materials (IAPP) and the Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (CFAED) at the TU Dresden — together with researchers from Tübingen, Potsdam, and Mainz — were able to demonstrate how electronic energies in organic semiconductor films can be tuned by electrostatic forces.
At MIT, researchers have shown through experiments that a photon in the silicon cell could be ‘turbocharged’ in order “to kick out two electrons instead of one, opening the door for a new kind of solar cell with greater efficiency than was thought possible.” These ‘turbocharged’ silicon cells could potentially raise the power produced by the solar cell — from a current theoretical maximum of 29.1 percent, up to a maximum of about 35 percent, according to a paper published earlier this month by graduate student Markus Einzinger, professor of chemistry Moungi Bawendi, professor of electrical engineering and computer science Marc Baldo, and eight others at MIT and at Princeton University. At Penn State, researchers have found that 2D perovskite materials have unique, conductive edge states. “Researchers said the findings could boost performance of solar cells and LED technology by providing additional charge pathways within the devices,” Penn State said in a news release this week. “Researchers said the findings could boost performance of solar cells and LED technology by providing additional charge pathways within the devices,” Penn State said in a news release this week.
Last year, researchers at Penn State found that the properties of an inexpensive and quick-to-produce class of materials known as halide perovskites could lead to more efficient PV materials to replace traditional silicon solar cells. Chinese researchers said in October 2018 they had developed a new technique to make solar cells that could allow them to avoid high-temperature processes, thus making those solar cells lower-cost and more efficient. Also last year, researchers from HelmholtzZentrum Berlin (HZB) said that they had experimented with increasing the efficiency of silicon solar cells by incorporating layers of organic molecules into the solar cell. This could potentially abolish the 29.3 percent theoretical efficiency limit for silicon solar cells due to their physical material properties. Falling costs have already made unsubsidized onshore wind and solar the cheapest sources of electricity generation in nearly all major economies in the world, including India and China, BloombergNEF said in a report late last year. If just one or two of the recent breakthroughs were to turn into a viable way to boost solar cell performance on a large scale, solar power and renewable energy generation could become even cheaper and more widespread. Source: oilprice.com
15 - 16 Oct 2019 / Ho Chi Minh City
Increasing Solar & Wind Power Capacity in Vietnam! KEY HIGHLIGHTS
• RE-Electrify Vietnam – Strategy for Solar + Wind Development & EVN’s Role • Updates on National Support, Tariff Structure & Corresponding Bankability of Solar & Wind PPAs • Regional Outlook on Solar + Wind Opportunities; Economics & Vietnam’s Advantage • Case Studies of Successful Projects in Vietnam & Asia • Utility-Scale Solar Farms – Sustaining the Heartbeat? • Rooftop Solar Power – A Game Changer for Vietnam? • Wind Energy Potential in Vietnam – Onshore, Nearshore (InterTidal), Offshore? • Supply Chain Development for Offshore Wind in Vietnam • Perspectives from Developers + Investors + Lenders • LCOE & RE-Competitiveness in Vietnam • Grid Connection & Key Constraints • Potential for Energy Storage in Vietnam Renewables?
YOU WILL NETWORK WITH Local & International Power Companies, Government & Regulators, IPPs, Renewable Energy Project Developers, EPC, Solar Panels & Equipment/Technologies Providers, Wind Turbines & Equipment / Technologies Providers, Energy Storage Solution Providers, Transmission & Delivery Advisors, Financial Institutions, Investors & Project Financiers, Legal Consultants SPONSOR OR BOOK YOUR EXHIBITION SPACE This event is an excellent platform to promote your organization to influential players & investors in the industry. Talk to us for sponsorship packages or book your exhibition space now! Contact fiona@cmtsp.com.sg
TO REGISTER Online : www.cmtevents.com Email: huiyan@cmtsp.com.sg Tel: +65 6346 911327 Fax: +65 6345 5928
ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT NEWS
New Type of Clear Glass Can Act as Solar Panel
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working model has been created that proves the viability of the process. A new type of window glass – in effect a transparent solar panel – is the objective of joint research being done by the University of the Free State (UFS) in South Africa and Ghent University in Belgium.
and infrared light) can be collected, converted and concentrated to the sides of the glass panel where solar panels can be mounted. “This invisible light can then be used to generate electricity to power buildings, vehicles and electronic devices. The goal is therefore to create a type of transparent solar panel.”
A working model has been created that proves the viability of the process, which now needs to be refined, made more efficient, and brought to the market. It is hoped to achieve this within a decade. This new product will have the capacity to revolutionize the generation of power cheaply from the sun to power homes, factories, and cities in a new clean way. Academics from the University of the Free State in South Africa, Professor Hendrik Swart and Lucas Erasmus, are doing joint research with Ghent University in Belgium to find solutions for energy production.
Swart says this technology can be implemented in the building environment to meet the energy demands of the people inside the buildings. “The technology is also good news for the 4.7 billion cell phone users in the world, as it can be implemented in the screens of cell phones, where the sun or the ambient light of a room can be used to power the device without affecting its appearance,” he says.
Professor Swart explains the main objective of the research: “The idea is to develop glass that is transparent to visible light, just like the glass you find in the windows of buildings, motor vehicles and mobile electronic devices. However, by incorporating the right phosphor materials inside the glass, the light from the sun that is invisible to the human eye (ultraviolet
28 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
Another possible application is in electric cars, where the windows can be used to help power the vehicle. Erasmus adds: “We are also looking at implementing this idea into hard, durable plastics that can act as a replacement for zinc roofs. This will allow visible diffused light to enter housing and the invisible light can then be used to generate electricity. The device also concentrates the light from a large area to the small area on the sides where the solar panels are placed; therefore, reducing the number of solar panels needed and in return, reducing the cost.”
Source: www.ecmweb.com
29 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT NEWS
E n g ine e r s D is c over Lead- F r ee
Pe rovs k i t e Se mic o n d u c to r for S ola r C e l l s U sin g Data Analy t i c s , S u pe rc o mp u t e r s
S
olar panel installations are on the rise in the U.S., with more than 2 million new installations in early 2019, the most ever recorded in a first quarter, according to a recent report by Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables. To meet the ever-increasing demands, low-cost and more efficient alternatives to silicon-based solar cells—currently the most widely used technology—are desirable. In the past decade, lead-halide perovskites have surged as the most promising class of alternative materials; however, they are unstable. They contain lead, which is toxic and poses potential health and environmental hazards such as groundwater contamination. A team of engineers at Washington University in St. Louis has found what they believe is a more stable, less toxic semiconductor for solar applications using a novel double perovskite oxide discovered through data analytics and quantum-mechanical calculations. Their work was published online June 11 in Chemistry of Materials. Rohan Mishra, assistant professor of mechanical engineering & materials science in the McKelvey School of Engineering, led an interdisciplinary, international team that discovered the new semiconductor, made up of potassium, barium, tellurium, bismuth and oxygen (KBaTeBiO6). The lead-free double perovskite oxide was one of an initial 30,000 potential bismuth-based oxides. Of those 30,000, only about 25 were known compounds. Using materials informatics and quantum mechanical calculations on one of the fastest supercomputers in the world, Arashdeep Singh Thind, a doctoral student in Mishra’s lab based at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, found KBaTeBiO6 to be the most promising out of the 30,000 potential oxides. “We found that this looked to be the most stable compound and that it could be synthesized in the lab,” Mishra said. “More importantly, whereas most oxides tend to have a large band, we predicted the new compound to have a lower band gap, which is close to the halide perovskites, and to have reasonably good properties.” The band gap is the energy barrier that electrons must overcome to form free carriers that, in the context of a solar cell, can be extracted to power an electrical device or stored in a battery for 30
ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
An atomic model of KBaTeBiO6 (left), the most promising of 30,000 oxides in a potential solar panel. At right is a scanning transmission electron micrograph showing the atomic structure of KBaTeBiO6, along with snapshot of the synthesized powder. Credit: Courtesy Rohan Mishra.
