Sparks Electrical News February 2019

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

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ZERO EMISSION GENSET: EMERGING ‘MOBILE PHONE’ OF THE ENERGY SECTOR T he new IDTechEx research report, “Zero Emission Transportable Gensets 2019-2039,” reveals that orders are being taken for a new type of electricity generation. It will be the mobile phone of the power industry because it will be remarkably versatile and used more widely than anything that went before. It will replace many things, not just diesel and gas gensets. Like the first mobile phones, it starts with something large, awkward and so expensive that it is aminority sport. That has been the basis of expensive but useful mobile desalinators and electricity supplies for disaster areas, such as containerised versions that unfold on trucks. Now things get interesting. Solar-with-battery has even started to be used to replace diesel gensets in the arctic where supply of diesel is an expensive nightmare. Modules of solar with wind are working well offshore in the Caspian Sea where temperatures swing violently from +50C to minus 40C. Bendable solar on golf cars, regular cars, tiny three wheelers, boats and even upper atmosphere drones opens up a plethora of new markets. Indeed, the report has an executive summary and conclusions forecasting many appropriate technologies and applications. Chapter 2 looks at future sources for zero gensets and Chapter 3 details 15 case studies of zero emission gensets and many case studies of the transitional diesel with solar gensets. Together, those markets are predicted to be over $10 billion in 2029. Chapter 4 interprets recent news. It shows how microgrid conferences are missing much of the picture by covering little beyond solar enhanced diesel gensets and some solar- battery gensets because large business is now being landed for wave and tidal powered gensets and imminent for Air- borne Wind Energy – mainly tethered drones. Conventional gensets are now seen to be banned sometimes so there is carrot and stick here with multi-mode zero emission marine genset announcements as things advance rapidly. What is the place of mini turbines and fuel cells given latest news? The answers are here. Common factors are that they are all easily relocated so financial backers can repossess them and a secondhand market exists. They go where diesel supply is impractical as on the Caspian Sea and in drones aloft for years. They go where diesel pollution is banned as on boats on German and Swiss lakes. And yet this is only the beginning. Aquaculture is booming but howdo youpower icemaking for fish farms in violent seas offshore? How do you prevent the 20%of deaths suffered by getting fuel to an advancing army?Here and in a host of other emerging applications the 'zero genset' takes new forms such as tethered drones tapping almost continuous wind high up and wave and tidal power from units dropped into place or fixed tomoored boats. Orders of up to $200million for wave power have recently been placed. Raghu Das, CEO of IDTechEx points out, “Like mobile phones, the moveable, rapidly installed zero genset is of immediate interest in emerging nations - not just a richman’s toy. Indeed, the biggest orders for drop in wave power have recentlybeenlanded inGhanaandIndonesiaforreasonssuch as invisibility in a tourist spot and creating local employment.” Like the mobile phone, rapid miniaturisation, cost reduction and multifunctionality is in prospect. For example airborne wind energy, tidal and wave power are off for only 1-30% of the time when solar is off 50% of the time and some conventional wind turbines fail to rotate for many days. Smaller batteries and even supercapacitors suffice. Yes, there are still things to be fixed. Every system is made differently by large numbers of manufacturers which is really rather silly. Costs and second sources are not under control. Clear leaders making volume like Samsung and Apple in phones do not exist. Nevertheless,the power electronics is shrinking and getting more efficient: indeed the newest solar cars are ZE mobile gensets and they have solar film that is twice as efficient and that is slated to double again. It will not be mobile phones alone that become ubiquitous. As the new IDTechEx Research report “Zero Emission Transportable Gensets 2019-2039” advises, mobile zero gensets empower the small man and the business. Increasingly, they have lower cost of ownership and are more versatile than diesel gensets and even an alternative to fossil-fuelled heating, cooling, cooking and propulsion. Here is the future.

T he use of solar power and solar energy installations is growing around the globe, and this holds true in Africa as well. DEHN AFRICA has worked on a number of projects across the continent and notes that, while solar installations are on the rise, the use of photovoltaic (PV) installations brings with it the need for protection against lightning and surge protection. This is according to Julienne Puttkammer, part of the technical team at DEHN AFRICA, who says, “We have seen a recent focus on the importance of solar power in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, where the installation of solar projects is gathering momentum. At DEHN AFRICA, we’ve definitely had an upswing in this area over the past six months, as well as involvement in projects in more northern and central Africa.” Across Africa, says Puttkammer, DEHN AFRICA has seen a focus on ground-mounted utility-scale PV installations, generally implying a strong government commitment, but with a growing understanding from the private sector of solar energy’s profitability opportunities. Besides South Africa, the company has worked on installations in countries including Mozambique, Namibia, Mauritius, Madagascar and Swaziland. “We are seeing a mix of both private and government projects, and it appears that more and more African countries are becoming aware of the advantages of using the sun’s energy as a resource, as solar energy becomes cheaper due to global economies of scale causing prices to drop in recent years. Obviously, the growing use of solar energy also assists with the global desire to commit to a reduction in global warming,” he adds. This growth in solar installations in Africa is consistent with a report released earlier this year by HIS Markit, a global information provider based in London, which noted that 2017 had seen annual global solar installations grow by almost 20 percent from 2016, with capacity expected to reach the milestone of 100 gW this year. In Africa itself, access to affordable power is critical for the economic growth and development of the continent. At the same time, it must be remembered that Africa is a continent where vast areas are prone to lightning strikes, recording higher lightning ground flash density figures than in many other parts of the world. Additionally, many countries in Africa face the issue of unreliable utility power grids, with frequent outages, which can in turn create power surges. Therefore, new and existing solar farms must be protected against the possibilities of both lightning strikes as well as unexpected power surges. “Lightning strikes to solar farms will cause damage at the strike point, as well as lightning surge damage to any equipment that is connected downstream or within the area due to induced effects. External lightning protection helps avoid damage at the strike point itself, while surge protection devices help prevent downstream damage because of conducted and induced surges from the strike, while further allowing the renewable energy system to stay online,” clarifies Puttkammer. DEHN AFRICA’s engagement in the protection of solar farms in South Africa has helped inform its approach towards new installations in other African countries, says Puttkammer. “We’ve been involved in lightning and surge protection for solar projects in South Africa since 2013, during the initial roll-out of a solar plant here. Our local experience followed on from our initial capabilities and experience in Europe, where conditions are very different. We noted initially in South Africa that we were largely being called in for retro-fitting of lightning and surge protection measures, but this is changing. We are now being called in increasingly at the design stage of a new round of renewable energy projects, which is obviously more desirable from a technical standpoint. “There has been a growing realisation that damages that can be caused by lightning are worth safeguarding against from the beginning of the process, and that the attempts at cost-saving by not including surge and lightning protection systems on PV plants is simply not worth the risk. When it comes to our involvement in new solar projects across Africa, we are pleased to see a trend in protecting against lightning and surges right from the design stage,” he says. “Against a backdrop in which many of Africa’s electrical distribution systems are in stages of development and dependent on either coal or biomass sources – both of which are finite or depletable – the use of solar energy is desirable, from the perspectives of Africa’s abundant access to solar power as well as its environmentally friendly footprint. DEHN AFRICA is pleased to play this important role in making Africa’s solar-powered projects able to withstand the challenges of lightning and surge possibilities,” concludes Puttkammer. LIGHTNING AND SURGE PROTECTION FOR SOLAR INSTALLATIONS IN AFRICA

