ENERGY NEWS - TURKEY
Turkey's 1st Solar Cell Integrated Plant Starts Operation

Turkey's first integrated solar ingot-wafer-module-cell production factory started production on Wednesday, according to Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez on Wednesday.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the factory established by Kalyon Solar Energy Technologies Production Co., Donmez said the factory's foundation was laid six months after the Renewable Energy Resources Zone (YEKA) tender was held in 2017.

The Kalyon-Hanwha consortium won the first solar energy YEKA tender bid on March 20, 2017, for the construction of the country’s biggest solar power plant in Karapinar in the Central Anatolian region at cost of $0.0699 per kilowatt-hour.

However, Hanwha did not continue with the project but China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) stepped in to construct the facility.

Under the tender rules, solar components are to be produced locally, and consequently, the construction of the module cell factory to produce four units - ingot, wafer, module and cell, was inaugurated at a groundbreaking ceremony in the capital Ankara in December 2017.

The module cell factory, realized with a $400 million investment, will help eliminate nearly $100 million of solar panel imports per year, and the R&D center in the factory will also employ 100 researchers, according to Donmez.

He said that Turkey would now be included on the list of 20 other similar integrated solar panel manufacturers, most of which are located in China.

"The first panels produced in this factory, which has more than 70% domestic production ratio and 500 megawatts of solar cell production capacity per year, will be used in Turkey's biggest solar power plant in Konya's Karapinar," he declared.

Karapinar solar power plant, which will be realized with a $1 billion investment, will have an annual electricity production capacity of 2.6 billion kilowatt-hours. Starting from September, the plant will become operational in increments of 40 megawatts per month to become fully operational in 33 months, according to Donmez.

"With Karapinar coming fully online, the share of solar energy in our electricity production will be up 25% eliminating nearly 2 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year," Donmez said.

Donmez also noted that the share of renewable energy in Turkey's installed capacity reached 50.3% as of the end of July with renewable energy constituting half of total capacity, which came online from 2002 to 2020.

"Solar energy, which did not have any place in our energy portfolio until 2013, today is at the level of about 6,232 megawatts. In 2019, solar energy provided electricity to 4.1 million households. Solar power plants broke a monthly record in May this year by providing 5.6% of electricity production," Donmez explained.

He stressed that Turkey, in just six years since 2014, became the ninth country in the world and third country in Europe to boost the most installed solar energy capacity.

"In order to attract more investment and help small and medium-sized investors to enter the market, we will hold the first mini-YEKA tender in October. With a total capacity of 1,000 megawatts, 74 tenders will be held with capacities of 10, 15, 20 megawatts each in 36 districts," he added.

On Oct. 7, 2019, Donmez announced Turkey's plans to hold YEKA tenders for solar energy in a new form, known as "mini YEKA".

Cemal Kalyoncu, board chairman of Kalyon Holding, also disclosed that the factory, which will cover an area equivalent to 2,600 football fields, will be the first and only factory to allow ingot-wafer-module-cell production under a single roof.

"Our factory has 100,000 square meters of indoor space and will provide employment for 1,400 people," Kalyoncu noted, adding that they aim to boost the solar panel factory's production capacity to 1,000 megawatts in six months.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Over 62% of Turkey’s Power Produced from Local, Renewable Resources in 2020

Turkey produced 62.08% of its electricity from local and renewable sources from January through July this year, according to the data from the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry.

The country is approaching its goal of producing almost 66% of its electricity from local and renewable sources annually. Some 162.13 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity was produced in the first seven months. In the same period of last year, the country produced 169.03 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.

In the first seven months of 2020, Turkey produced 100.65 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity from local and renewable sources.

Last year, the country’s electricity production from local and renewable resources stood at 62%. The share of natural gas stood at 17%. Imported coal had a share of 20.87% and domestic coal had a share of 14.89%.

In the same period, hydropower ranked first in electricity production with a 33.25% share and wind's share was around 9%. The month with the highest share of domestic resources was April with 72%. The month in which imported resources had the largest share in production was recorded as January with 51.83%.