later use. The energy to overcome this barrier is provided by sunlight. The most promising compounds for solar cell applications have a band gap of about 1.5 eV, or electronvolt, Mishra said. Mishra discussed the possibility of synthesizing KBaTeBiO6 with Pratim Biswas, assistant vice chancellor, the Lucy & Stanley Lopata Professor and chair of the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering. Shalinee Kavadiya, then a McKelvey Engineering doctoral student and now a postdoctoral research associate at Arizona State University, got to work on perfecting the recipe. “Shalinee spent about six months synthesizing the material,” Mishra said. “Once she was able to synthesize it, as we had predicted, it was stable and had a band gap of 1.88 eV, which we also predicted.” Mishra said these are first-generation solar cells that need more fine tuning of the band gap, but it is a good first step toward nontoxic solar cells. “This shows that we can go away from these lead-halide perovskites,” Mishra said. “This opens up a really big space for designing semiconductors not just for solar cell applications but also for other semiconductor applications, such as LCD displays.” Next, the team will study the role of any defects in this new semiconductor and look to more advanced synthesis techniques, including using aerosol techniques.
Source: phys.org
TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT NEWS
C
urrent approaches to water desalination are tremendously expensive and energy-intensive, so the search is very much on for new technologies that can get the job done more efficiently. Scientists in Melbourne have put forward one rather promising solution, developing a new kind of system that heats up and purifies water using only the power of the Sun. The device was developed by scientists at Australia’s Monash University, who say that water treatment accounts for around three percent of the world’s energy supply. Like other researchers around the globe, they have turned to sunlight to try and lighten the load, this time directing it toward what is known as a solar steam generator.
to separate salt from water. But one problem with the lattermost application is that the salt tends to gather on the surface of the material, which makes it difficult to produce pure water. The Monash University researchers worked around this problem with an intricately designed solar steam generator that prevents the salt from spoiling the broth. It consists of a disc crafted from super-hydrophilic filter paper, a material that attracts water, which is coated with a layer of carbon nanotubes that convert sunlight into heat. Water is fed into the center of the disc via a simple cotton thread, where the heat turns it into steam that builds up on the disc while pushing the salt to the edge. In this way, the device removes almost 100 percent of salt from the water, a level that leader of the team
Hydrophilic Disc Uses Solar Power to Separate Salt from Water Professor Xiwang Zhang assures us is “high enough for practical applications.” The salts that accumulate at the edges, meanwhile, can also be harvested for use. Zhang and his team tested out the device using salty water from a bay in South Australia, and found that it absorbed 94 percent of the light across the solar spectrum. It worked whether wet or dry, with light exposure heating up the device from 25 to 50° C (77 to 122° F) when dry and from 17.5 to 30° C (63.5 to 86° F) when wet, within just one minute. “This device can produce six to eight liters (1.6 to 2.1 gal) of clean water per square meter (of surface area) per day,” Zhang tells New Atlas. “We are working to further improve the water production rate.”
Not a weird mushroom, but a solar steam generator that desalinates water using sunlight. (Credit: Yun Xia/Monash University)
In simple terms, these devices concentrate sunlight onto a body of water, heating it up and causing it to evaporate. The resulting steam can then be used to drive turbines that produce electricity in concentrated solar power plants, perhaps sterilize medical equipment cheaply for the developing world, or simply
Zhang and his colleagues hope that with further work, the device could be put to use providing clean water to remote communities that are currently without access. But its value mightn’t end there. The technology could be used in other areas where more efficient water purification methods might come in handy, such as mining and wastewater treatment. “We hope this research can be the starting point for further research in energy-passive ways of providing clean and safe water to millions of people, illuminating environmental impact of waste and recovering resource from waste,” says Zhang.
Source: newatlas.com
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ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
IN THE HOT SEAT
An Interview with Ms. Dany Qian,
the Vice President of JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.
32 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
Jinko Solar Smart Factory
1
Based in China, JinkoSolar owns 15 oversea subsidiaries in Japan, Korea, Singapore, India, Turkey, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Australia and United Arab Emirates. What is JinkoSolar’s secret of success that contributes to such great achievement today? Four key elements underpin JinkoSolar’s performance, the first of which, after years of trying, is its growing success in extracting scale economies from its extensive global presence, as the results of JinkoSolar’s high and efficient production volumes with high purchasing power from clients, also together with the flexible supply chain. The rapid growth of global PV demand has benefited most industry players in recent years but JinkoSolar has derived particular benefit through its strong presence in both the mass market and the premium sector, where today Jinko is the best-selling brand.
2
As one of the only two PV module manufacturers globally to achieve Silver Cradle-to-Cradle certification by CGS, how do you compare JinkoSolar panels with any other solar panels in the similar industry? What’s specialty do JinkoSolar panels possess?
JinkoSolar fully understands the importance of production materials and the processes involved. It has made efforts on new material development in order to achieve that the separately used materials can be reused or recycled. In addition, Jinkosolar invites all parties, suppliers, stakeholders involved in this project – internally as well as externally. It also stimulates further innovation and that is of crucial importance to make sure out sustainable panel is the outcome of this process.
3
Recently, JinkoSolar speaks at 2019 World Economic Forum for Sustainable Development regarding how China could stimulate the energy transition at home and abroad. Sustainability Technology (ST) is the era now, could you explain how JinkoSolar incorporates sustainable development into their strategic development plans? Locate our newly built factories in provinces like Qinghai and Sichuan, where is enough of wind, solar or hydro energy, to enable new facilities run on renewables. Deploying solar panels on existing facilities roofs to achieve partially empowered by solar.
Jinko Cheetah
Secondly, there’s the technology innovation, which now stands full comparison with any competitors as a top player in the world’s premium sector. In the past few years, it constantly broke world record in cell efficiency and module power output. In addition, it is one of the few companies that is capable to convert research and development (R&D) lab result into massive production and market the products in a short lead time. Quality commitment is the third key factor. Exceptionally insist in using first class materials, like Dupont back sheet, Heraeus silver paste, etc. It adopts double even triple industry standard to conduct QC and QA. It has the industry leading lowest complaint rate. Finally, its customer oriented culture. Making customer satisfied and profitable is what drives JinkoSolar to produce and serve its customers. 33 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
IN THE HOT SEAT
Jinko Swan
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JinkoSolar has break the World Record for Cell Efficiency and Module Output. With significant breakthroughs in the field of high efficiency and high power of cells and modules, JinkoSolar has set new industry standard for peak performance. Could you share more behind the success of this? The top management supports for technological innovations, which at the same time allows for some level of risk, has foster the encouragement to innovate among the campus. Having upper-level support gives JinkoSolar R&D professionals the freedom to take risks when pursuing cutting-edge solutions in addition to resource and budget.
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What is your opinion regarding the South East Asia solar industry development currently?
SEA market is almost untapped and has huge potential because of its rich solar resource and increasing electricity demand. At the time when cost of solar is not a big problem that almost every SEA countries can implement solar without need of much fiscal support, the government should play a key role in setting up rules, providing appropriate regulatory support, fixing market mechanism which will benefit the solar industry.
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Talking about solar development globally, China has been overtaking the growth compare to Europe countries Providing one-stop solution of clean which are actually the pioneer who started energy and become industry leader the industry. What do you think is the reason are the company’s mission. What is behind the huge development of China solar JinkoSolar’s plans regarding this matter? industry?