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WHY COMMERCIAL COMPANIES NEED SOLAR POWER SUPPLIERS WHO UNDERSTAND THEIR INDUSTRY

I t is expected that Solar photovoltaic (PV) en- ergy generation power will be the fastest grow- ing renewable technology by 2022, and recent years have seen many countries increasing their reliance on PV generation for their power grids. According to Charl du Plessis, Head of Project Development at EnergyPartnersCommercial Solar,a division of Energy Partners and part of the PSGgroup of companies, PV generation has also witnessed exponential growth in the private sector, with industries ranging from manufacturing, retail, mining and fast moving consumer goods, to agriculture adopting solar energy at an increasing rate. “The cost of PV systems has reduced significantly in the last six months. In addition, the cost of grid-based power continues to rise in South Africa, which is why we have seen interest from companies in increasingly diverse industries to provide PV generation solutions. We have even been approached by companies in areas like KwaZulu-Natal (which has the lowest sunlight exposure in the country) because shrinking costs are making PV generation much more viable everywhere. While this is certainly good for the commercial solar industry in general, we are also increasingly seeing that it takes service providers with an intimate understanding of their clients’ industries and operations, to provide truly effective PV solutions.” Du Plessis explains that each industry has unique requirements and challenges for PV generation, which need to be taken into account in the engineering, design and construction of these systems to minimise risk and optimise returns. Ensuring that the entire system runs as efficiently as possible, and that all of the components reach their maximum life span comes down to paying

storage solutions to the client, be able to design a system that suits the client’s specific operation, and have a presence near the client’s location in order to conduct scheduled and unscheduled maintenance whenever necessary.” e adds that expansions in this sector often opt for hybrid diesel integration with solar to provide the necessary additional electrical capacity as a cost-effective and rapid deployable alternative to expensive and delayed grid upgrades. With this in mind, Du Plessis says that businesses that decide to invest in solar PV systems, should start by consulting a service provider with a proven track record in their specific industry. “The service provider needs to be confident that it can provide optimal service for a client in that industry and has to be willing to provide guarantees on their systems, once installed. Opting to partner with a provider that does not know your business, significantly increases the risk that the system will come up against a potentially costly issue that was not anticipated or even worse, underperforms.” Du Plessis says that Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with solar energy suppliers have proven to be a much simpler solution for many businesses, and are increasingly gaining traction across all sectors. “Solar energy is becoming more advanced and increasingly viable for every sector of industry in South Africa. However, when purchasing the technology, and installing the systems, not relying on a service provider with experience in the client’s industry could still undo any potential cost savings,” Du Plessis concludes.

attention to every detail and making sure that every challenge is anticipated and solved.” He points out that the retail industry, as an example, usually requires rooftop installations. “Shopping malls are increasingly investing in PV systems, and for these types of clients it is crucial that the service provider is able to guarantee that the building’s roof is not damaged in any way. This includes conducing the necessary due diligence to ensure that the roof can hold the weight of the system,using high quality and approvedmounting brackets, and installing sturdy walkways to allow maintenance crews access to the entire system without affecting the roof. Inexperienced service providers can often overlook small mistakes that end up causing bigger problems for the property owner down the line." The agricultural industry has also seen a rise in solar generation, and Du Plessis notes that monitoring maintenance and component life span are all challenges that need to be addressed. “Monitoring and regular maintenance can be challenging, since farms are usually quite far removed from major hubs. In this instance it is necessary to make sure that the service provider has advanced online monitoring tools and wireless communication set up to provide troubleshoot assistance remotely, and that local maintenance crews are trained to reduce costs.” For applications in seasonal industries, on the other hand, more clients are moving towards micro-grid solutions. “Operations with significant overnight loads, prefer PV systems with energy storage capabilities. Many of these operations operate day and night during their peak seasons only. This means that the service provider needs to be able to provide the best quality energy

Enquiries: www.energypartners.co.za

Enquiries: www.IDTechEx.com/zegensets

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FEBRUARY 2019