In the January-July period, 1.61 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity were imported. In the same period last year, this figure was calculated as 1.15 billion kilowatt-hours. Thus, Turkey's imports of electricity in the January-July period of this year increased by nearly 40% compared to the same period last year. Electricity exports decreased by 38% compared to the same period last year. During the period, 1.08 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity was exported. In the same period of last year, this figure was 1.75 billion kilowatt-hours.

In addition, Turkey's total installed power capacity reached 92.01 gigawatts by the end of June 2020, according to official figures. In just over a decade, Turkey has tripled its installed renewable capacity to around 45,000 megawatts and invested nearly $40 billion in renewable energy projects. Turkey ranks sixth in Europe and 13th in the world in terms of renewable capacity.

According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), Turkey's renewable energy capacity of 42 gigawatts (GW) is predicted to reach 63 GW by 2024, placing Turkey among Europe's top five and 11th worldwide in terms of renewable capacity.

Source: Daily Sabah

ENERGY NEWS - WORLD
New Business Model to Help Utilities Own, Operate Rooftop PV Systems

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed a new business model that could help power utilities to more effectively manage distributed-generation solar assets.

They presented their findings in “Benefits and costs of a utility-ownership business model for residential solar photovoltaics” which was recently published in Nature Energy. The new approach suggests a series of advantages that power utilities may gain from owning and operating rooftop PV systems. They include siting at targeting locations with relatively low interconnection costs, deferring future network upgrades, visibility and control over distributed-generation assets by utility system planners, lower solar-installation costs, and the possibility of improving services in underserved market.

The scientists said that they considered all possible impacts on utility ratepayers and shareholders.

“Fundamental policy questions exist about the appropriateness of using utility ratepayer funds for what is otherwise a competitive service,” they explained. “Indeed, in some restructured markets, regulated utilities are prohibited by law from owning generation assets, whether large scale or distributed.”

They said that another important issue is the need to evaluate whether each utility has the organizational capabilities to own and operate distributed-gen solar projects. The proposed model aims to define a utility-owned, 20-year residential rooftop solar program. The researchers claim that the model is different from more-conventional ownership structures, as the PV systems are connected directly to the utility’s grid and are owned by the utilities themselves.

The program is modeled on those of U.S. utilities Arizona Public Service and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. In their service areas, utility-owned PV installations are connected directly to the utility grid and provide no direct reduction in the host customer’s billed consumption. Under such schemes, utilities must pay for O&M, administrative, and procurement costs.

“Under the scenarios where rooftop solar is owned by the host customer or some third party, we assume that the systems are installed behind the customer meter, and that the host customer is compensated under a typical net metering arrangement, whereby each kilowatt-hour generated offsets a kilowatt-hour of billed retail electricity sales,” the researchers said.

The group believes that a similar model may raise utility shareholder earnings by 2% to 5% relative to a no-solar scenario. “This compares to a 2% loss of earnings when an equivalent amount of rooftop solar is deployed but owned by non-utility parties,” they added.

Under this program, utility customers that do not own solar PV installations will keep paying the highest prices, with average electricity bills increasing by 1% to 3%, which compares to 2% under non-utility ownership structures.

“This business model is therefore unlikely to meaningfully mitigate equity or cost-shifting concerns associated with residential rooftop solar,” the researchers said.

In order to reduce the impact on no-solar consumers, the scientists suggested the procurement of rooftop solar at particularly low costs and the net reduction of non-participant bills. They also concluded that behind-the-meter battery storage may be key to ensuring transmission and distribution deferral value, as such systems can offer grid services and are dispatchable.

“Allowing direct utility ownership of behind-the-meter battery storage could better align utility shareholder interests with those of their ratepayers, to an even greater extent than this analysis shows to be possible for rooftop solar,” the researchers said.

Source: PV Magazine

New Report Explains How Power Grids Can Accelerate Energy Transition

Global engineering and consulting firm DNV GL has released a new report outlining how power grids can support the global effort to accelerate the energy transition.