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Shifting from product and solution provider towards clean energy related service provider is JinkoSolar’s long term strategy. We set up extensive global subsidiaries, offices, and global manufacturing sites, employing local staff, expertise and management team who can fully understand and have deep insight of local market and customers, based on which to develop tailor made solution and service package to address all possible problem when customers are using solar. 34 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
Clear and decisive solar energy target, determined strategy equipped with strong implementation, attractive tariff system particularly at the beginning stage of the solar industry, supportive policies and regulations, etc.
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COVER STORY
An Interview with YBrs. Ir. Dr. Sanjayan Velautham,
Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Malaysia 1
Congratulations on your recent appointment as the new Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Malaysia. With more than 30 years of experience in the industry, could you share with us a bit about your professional background in the sustainable energy industry? I started my career at Tenaga Nasional Bhd. (TNB), within the Power Generations Division, after which I returned to the academia as an Assoc. Prof. at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) focussing on sustainable energy. During the tenure with the university, I was seconded to lead the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP Malaysia) BioGen Project as the National Project Manager. In 2008, I moved to Singapore initially as the Deputy Director with the Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and proceeded with General Electric responsible for the Power Generation Services business for the Asia-Pacific Region. Prior to my present appointment, I was the Executive Director of the ASEAN Centre for Energy responsible for the strategies and policies on Energy Cooperation for ASEAN. Besides that, I am presently an Advisory Board Member for the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC), Japan.
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I have had the opportunity to maintain a mix of appointments and engagements in several countries within the region and beyond, working with decision makers in the government, academic, corporate and civil society settings especially on energy matters. This experience has allowed me to appreciate the different insights and approaches by the government policy makers, industrialist and academicians on the transitioning of the energy landscape. I have also authored several publications in international journals/books and subject modules particularly in the field of energy and my interest is to continue to engage and understand energy strategies and policies related to the transformation of the energy landscape.
2.5MW Solar PV System installed on Goodyear Malaysia Berhad - the largest rooftop solar PV project under the Net Energy Metering (NEM) programme.
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Could you briefly explain the vital roles and influences of SEDA in the sustainable energy industry in Malaysia?
In 2016, Solar PV grew organically from the FiT to 3 other PV programmes: net energy metering, large scale solar, and the self-consumption.
Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Malaysia is a statutory body established under the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC). SEDA was established under the Sustainable Energy Development Authority Act 2011 [Act 726]. Under this Act, SEDA conferred all functions under the Renewable Energy law whilst advising the Minister and relevant Government Entities on all matters relating to sustainable energy including recommendations on policies laws and actions to be applied to promote sustainable energy.
ii. Net Energy Metering or known as NEM is a scheme where energy produced from the installed solar PV system to be consumed first, and the excess will be exported to Tenaga Nasional (TNB). Since January 2019, the mechanism has been revised to a one-on-one basis. This is a mechanism where an eligible consumer with the excess energy (kWh) is allowed to export to the grid offsetting the kWh at same consumption tariff provided by TNB. This revised programme gives better returns of investment and increase electricity savings per month to the owners of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. This programmes has a quota of 500MW ending in 2020.
a) The Renewable Energy Act provides for the establishment and implementation of special tariffs system (called Feed-in-Tariff, FiT) to catalyse the generation of renewable energy. i. The FiT is a mechanism that allows electricity produced from indigenous renewable resources to be sold to Distribution Licensees at a fixed premium price for a specific duration. This mechanism introduced in 2011 has catalysed the growth of renewable energy (RE) power generation industry; it has grown by 7 folds. While FiT has been an effective policy instrument in spawning of a RE market, technologies such as PV has reached price competitiveness and exited from the FiT scheme by 2017.
iii. Self-consumption or known as SELCO allows consumers to install and generate electricity for own usage. Any excess is not allowed to be exported to the grid. The Government is encouraging individual, commercial and industrial consumers to install solar PV for their own consumption, looking to hedge against the rising cost of electricity. iv. Large Scale Solar or known as LSS is a competitive bidding (reversed auction) to drive down the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) for the development of Large Scale Solar (LSS) Photovoltaic Plant. The Energy Commission is the implementing agency for this scheme.
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COVER STORY
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What are some of the challenges being faced by the solar industry? How does SEDA work in addressing these challenges? As indicated earlier, technologies such as PV has reached price competitiveness and exited from the FiT. The large scale solar has generated much interest and participation. However, there is a huge potential that Malaysia can continue to harvest from solar especially from the estimated 4.1 million rooftops. Some of the challenges on: a) Net energy metering (NEM) a. Lack of awareness by the general public on such schemes – toward this SEDA launched a new website with dedicated microsites on NEM including NEM calculator to create more awareness. We are continuing to undertake roadshows in different states. b. The perceived view that it will entail a tedious cycle to be installed. To a certain degree, this could have some merit as it is true where the whole process involved various bodies to interact closely to hasten and simplify the process. SEDA has initiated the needed dialogue amongst the various bodies to address this and it has now starting to yield results. c. Financing especially to invest upfront capital cost of installation – this is coupled with market pricing of solar installations. Towards this end, various schemes have been introduced such as the power purchase agreement (PPA) with solar investors, solar leasing programme or hybrid of both as offered by solar investors. There are also schemes introduced to lower the cost of financing investments such as the RM2 billion for the Green Technology Financing Scheme (GTFS) couple with financial incentives such as the Green Investment Tax Allowance and the Green Income Tax Exemption. However, we should continue to structure more innovative financing models to move the sustainable energy agenda forward. As Malaysia embarks on a journey to achieve 20% RE in the installed capacity mix by 2025 (excluding large hydro), SEDA is developing a roadmap called the Renewable Energy Transition Roadmap (RETR) 2035 to explore the possible strategies and action plans that hopefully surfaces solutions to overcome challenges in order to reach the nations aspirations and our global commitment on climate change.
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What opportunities do you see for the implementation of solar technology in Malaysia and how would it benefit the sustainable energy industry? Malaysia is blessed with ample solar radiation, harnessing solar energy for electricity makes sense to all Malaysians. The effort to increase the use of solar energy has grown since the first introduction of solar photovoltaic (PV) in the market more than 10 years ago and at the national level, solar PV today has reached 736 MWac (including off-grid) in installed capacity for the entire Malaysia and projected at least additional capacity of nearly 1841 MWac up to 2025. As a nation we must continue to explore innovative approaches to address our objective of increasing the RE penetration in our electricity mix - this needs to be done to address the aspect of energy security which itself varies over definitions, scope and approaches. In Malaysia energy security is best defined as a resilient energy system with uninterrupted availability of energy source at affordable price. Indigenous energy resource should be the obvious choice, however variable renewable energy (VRE) such as Solar are non-dispatchable due to its fluctuating nature, as opposed to controllable renewable energy source such as hydroelectricity and biomass. SEDA is exploring several options to further enhance the penetration of solar energy: i. Storage technology - With the rise of intermittent renewables, energy storage is needed to maintain the balance between demand and supply. With a changing role for storage in the energy system, new business opportunities arise for energy storage.Whilst most of these storage technologies are not yet mature, new entrants designing energy services solutions around storage and digital offerings are knocking on the door. As such, we need to build convincing business models within the context of the local electricity landscape.
ii. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Energy - Trading among solar prosumers and electricity consumers. The introduction of P2P energy trading would leverage on grid-edge technologies such as the blockchain, IoT, AI and big data. Meanwhile having a smart grid that is underpinned by digitalization will also allow greater penetration of solar energy into the electricity system. It would also enable virtual net metering (VNM) so consumers with space constraint (e.g. high rise buildings such as apartments) can procure solar electricity from off-site PV systems. It is anticipated the VNM will spawn front-of-meter (FTM) solar business that would continue an equitably socialized grid cost. iii. Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) - Has a potential of creating a vibrant market to trade renewable attributes especially for corporate and industrial power consumers albeit having the needed preconditions to be well established. RECs are proof that energy has been generated from renewable sources such as solar or wind power. Each REC represents the environmental benefits of 1MWh of RE generation. When you purchase RECs, RE is generated on your behalf. For project developers, RECs generate additional revenue for each MW of RE they produce. For corporate buyers, they are essential for meeting global sustainability targets. Sustainable energy industry is a sunrise industry and this industry needs widespread support such as engineers, researchers, bankers, legal advisors, energy economists, energy policy, digital services (as in digitalizing of electricity sector), investors and educational institutions. This has indeed catalysed employment in the RE sector.
