Solar power on the rise

Solar power is an important part of tomorrow’s energy mix.

But the energy market is subject to change and short-lived trends. However, there are some things that remain - energy storage and solutions for energy supply and distribution will continue to gain importance. They are the main focus at this year’s Intersolar Europe.

The photovoltaic market is on the move. With an increase of 11.3 gigawatt, the Chinese market currently records the highest global growth. This makes China the largest market for photovoltaic power worldwide. The market shift to Asia has replaced Germany as the global market leader but Europe is still following close behind with a total annual growth of 10 gigawatt. In 2012, photovoltaic plants in Europe produced more than 70 terrawatt hours of solar power – an amount that would cover the power requirement in Germany a thousand times. It is therefore no surprise that Europe is still one of the main centers for solar industry. There are new players as well: the Middle East and North Africa are gaining ground and have become emerging markets for solar power.

Next are the opportunities to be found in off-grid markets, where photovoltaic plants have no connection to the public power grid and can only work by storing the generated power. After a period of steady reduction in production capacities, the future prospects for manufacturers of plants and machinery are mainly positive once again.

Software and solar trackers for higher quality and sustainability

As with most investments, quality and sustainability play an important role on the market for solar power. To ensure both, the appropriate technology or corresponding automation is required. A solar plant is only sustainable if it provides a positive cost-benefit-ratio. Technical solutions such as solar trackers that guide photovoltaic panels to the sun, or a monitoring software for power plant parks, for example, make sure that the investment in a solar plant pays off.

Sustainable energy supply with storage solutions

Key to the energy transition – and therefore also the main topic at the Intersolar Europe – is providing sufficient capacity for storing solar power. Fluctuating power sources require suitable solutions for storage so that the generated power can be fed back into the grid when needed, for example to balance consumption peaks. The EuPD Research institute for market research and public opinion forecasts an increasing demand for storage solutions in the next years. This forecast is based on new applications and the expected price reduction for storage media. By 2016, the installed total volume is expected to grow upto 220MWh.

The type of energy storage used strongly varies depending on the application. Siemens has faced this challenge and developed several solutions for varying purposes, all in the field of energy storage. SIESTORAGE, for example, is a modular energy storage system that provides a sustainable power supply, by reliably feeding renewable energies into the AC voltage supply while providing for highest grid quality.

DC Renewable Storage Backbone (DC RSB) is the ideal solution for smaller, isolated grids, for example. Power sources such as photovoltaics and wind power as well as energy sinks like batteries are connected on the DC side and controlled using a sophisticated software. The AC grid is centrally connected via a central grid inverter. Additionally, Siemens also offers control system solutions for larger networks and smart grids.

Award for innovative industry solutions

As the leading tradefair for the solar industry worldwide, Intersolar will once again honor innovative industry solutions with the Intersolar AWARD and the electrical energy storage (ees) AWARD. It will be the seventh time for manufacturers of energy solutions to compete for these sought-after awards. Together with its Partner AccuSol, Siemens is among the finalists for the ees AWARD with its DC RSB. The prize is awarded to innovative products and outstanding solutions in the field of energy storage.