Solar-PV 2050 Power Lab, part 1
A low-fossil, reliable electricity supply in 2050 based on Solar PV, is it possible?
Prof Egbert-Jan Sol of TNO gave the first lecture titled:
"Economic technical development Solar PV, Solar Fuels".
This presentation showed, that Solar-PV electricity is indeed a serious possibility for 2050.
The expected technology development of PV panels and also their foreseen large-scale production make highly efficient panels possible at an attractive price.
It is therefore to be expected that people will install PV panels en masse and hence there will be a high demand, including globally.
This will give rise to a PV industry with a lot of large factories that will produce such panels.
There will also be a big demand for specialised manufacturing means to fabricate these panels with nanometre details.
Another aspect is that there will be a great need to compensate for the variability in the supply of this electricity using solar fuels that, when there is an excess of electricity, will convert it to a chemical.
When there is a shortage, these fuels will then be converted back to electricity.
As the supply will peak around noon, there will then be a large supply of electricity.
This peak in supply should be absorbed locally as much as possible to avoid overloading the grid.
So local storage of electrical energy also becomes important.
An important part of the presentation was to indicate the size of the energy/electricity problem.
It is huge and was put at 50KWh per person per day.
prof Wim Sinke of ECN gave the second lecture titled :
"Development of PV - technology with the horizon at 2050".
This gave an overview of the technologies currently used and what may still come in the field of PV panels.
Current panels have a maximum yield of 20 per cent.
However, these panels use only part of the light spectrum and light is also lost through reflection and other mechanisms.
Several techniques were presented which make it very plausible that the yield will reach 40-50 per cent.
The potentially achievable limit is about 70 per cent. At a yield of 50 per cent, only a small roof area is needed to meet a house's own needs.
However, highly advanced manufacturing techniques are needed to achieve the r similar efficiencies, as nanoscale patterning will be required. Current panels have only one absorbent layer. In future panels, several layers on top of each other will presumably be needed,
which will also make manufacturing more complicated. A lot of research and development is taking place worldwide to increase the efficiency of solar panels.
The presentation discussed in detail the possible techniques to achieve high efficiency at low cost. It became clear that PV technology has a very bright future. Unlike wind energy, solar panels also require virtually no maintenance and have a long lifespan.
prof Richard van de Sanden of DIFFER gave the third lecture titled:
"CO2 neutral brands toffen: a plasma perspective".
As mentioned earlier, chemical fuels are becoming necessary to compensate for the variability of solar electricity.
A number of factors play a major role in the search for such fuels. The first factor is that high efficiency must be achieved with the fuel in the overall cycle ( electricity to fuel and from fuel back to electricity). A second factor is that the use of the fuel must be CO2 neutral.
A third factor is that storage must be safe and cheap.
And a final factor is that devices and conversion processes should avoid using rare materials.
Several fuels are possible and all of them were covered. An important step is the conversion of electricity into hydrogen because this in turn can be used to make other fuels. The electrolyzers currently used for this still have some drawbacks and the current cost per kg of hydrogen obtained is still far too high.
But there are prospects, that the price can be greatly reduced. Much more work is still needed to make obtaining fuels attractive.
There was a lively discussion at the end of the meeting .
The presentations prompted many questions from the audience, but these were expertly answered by the panelists.
Clearly, we have become a bit wiser, but at the same time it became clear to us all, that there are still many open questions.
Watch the video of this activitieit EU Power Lab 2050 Solar PV 1 here.
Description
Two meetings will explore these questions in more detail.
The 2013 national energy agreement agreed to 16% renewable energy by 2023. Solar-PV electricity occupies a relatively modest place in the defined energy mix with 4 GWpiek. By 2050, the ambition is expressed to have a 100 % sustainable energy system. Will Solar-PV electricity play a dominant role in that? With the expected continuous improvements in PV technology over the next few decades, the price of generated electricity will continue to fall and the growth in PV installations, central and decentralised, will continue to show long-term, impetuous growth. As a result, the pronounced Solar-PV forecast for 2050 may well come true! But to ensure a reliable and stable electricity system, as a result of the variable yield of PV and wind electricity, significant backup power will be needed. Sustainably realised, seasonal bridging storage by converting electricity to hydrogen or methane offers good opportunities for this.
The programme of this meeting deals intensively with these issues. In a second meeting, to be planned, the topics will be discussed in more detail.
The second part of Solar-PV 2050 Power Lab will take place on 24 April in Utrecht. Its announcement can be found in the activities agenda of the KIVI website. You can register via the link mentioned at the bottom of this page.
!There is a maximum number of participants of 100 for this activity.
Chairman of the day: prof. ir. Wil Kling, TU/e
15:30 Reception and registration
16:00-16:45 Economic-technical development Solar-PV, Solar Fuels
prof. dr. ir. Egbert-Jan Sol, TNO
16:45-17:30 Development of PV technology with the horizon on 2050
prof. dr. Wim Sinke, ECN
17:30-18:00 Break with sandwich meal
18:00-18:45 CO2 neutral fuels: a plasma perspective
prof. dr. ir. Richard van de Sanden, DIFFER
18:45-19:30 Panel discussion
Location
Utrecht University, Boothzaal Library
Heidelberglaan 3, Utrecht
Organiser
Electrical Engineering
Name and contact details for information
Dr Eric Persoon, t: 040-2016706, e: eric.persoon@upcmail.nl Ir Loek Boonstra, t: 040-2213758, e: lboonstra-1@hetnet.nl Ir Guus Ydema , t: 06 23574816, e: guus.ydema@step2eco.com Dr Carolien van Hemel (USI), t: 030-2537214, e: c.g.vanhemel@uu.nl
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