“SEDA WILL CONTINUOUSLY ADVOCATE THE PUBLIC ON THE RENEWABLE ENERGY PROGRAMMES WITH ITS BENEFITS IN MALAYSIA.“ 5
Are there any challenges in advocating and spreading awareness of solar technology implementation to the public? Public awareness and public benefit campaigns play an important role in raising awareness of the public and in drawing public attention to the advantages of certain behaviour and in this case, the use of RE. However, by definition, public benefit campaigns are mostly non-commercial in nature coupled with the fact that only limited research has been undertaken to survey the tools available for public benefit campaigning and to study their relative cost-effectiveness. As such there are few challenges in spreading and advocating solar technology among Malaysians namely: 1) Lack of awareness among Malaysians and companies about the benefits of financial returns in investing in solar PV. 2) Bankers are not fully aware of solar technologies and solar PV related financing that is reasonable in loan rate and easy application is almost non-existent.
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COVER STORY
6 What is SEDA’s plan in evoking interest of the public to apply the use of solar technology in their household?
According to a study done by SEDA, Peninsular Malaysia has an approximately 4.1 million buildings with an estimated technical potential of 37 GW. However, the awareness on solar programmes (NEM and SELCO) is still considered low in Malaysia. SEDA has been striving hard to promote renewable energy (solar energy) in the country with roadshows, open days, speaking engagements, approaching the local authorities and engaging with the publics via digital platforms (social media and websites). SEDA will continuously advocate the public on the renewable energy programmes with its benefits in Malaysia.
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There are initiatives such as Large-Scale Solar (LSS), Feed-in Tariff (FiT) and Net Metering (NEM) to promote the growth of solar industry in Malaysia. How would these projects benefit the industry and how far could the industry grow? These programmes help to cultivate the growth of solar industry in Malaysia. Examples as per below: - It helps to bring down the cost of solar PV systems as market scales up. - It provides local PV service providers an opportunity to gain local experience, so they can expand their PV businesses outside of Malaysia. - As the end of 2018, solar PV has an installed capacity of 736MW (solar PV projects being installed under the FiT, LSS, NEM/SELCO and off-grid in the entire Malaysia) - Today, SEDA has recorded 117 registered PV service providers and 32 PV investors and we need to ensure these companies to continue bringing the needed value proposition to the public. - According to a recent study by IRENA on Global Energy Transformation: A Roadmap to 2050, by 2050, solar energy will dominate the RE mix with an estimated 8 500 GW installed capacity, followed by wind, with 6 000 GW. Together, these would account for three-fifths of global electricity generation. Solar business potential is domestically and globally huge. The ecosystem developed to nurture the PV industry today has the potential to help with the country’s gross national income (GNI) in the future.
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NEM category has been divided into 4 categories which are Residential, Commercial, Industrial and Agriculture. Agriculture is a new category that being added to the NEM scheme. Can you briefly explain how does the solar system work for the Agriculture part? 40 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
Under the NEM programme, Agriculture consumer means a consumer conducting specific agricultural activities strictly related to agriculture cultivation and breeding. The activities are confined to agriculture livestock (poultry and/or hatching, cattle and/or dairy, rearing of other animals), aquaculture (the breeding and cultivation of water plants and animals), horticulture (growing of fruits vegetables and flowers) and pumping for irrigation/drainage of land and for controlling water gates for the production of grains such as paddy. Similar to commercial and industrial consumers, the energy produced from the installed solar PV system will be consumed first, and any excess will be exported to TNB on a “one-on-one” offset basis. This scheme is applicable to all categories as long as they are the customers of TNB. The PV systems can be installed at available rooftops or even ground mounted within their own premises. Hence, agriculture sector can generate clean energy, hence reducing the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
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Importantly continue the consistent strategies for the electricity subsector focusing on the 3 aspects of policy and framework, innovative technology advances and the fiscal aspects such as creating a sustainable tariff framework and structure aimed at meeting the 20% RE Target by 2025. SEDA is in the midst of publishing the Renewable Energy Transition Roadmap (RETR) 2035 which would include strategies, action plans and resources required in transition of the future electricity system into achieving the national RE targets. Subjected to the rate of reform of the electricity industry and ensuring greater awareness by all stakeholders some specifics lists would be as stated below:
Access to reliable energy is one of the most important aspects of the well-being and sustainable development of modern society. In this context the role of energy is directly linked to economic prosperity, social development and environmental preservation of the country. We need to take a holistic approach in addressing the penetration of RE into the energy mix (i.e. a whole of government approach). Solar will continue to be a major contributor in our aspiration to generate more green energy. Towards this end, the creation of a vibrant PV market and a healthy ecosystem is required to support the market.
What can we expect to see from SEDA in the coming five years?
a) Corporate Renewables Companies who wish to consume only clean energy can own their renewable energy power plants such as solar farms. This may involve signing of direct PPA with RE project owners or direct ownership of the RE assets b) P2P solar energy trading platform in the pipeline The Government is mulling the introduction of a peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading platform that allows solar prosumers and electrical consumers to trade excess solar energy. The introduction of P2P energy trading will enable virtual net metering (VNM) so consumers with space constraint (e.g. high rise buildings) will still be able to benefit from the NEM by procuring solar electricity from off-site PV systems. The VNM will spawn front-of-meter (FTM) solar business e.g. solar leasing, solar PPA or hybrid of both. With P2P energy trading, the grid operator can impose wheeling charges for the use of the grid and this means that the cost of the grid will be more equitably socialized among electricity consumers that are still connected to the grid. With NEM, solar investors who provide leasing or PPA services to their clients face counterparty risk when their clients do not make timely payments. In some jurisdictions, the solar investors may not be able to enter into their clients’ premise to remove the solar PV system from their rooftop. One of the benefits with VNM is that the solar PV systems are installed off-site from the clients and any default in payment will enable the solar investors to stop selling electricity to their clients without having to resort to accessing their premises. c) Creating a vibrant RECs market Under the RETR 2035, SEDA will study the policy direction for the RECs if we should have a mandatory or voluntary RECs market. By supporting the development of a voluntary REC market in Malaysia, SEDA is unlocking the potential of significant investments in new renewable energy assets, which will assist Malaysia in meeting its NDC targets and to achieve the targeted 20% RE share of its power mix by 2025.
Based on your professional experience, what are the aspects that need to be improved in the solar industry in Malaysia?