As our reliance on renewable energy increases, modernising our power systems is required to ensure reliable and cost-efficient operations, according to the report Transition Faster Together: Power grids solutions, strategies and policies for a clean energy future. Insufficient interoperability between systems and technologies, lack of collaboration between industry stakeholders and the mindset required are just some of the challenges that must be overcome.

The report was compiled with the help of industry leaders including Iberdrola, TenneT, and Sharyland Utilities. The companies revealed how they plan to further reduce carbon emissions in the future.

To tackle these obstacles, DNV GL’s energy experts have defined key measures and focus areas for business models, technologies, policies and regulations and investments relevant to power grids. Power grids need to be massively modernized to cope with the integration of renewables while ensuring reliability and power system stability. To ensure a faster transition towards a low-carbon future, the implementation of new technologies is critical. First and foremost, we should see the rise of supergrids in the near-to mid-term future: long-distance power transmission based on HVDC and high-voltage cables, including cables for onshore long-distance transmission.

In Europe, interconnectors between large market areas will help to build the single European energy market. In Greater China, the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East including Africa, expansion of grids to supergrids will allow for the integration of more renewables into the markets.

Source: Smart Energy International

Germany Would Have Missed 2020 Climate Goal Without COVID-19 Emissions Drop

Germany could meet its climate target for 2020 but would have missed the goal if the economic havoc wrought by the coronavirus pandemic had not caused a large drop in greenhouse gas emissions, the country’s environment ministry said.

Germany, Europe’s largest-emitting country, had hoped to cut emissions to 40% below 1990 levels this year and introduced new climate policies in 2019.

However, policy efforts would have delivered only a 37.5% emissions cut, the ministry said on Wednesday.

“We have learned the right lessons from past failures,” German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said. “Every year we will check whether we are on the path we have agreed, and take further action if necessary.”

The full impact of the pandemic on Germany’s emissions is still uncertain, but actual emissions are likely to be “significantly lower” than expected, meaning the 2020 target could be achieved, the ministry said.

Europe’s emissions are expected to plummet to levels not seen since the 1950s this year, as lockdowns temporarily shuttered polluting industries and slashed the use of energy and transportation.

The European Union wants countries to commit to bigger CO2 cuts over the next decade – a move which has faced opposition from some eastern European countries concerned about the economic cost.

The European Commission will next month propose a new 2030 climate target for a 50% or 55% emissions reduction against 1990 levels, compared with an existing goal for a 40% cut.

Germany will steer talks between member states to attempt to strike a deal on the EU goal this year.

The goal will also need the approval of the European Parliament, where some lawmakers are pushing for a tougher 65% cut, which they say is the minimum effort needed to avert the climate crisis.

Source: Euractiv

Siemens Energy to Deliver 1-MW Green Hydrogen System in China

The energy business of Siemens AG (ETR:SIE) will provide a 1-MW green hydrogen production solution for a major sporting event that will take place in Beijing, China, in 2022.

Siemens Energy has signed a deal with Beijing Green Hydrogen Technology Development Co Ltd, a unit of China Power International Development Ltd, on the delivery of a hydrogen production system for a hydrogen fuelling station in Beijing’s Yanqing District. The system will help guarantee the hydrogen supply for the public transportation during and after the sporting event.

This is the first megawatt-scale hydrogen production project developed by Siemens in China and it is the result of a partnership with China Power’s ultimate controlling shareholder -- State Power Investment Corporation Limited (SPIC).

Completion is planned for May 2021. The hydrogen production solutions being provided by Siemens utilise its PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolyser system Silyzer 200 that can produce hydrogen at industrial scale using electricity from renewable sources such as wind farms, solar plants, hydro or geothermal power plants.

Source: Renewables Now

REPORT OF THE WEEK

Electric vehicles: Setting a course for 2030

The sales of battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric cars tipped over the two-million-vehicle mark for the first time in 2019. In this Deloitte report, we take a new approach to market segmentation and exemplify how to seize opportunities and manage risks.

Please click here to read the full report.

INFOGRAPHIC