- The need to have a comprehensive, accurate and consolidated data for the energy sector which at present is lacking. Thus, the government had started the Big Data Analytics initiative. - Continuing to grow and established categories of PV service providers/investors that will serve different types of PV market (e.g. domestic, industrial rooftop ground-mounted/water , floating, rural). Bringing the needed value proposition to the market. - Securing financing and bankability issues that comes with easy process - RE is still a relatively new field to many bankers, thus there is a need to further engage with the various banking sectors especially on the technical aspect of RE project. - Banking and insurance need to tie with the PV service providers so they become a 1-stop centre especially for domestic customers. - Government’s policy that provides stability and visibility with regards to the future of PV market.
11 What is your advice to the other organization in solar photovoltaic industry in Malaysia?
To promote the growth of PV market, everyone must be on board such as: a) PV service providers - to establish high standards of delivery and post sales customers service. The PV market is not just in Malaysia but to encourage greater participation in the regional/ global PV market. b) Banks - to embrace sustainability or green financing framework and offer attractive financing for PV projects. c) Whole of government approach on solar energy incorporation - to start with all government’ buildings (e.g. officer, schools, hospitals, universities), engage in aggregate procurement and lower financing cost of putting up solar PV.
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DID YOU KNOW?
Via Paul Krueger / Flickr
Poland Has Beautiful Solar-Powered Bike Lanes That Glow in the Dark They charge all day and glow all night. More and more Americans are biking to work these days.
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The layout of U.S. and European cities has a lot to do with the differences in biking populations. Much of the U.S. was built with cars in mind, but in Europe, most major cities sprang up centuries before cars were even a consideration.
“Though biking is used for less than one percent of commuting trips in the United States, biking infrastructure investments are much more cost-effective at providing access to jobs than infrastructure investments to support automobiles,” Andrew Owen, director of the Observatory, told the University of Minnesota. The rise in American cyclist commuters is good news. “Bike commuting is a cost-effective, healthy, and environmentally sustainable alternative to being stuck in traffic,” Owen said.
Poland recently introduced some beautiful glow-in-the-dark bike lanes in the town of Lidzbark Warminski. Created by TPA Instytut Badan Technicznych, they’re lit completely by solar power so cyclists can see where they’re going when the sun goes down, and more importantly, drivers can see them. “The material we used for the track gives light for over ten hours. That means the road can radiate throughout the whole night and reaccumulate light the following day,” Igor Ruttmar from TPA told Civil Engineer.
However, the U.S. still has a long way to go to catch up to Europe, where commuting to work on a bicycle is very common. For example, in the U.S. 0.6 percent of commuters go to work on a bike, whereas in Copenhagen, Denmark, a whopping 37 percent of people take a bike to work.
The Polish bike lanes aren’t the first of their kind in Europe. In 2014, artist Daan Roosegaarde, designed self-illuminated bike lanes based on the painting “Starry Night” by painter Vincent van Gogh. The artist was a resident of the region back in 1883.
ccording to a study by the Accessibility Observatory at the University of Minnesota, the number of Americans who commute to work on their bicycles is up 22 percent over the past nine years.
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via Helen K / Flickr
Source: www.good.is
DID YOU KNOW?
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n ambitious project in Saudi Arabia wants to capture wasted solar heat for good uses.
A new device created by researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia can purify water through solar power. While there have been previous attempts to merge solar power and clean water, the scientists say they have developed a new threestage system that radically increases efficiency. The need to combine water purification through clean means is a growing one, giving the rise in manmade climate change. Water scarcity is increasing throughout a variety of places on the planet, from South Africa to India. “The water-energy nexus is one of the main issues threatening sustainable global development,” says Wenbin Wang, a Ph.D. student at the University’s Water Desalination and Reuse Center, in a press statement.
Solar Panels Could Make
Saltwater Safe for Farming
To combat the problem, the KAUST team looked at solar panels holistically. Silicon solar panels take in around 20 percent of the light they absorb, converting them into electricity. While that number is increasing, scientists predict that no Peter Kneffel/Picture Alliance Via Getty Imagesgetty Images photovoltaic (PV) panel will be able to absorb more than around 27 percent would collect its heat, allowing the machine to recycle that of the light. That leaves a significant energy and create even more fresh water. amount of light being reflected, which generates heat. The team, led by Professor Peng Wang of the Reuse Center, looked to put that heat to work. “The PV panel generates a lot of heat, and the heat is considered a headache in PV,” Wang tells Cosmos. “The uniqueness of the device lies in its smart and effective use of the waste heat of the PV as a resource, which leads to its high efficiency in both electricity and fresh water production.” To capture the heat, the team built out a stack of water channels, separated by porous hydrophobic membranes and heat conduction layers. These layers were attached to the bottom of a commercial PV panel. Heat from the panel would vaporize seawater in the top channel, cross through the porous membrane, and then finally condense as fresh water in the third channel. The team also put the vapor of the seawater to use. A thermal conduction layer to the next seawater channel
In tests, the team was able to generate up to 1.64 liters of water per square meter of solar panel surface every hour. “In a sense, it utilizes solar energy to a much fuller capacity,” Wang tells Cosmos. The next step for the team is to try and expand its project to the extent that it would be viable for agriculture. Many innovations in agriculture, like vertical farming, attempt to save water. Being able to use saltwater for farms could radically change how water is consumed around the world. In the U.S. alone, farming represents approximately 80 percent of the country’s consumptive water use. “Raising sheep in the field of PV farms is feasible because grass grows well using the fresh water from solar-panel washing,” Wenbin says in the press statement. “A PV farm with sheep grazing while seawater is desalinated using our device could be ideal in arid regions near the coast.” Source: www.popularmechanics.com
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ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
EVENT HIGHLIGHT
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owertrends, the longest running energy exhibition in the Philippines, organized since 1995 by Leverage International, in cooperation with the Department of Energy will be held on September 3-4 2019 at the SMX Convention Center, Metro Manila, Philippines. This two days event themed “The Trends Shaping Renewable Energy� will feature an international exhibition, a business conference, networking cocktail and technical workshops. This is a unique platform to deliver expertise, bring theory and practice together as well as offering an amazing opportunity to network with the most important people in the energy industry. The Philippine energy sector is poised for transformation. There is a fast growing electricity demand resulting from the Build Build Build Program of the President. Along with the other 10 member countries of ASEAN, the Philippines is on track to make solar and other renewables account for 23% of the region’s total primary energy supply by 2025. The Philippine government is working to improve policies and investment framework for clean energy. In line with these developments, Powertrends provides the platform in bringing together the players in these fields for one big gathering - where energy professionals and practitioners together with policy and law makers will assemble to exchange knowledge and build business relationships. The international exhibition will showcase the latest in technologies for generating, transmitting, distributing together with using power and electricity. It will also feature the latest innovations in electric vehicle, hybrids and others.
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The conference agenda will cover the following major challenges and developments faced by the energy industry as it strives to achieve national independence and sustainability while riding through the wave of innovations: a new and transparent Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program (PCECP) that allows local and international exploration companies to develop and utilize indigenous petroleum resources under a service contract with the government; the new Philippine Electricity Market Memorandum by the Philippine Electricity Market Operator; the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act signed into law last May which institutionalizes energy efficiency and conservation, enhancing the efficient use of energy and granting incentives to energy efficiency and conservation projects in the country; LNG as the key to energy sustainability; renewed promotion of the geothermal industry; and the resurrection of the nuclear interest. The 1st Philippine Floating Solar Forum 2019 will be colocated with Powertrends. The event will gather technology experts, project developers and practitioners, regulatory agencies, development agencies, local and foreign investors to impart knowledge, experiences together with best practices on the floating solar technology plus to discuss among experts the critical formulation and changes on the regulatory policies. For more information, visit http://powertrendsexpo.com. Interested parties may contact 8186828 or 8101389 or e-mail: leverage@leverageinternational.com.
MINISTRY OF ENERGY, GREEN TECHNOLOGY AND WATER (KeTTHA)
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Sustainable Energy Malaysia | Volume 1 Issue 1
Energy Commission
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SPECIAL INSIGHT
How Have Solar Cells Undercut Coal?
Martin Green describes the developments that led to photovoltaics finally undercutting coal for energy. (Credit: iStock/gerenme)
Martin Green – Scientia Professor at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, and Director of the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics – talks about developments in the physics and politics around solar cells over the past three decades that have helped and hindered photovoltaic energy suppliers to finally outbid fossil fuels.
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In a recent perspective article you highlight potential production of a terawatt per year from photovoltaics worldwide within the next decade. What is the significance of a terawatt per year? The world is emitting 40 billion tonnes of CO2 a year, but the thinking is we’ve got a budget of 800 billion tonnes maximum. So you’ve got 40 years to cut 40 billion tonnes out if you do it linearly – 1 billion tonnes a year. One terawatt from photovoltaics will reduce it by about one and a half billion tonnes of CO2 a year if you’re displacing coal from electricity generation or oil from transport. So without doing anything else solar will put you on that trajectory, as long as you’re displacing those two components, which account for a huge fraction of the total CO2 budget. Once you’ve displaced all the coal from electricity generation and oil for transport, you’ve got to start displacing carbon emissions from industrial processes and things like that, which is a bit more challenging, but you’ve got a little bit of time to work on that.
How did you get started in solar cell research? I did my undergraduate degree in electrical engineering back in the late sixties. Microelectronics was a really exciting area because they were just starting to put multiple transistors on chips and things like that. But I got sort of disillusioned with that area because I’d missed the whole computer revolution and everything that followed on subsequently from microelectronics, and then I realized that my training would put me in a good position to get involved in photovoltaics. It was around the time of the oil embargoes of the 70s, and new sources of energy were attracting more interest. I started working on a tunneling structure during my PhD, in Canada under a Commonwealth scholarship. The structure had a metal separated from a semiconductor by an insulator, which is quite a common structure in microelectronics, except here the insulator was made very thin so that electrons can tunnel through it. My thesis was looking at what type of microelectronic application you might be able to use this structure in, but just having an insulator on the surface of the semiconductor, improved the surface properties of the semiconductor. And that turned out to be what was holding back solar cell performances.
late seventies. When Jimmy Carter was president, there was actually more money going into photovoltaic research in the US than there is these days, even if you discount the depreciation in the value of the dollar. We were able to set up a reasonably large group by Australian standards, but in 1983 we got our first world record for the cell performance. In the solar cells field, these are not just what you measure, you send it to a recognized test center and have the performance confirmed there so that the result can’t be disputed. That helped with research funding because it was something quantifiable that everyone could understand.
1983 is a long time ago – was it hard to maintain that momentum? After Carter, Reagan was in power and he didn’t like anything to do with renewables, so he just scrapped all the programs and all our US competitors sort of disappeared one by one. We managed to maintain our funding right through the 1980s until Chernobyl in 1986. That then reinvigorated interest in alternative energy sources, particularly in Europe. We maintained continuity right from the 70s through to the late eighties, which didn’t happen in other countries. There are probably only three groups worldwide that maintained that continuity with a reasonably large size program, and they’re the three groups that are probably the most highly regarded worldwide in terms of solar research these days. All through that period we kept increasing the performance of our cells and setting new world efficiency records, which was again good for our funding here and kept us highly motivated. There were very good students too because in the 80s in Australia, the scholarship stipends were very low and so on, so only those really dedicated to the field that they wanted to study did postgraduate research. Being in the solar area, we got some very motivated highly qualified and credentialed students into our programs. That also helped us make progress, having such a strong group of people together.
What helped you establish such a successful group in this field? Studying that first structure gave us a unique approach to improving the cell performance. We were a fairly small group then, but we were getting world record voltages, better than other groups that were being supported quite generously in the 47 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
SPECIAL INSIGHT
What key breakthrough has helped improve solar cell efficiency?
What led to the current technology persisting for so long?
In a solar cell, light creates excited electrons within the material, but they relax back to their ground state in typically microseconds. So you haven’t got long to collect them or extract them from the cell. You get the maximum voltage from the cell when the rate of generation of the electrons by light balances the rate that they relax back, and as you increase the voltage of the cell, they start relaxing back more quickly. And if you have bad surfaces, they relax back even more quickly.
The standard technology was improving incrementally, but then everyone could see that we were running out of room to move. So some of the companies started investigating PERC technology and started producing results where the cells were markedly better and so on. And then the whole industry transferred over to that new technology. The transition all happened over just five years. When the industry decides it’s time to move change can be very rapid.
Our key breakthrough was the passivated emitter and rear cell known as the PERC cell. My first drawing of the PERC cell was in 1983. Passivated in this area means – reducing the electronic activity, so stopping the excited carriers from relaxing back. The tunneling structure had allowed Martin Green at the entrance to the Solar us to control what was Industrial Research Centre which accommodates technology transfers to happening at the surface industry and provides equipment evaluation of the cell. Solar cells use for manufacturers. (Credit: Anna Kucera) terminology that was originally developed for transistors. So the emitter is the top region of the cell. So all it means is we fixed up the surfaces on both sides of the cell. We fixed up the top and made our first efficient PERC solar cell in 1988. This was the first time we successfully achieved proper passivation on both surfaces, and that was the vehicle for taking us through to 25% efficiency in 2008, which is still the record for a PERC cell.
What impact have these PERC cells had in industry? The fraction of world manufacturing solar cell capacity that was PERC by the end of last year was 60% – that all came online during the year. Only 35-40% of the product produced last year was PERC so this will be the first year that it’s the dominant technology used commercially. The previous technology had been used for 40 years before that, so it’s a really big change in the industry, which has really given the efficiency a bit of a boost. There’s been a round of creativity associated with the change that’s really quite striking. 48 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
Other high efficiency approaches such as rear contact structures have an additional complication in that they need a different type of silicon wafer from what has been traditionally used. That creates an additional barrier that the PERC cell didn’t have so it could take a little longer to transition because all the supply chains need rejigging. So I feel pretty confident that PERC will have a 10 year reign. But by the end of that, people will have got to our 25% efficiency or maybe beyond and they will be looking for ways to get 27% efficiency.
Is energy storage an issue in terms of the market reaching a terawatt a year? It’s going to be important to develop storage, but the cost of lithium ion batteries have been coming down nearly as quickly as photovoltaics – about 20% per year reduction. So that’s been very timely. In Australia, there’s a lot of interest now in pumped hydro storage. One of my former students (Andrew Blakers) who’s now at ANU has been doing studies of off-river pumped hydro where you make a swimming pool at the top and bottom of a mountain, and just pump the water uphill – you’re not relying on having a river flowing and dams and all that kind of stuff. He’s identified 22,000 suitable sites around Australia to store essentially all Australia’s electricity for a day or more. And, he figures you only need 22. He’s now extended his study to the whole world and found hundreds of thousands of sites where this type of storage could be put in. There are already many working systems like that around the world, and it’s a lot simpler and more environmentally benign than the standard pumped hydro systems. That’s traditionally been the way electricity has been stored in the past and it’s still the cheapest way of storing huge quantities of electricity.
So the end of the world is not nigh? The cost reductions in photovoltaic, occurred quite quickly, really just over the last 10 years. A lot of our grid utilities are now buying solar electricity under power purchase agreements – someone just bids to supply electricity at a predetermined rate over a 20 year period or something similar. Some of the bids that were coming in for solar supply from 2016 onwards have been really very low. That really was a turning point for me. Once you saw these bids for solar supply undercutting the
normal costs of electricity generation by such large margins, you realized it could more than compete with the traditional suppliers. Traditional ways of doing things, like generating electricity from coal, have become very cheap but if you look at the process, it’s really a very complex process involving many stages. It’s just an example of technology lock in – it’s got so refined that the costs have become cheap and made it difficult to be displaced, but with the added impetus that comes from trying to control CO2 emissions, solar technology has been driven to the stage that it’s now reflecting the natural order of things in terms of the costs you’d expect from the two different technologies. At the wholesale level in Australia our electricity generation is only 1% of GDP; at the retail level that’s probably 3% of GDP, which is quite small considering it makes up more than 30% of CO2 emissions. So it’s having a disproportionate impact – politically as well. Here in Australia we’ve lost about five prime ministers over the issue. Fortunately the economics now well and truly favour solar. I think we’ll see fairly rapid phasing out of coal generation in Australia despite the wishes of our present bunch of politicians.
FUTURE SOLAR CELL TECHNOLOGIES What might supercede PERC solar cells? The highest efficiencies achieved so far are with back contact structures. In the traditional cell, the positive and negative contacts are on opposite surfaces, but back-contact structures have them both on the rear. Most of the carrier-generated excitation occurs very close to the front surface – within 2 micrometres of a 180-micrometre thick cell. So in order to maintain the electron in the excited state for sufficient time to get it to the back of the cell where the contacts are, you have to have very high-quality silicon material, much better than is available cheaply commercially. The other issue is that the processing to get both contacts on opposite surfaces is a lot more complex. So that means the approach is fundamentally more expensive. However that could well be the way the industry goes. In microelectronics you get these continual improvements through reducing the size of the components and so on, but in the solar field, you get continuous reductions in the actual cost of making the cell through economies of scale and streamlining the processing and all that kind of thing. You’ve got a lot of other things like glass and aluminium frames, and it is more difficult to get the costs down for these components because they are such mature products. But by improving module efficiency you can generate the same energy with fewer modules, and so use less of
these components. So the industry is pushing to more and more sophisticated cell structures to get higher efficiencies. PERC will probably prevail for at least 10 years, but if we’re not successful in implementing our (tandem cell) ideas after that it’ll probably go to one of the rear contact structures as the mainstream for the industry.
What about alternatives to silicon? For spacecraft they stopped using silicon solar cells at the turn of the century and they’re using cells based on gallium arsenide (GaAs). The advantage there is that you can stack cells of different compositions on top of one another very easily in the GaAs system – to make tandem solar cells. If you can stack cells of different material on top of one another, you can design the upper most cells so that they convert the blue light very efficiently, and a cell underneath like a silicon cell that converts the red light well, and you end up with a better overall conversion efficiency. But it gets very expensive because you have to grow GaAs on high-quality germanium wafers, and germanium is much scarcer than silicon. The process is also more complicated. The other material used commercially is cadmium telluride, which isn’t a great choice because cadmium’s one of the more toxic metals. And then the other component of the material, tellurium, is a material that is as scarce as gold. Then there is CIGS – copper indium gallium diselenide – where there is a bit of an issue with the supply of indium. So silicon is by far the best choice of these. With silicon you grow a crystalline ingot and then you slice it into wafers. These other technologies you can deposit directly as thin films, so that’s their advantage. Until the early part of this century, it was thought that the thin films just had to be cheaper than silicon. But with the scaling up of the industry, the cost of making the wafers has dropped really dramatically. So the glass and frame cost more than the silicon wafers now.
Will perovskites ever make it in commercial solar cells? Perovskites could be an interesting technology in the future. It’s very well matched to silicon – they respond really well to blue light and the silicon responds very well to red light, so they’re a good combination for the tandem cell approach. Oxford PV are leading in commercializing perovskites and that is what they are looking at. But of the seven different cell technologies that have got to over 20% efficiency, silicon is by far the most stable, and perovskite is by far the most unstable. Perovskites are a really hot topic in physics. There are thousands of people who work in the area, but none of the published work is showing that the stability is under control. Oxford PV, of course, aren’t publishing too much about exactly what they’re doing. So, maybe Oxford PV is doing something a lot better than the thousands of other teams that are working on it, though that seems challenging to me. Source: physicsworld.com 49 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
FBI IN ACTION
SNEC 13th (2019)
INTERNATIONAL PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER GENERATION AND SMART ENERGY CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION Opened, Offering a Photovoltaic Technology Feast
O
n June 3rd, the SNEC 13th (2019) International Photovoltaic Power Generation and Smart Energy Conference [SNEC PV POWER EXPO] opened in Kerry Hotel Pudong, Shanghai. The day after which is on June 4th, the Opening Ceremony of SNEC 2019 International Photovoltaic Power Generation and Smart Energy Exhibition was held in Shanghai New International Expo Center. The theme of the event is “For the Earth”.
The event was initiated by Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association (APVIA), Chinese Renewable Energy Society (CRES), Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association (CREIA), Shanghai Federation of Economic Organizations (SFEO), Shanghai Science & Technology Development and Exchange Center (SSTEC), Shanghai New Energy Industry Association (SNEIA) and jointly organized by 25 international associations and organizations including Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). 50 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
The Organizing Committee of SNEC PV POWER EXPO invited a large number of governmental departments, industry organizations and more than 4000 top experts to gather at the scene to decode the development trend of the industry and answer development questions. In addition, it attracted more than 21 visits from upstream and downstream of the photovoltaic industry chain to explore business opportunities and exchange views. Countless new products have been released and incisive views were expressed to create a song of photovoltaic technology and green life.
Experts and Scholars Explore the Developing Trend of PV Industry For many years, SNEC PV Power Conference has always been an important platform to discuss the PV industry trend. Many industry leaders have attended the conference opening ceremony and expressed warm congratulations on the opening of the conference, including: Mr Dinghuan SHI, Honorary Chairman of SNEC2019 PV Power Conference; Mr Pin GAN, Deputy Director of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality; Mr Jun ZHONG, ViceChairman of China Energy Research Society; Mr Xiaoping XIE, Chairman of SPIC Huanghe HydroPower Development Co., Ltd.; Mr Zhen WANG, Director of Shanghai Science & Technology Exchange Center; Mr Hefu LI, Vice-President and SecretaryGeneral of Shanghai Federation of Economic Organizations; Mr Gongshan ZHU, Chairman of SNEC2019 PV Power Conference, Chairman of Global Green Energy Industry Council (GGEIC) and Chairman of Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association (APVIA); Mr Jifan GAO, Co-Chairman of Global Solar Council (GSC) and President of China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA); Mr Yonghua LU, Chairman of Jiangsu Linyang Group and Chairman of the Board in Jiangsu Linyang Energy Co., Ltd.; Prof Martin GREEN, Scientia Professor at the University of New South Wales; Prof Armin ABERLE, CEO of Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS).
At the Opening of the Conference, on behalf of China Energy Research Society and Mr Xinxiong WU, Mr Jun ZHONG, ViceChairman of China Energy Research Society offered warm congratulations on the opening of this conference. He stated that, “Photovoltaic power generation should work closely with power companies as power will be used by users ultimately. Without the support of power companies, the promotion of photovoltaic and new energy will be difficult. Plus, we need smart grid because the future of photovoltaic development will be advanced. Many power consumers that use electricity will have a chance to become PV power suppliers who sell power to the grid. Thus, it is a two-way transaction. The power grid must be smart and it needs to keep up.”
Mr Gongshan ZHU, Chairman of SNEC2019 PV Power Conference, Chairman of Global Green Energy Industry Council (GGEIC) and Chairman of Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association (APVIA) said in the Opening Ceremony, “In 2018, China announced photovoltaic subsidy. In 2019, PV enters an era of non-subsidized grid parity. Participating in this year’s SNEC conference, I recalled two sentences: the flowers remain the same year after year, and the green mountain is still smiling in the spring breeze. Although the SNEC conference is similar year after year, the process of energy change is accelerating, and the photovoltaic industry has entered an important turning point of high-quality development. It is undoubtedly of great historical significance to hold this conference and exhibition.”
Mr Pin GAN, Deputy Director of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality said that, “With the support of the relevant ministries and commissions in China, especially the Shanghai Science and Technology Committee (STCSM), the Green Technology Bank in Shanghai had been officially launched and formally established at the beginning of the year. In the future, Green Technology Bank will further expand and promote the global promotion of green technology, including photovoltaic technology. In addition, we will actively promote the development of distributed energy, energy data and other fields. Besides, we will create a future energy city in Jinshan district, where there are new energy sources such as wind energy, photovoltaic energy and hydrogen energy. We sincerely welcome all the enterprises present to showcase and exchange technologies there.”
Mr Yonghua LU, Chairman of Jiangsu Linyang Group, which is the only co-sponsor for the Opening Ceremony stated that, “The subsidy gradual back slope and the arrival of grid parity era force photovoltaic enterprises to enter a differentiated competitive era from the comfortable period. Facing the new development of PV, photovoltaic practitioners need to pay attention to industry focuses including technological upgrading, industrial integration and cost reduction, system optimization, resource reserve, overseas market, etc., under the new situation.” 51 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
FBI IN ACTION This year, SNEC has organized 25 professional forums with top PV elites gathering in the conference room and brilliant speeches given. The forums include the Opening Ceremony & Plenary, Solar Leaders Dialogue, Scientific Conference, Global Green Energy and PV Financial Summit, Industry Workshop on PV Intelligent Manufacturing Technology, Industry Workshop on High Efficiency Solar Cells, Auxiliary Materials and Technologies Related, Industry Workshop on Balance of System and O&M of PV Plants, The Summit Forum on the Application of Graphene in PV Industry, Industry Workshop on Global PV Market - Outlook and Development Strategies, The 3rd “Internet +” Smart Energy Technologies and Application Summit.
Brand Enterprises & Thousands of Excellent Products Displayed SNEC Photovoltaic Exhibition has opened on June 4th. In the exhibition pavilion, visitors will have a chance to see surging crowds and new-product event that will be held one after another, to show the power of scientific and technological innovation. This exhibition meets to the needs of the industry, helps enterprises to promote their brands and products, pushes PV industry to develop towards smarter and better quality and promotes industry upgrading and the transformation of energy structure.
Mr Pranav MEHTA, Chairman of National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) and Chairman of Global Solar Council (GSC) expressed congratulation on the opening of the event and made a speech. He said, “We all know India has a rapid growth and the government is vigorously promoting the development of PV industry with ambitious goals. We have a goal of 275GW renewable energy. I would also like to say that in our emerging markets, including Brazil, Mexico, Ukraine, the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam, renewable energy is developing very fast.” Mr Jifan GAO, Co-Chairman of Global Solar Council (GSC) and Chairman of China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) stated, “The diversification trend of photovoltaic market is becoming more and more obvious. It is expected that the overseas market will grow from 60 GW last year to about 85 GW this year. Domestic market policies have been issued in the past few days, and there will be restorative growth in the market”. Prof Armin ABERLE, Chairman of the SNEC 2018 Scientific Conference expressed that, “The most important thing of this conference is the Scientific Conference. Our conference is a very good opportunity. It is an excellent platform for the global practitioners, scientists, academics and enterprises in the solar photovoltaic industry. We can discuss the latest technological progress and application prospects together.” 52 ASIA SOLAR + PV MAGAZINE | AUG - OCT 2019
It is understood that the exhibition covers an area of 200,000 square meters and has 1836 exhibitors from over 90 countries and regions around the world. The proportion of international exhibitors is 30%. The exhibition is the most influential, international, professional and large-scale photovoltaic event in the world. Global Top 500 new energy enterprises and leading enterprises have registered for the exhibition. Other emerging markets, such as Mexico and Brazil have also sent delegations of government agencies, industry organizations, experts and entrepreneurs to participate in SNEC 2019.
The exhibitors have made great efforts in innovation and creativity. Up to now, there are many exhibitors disclosing mysterious new products, to fully display innovation points and innovative products, including Solar Cell/Module Manufacturer and System Integrator, such as GCL, Trinasolar, CanadianSolar, Suntech, Yinglisolar, Talesun, Hanwha Q Cells, LDK, JA Solar, Jinko Solar, Risen Energy, Linyang PV, Chint, Trunsun Solar, DAHAI NEW ENERGY, CECEP Solar Energy, Chinaland, SPIC, SUMIN, BYD, Jolywood, DZS Solar, Hanergy, TONGWEI, HANGZhOU JINJIang GROUP, Xinjing Solar, TBEA SunOasis, Aikosolar, Serephim, DMEGC, DSM (China); Inverter, Automatic Controller and Other Supplementary Power Generating Devices Manufacturer, such as: Huawei, SUNGROW, SMA-China, Ingeteam, DELTA, Innovpower, Nader, SOFARSOLAR, TBEA SunOasis, CHINTPOWER, INVT, MOSO, SINENG, kEHUA, kstar, Sanjing, GROWATT, GoodWe, IGEN, Ginlong (Ningbo), Suntree Electric, ENG Electric, SolaXPower, DONGYUAN ELECTRICAL; Solar Energy Material Manufacturers, such as: DuPont, 3M, Heraeus, Jolywood, Huitian, Xinyi Solar, SAMSUNG, Crown, HIUV, SFC, TOYOTANSO, Foremost, TianYang, MURAKAMI, COVEME, Cybrid, DSM, Janbon, TOYAL ZHAOQING; Testing Institution, such as: VDE, ISE, UL, TÜV NORD, TUV SUD, Intertek, Huayang Testing, TÜV Rheinland, NOA TEST & CERTIFICATION, SGS, Shenzhen Academy of Metrology & Quality Inspection, ICAS, etc.
“Top 10 Highlights” Awards and Global Media Joint Interview
A Chance to Show off Cuttingedge Products and Advanced Idea SNEC “Top 10 Highlights” Selection Event is a very eyecatching part of “SNEC PV POWER EXPO”, where the best technologies and products come out on top. Through media propaganda about the selection event, cutting-edge PV products and technique will be widely known in the industry. The “Top 10 Highlights” Award gives winners a chance to attract more customers by broadcasting quality PV projects and to show the strength of enterprise. At the “Media Zone”, industry leaders or business elites sit down for an interview with mainstream media in and abroad. The zero-distance communication and high-frequency reporting allows the interviewees to promote new technologies, new products and new ideas, also to give opinion on hot issues of public concern. The open interview is a place that is filled with sounds of asking question, shooting and applause, where photovoltaic preceding issues will be interpreted openly. SNEC 2019 PV POWER EXPO is a professional event in photovoltaic industry. It is an important platform for domestic enterprises to “go out”, introduce well-known domestic and foreign enterprises, and to push forward the development of photovoltaic industry. It is reported that the organizers are determined to make the SNEC PV POWER EXPO in 2020 more brilliant, to show more products, and more innovations. SNEC2020 is bound to be more exciting. Contact Person Email Mobile/Wechat Skype QQ
: James Jiang (Sales Manager) : james.jiang@snec.org.cn : +86-13651766051 : james1689695 : 471393554
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