Tag: #PV

Greenvolt Next 4MW solar farm for Sanofi in Waterford

Greenvolt Next, part of Greenvolt Group, a leading specialist in renewable energy solutions for the commercial and industrial sector, has completed the development of a 4 MW solar PV plant for Sanofi, one of the leading global biopharmaceutical companies.

Now in operation at Sanofi’s manufacturing campus in Waterford, the project was structured under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), requiring no upfront investment from the pharma company and allowing it to access renewable electricity at a stable and predictable price, while benefiting from long-term operational certainty.

The project was formally inaugurated in a ceremony attended by the Minister of State, Mary Butler, underscoring the national relevance of investments that accelerate Ireland’s clean-energy transition. Sanofi, established in Ireland more than 20 years ago, develops and manufactures healthcare solutions across therapeutic areas such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and vaccines, with the Waterford site playing a central role in its operations.

Greenvolt Next designed and delivered the 4 MW solar PV plant, comprising more than 5,700 panels and 10 inverters. The installation will generate approximately 3.2 GWh of renewable electricity annually, covering around 20% of the site’s energy needs and enabling the avoidance of 950 tonnes of CO₂ each year. This reduction in carbon emissions directly supports Sanofi’s global environmental strategy, while demonstrating the Waterford site’s leadership in climate action within the Irish pharmaceutical sector.

Its delivery was completed within a four-month schedule, mobilising a multidisciplinary team of more than 100 professionals across design, engineering and installation. Greenvolt Next will operate and maintain the facility for 20 years, ensuring performance, safety and reliability throughout its lifecycle. The project strengthens the site’s long-term competitiveness, ensuring it can continue to grow, innovate and manufacture high-quality medicines sustainably.

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach with special responsibility as Government Chief Whip and the Department of Health with responsibility for Mental Health Mary Butler said: “This is an impressive initiative that represents a significant step forward for clean energy and sustainable infrastructure in Waterford. It is so important that we strive to continue developing smart energy solutions at community level. Such local investments in renewable energy are particularly important in the context of our national commitments and climate targets, I was particularly struck by the team leading out on this initiative in Sanofi – the energy, the enthusiasm is so encouraging. It sets a precedent for others to follow, having one of the largest renewable installations of this kind in the heart of our city.”

Owen Power, CEO of Greenvolt Next Ireland & UK, added: “This project is particularly meaningful for us, not only because it delivers a direct positive impact for the Waterford community – where Greenvolt Next is also based – but also because it reflects the trust placed in our expertise and execution capabilities by a global company of Sanofi’s scale. We have built a strong track record across multiple industries, including a significant presence in the pharma cluster, which continues to reinforce our leadership in the commercial and industrial renewable energy sector,”

Cian O Brien, Site Lead, Sanofi Ireland, said: “Generating our own renewable energy on-site is vital in helping us meet our sustainability targets, aiming for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 across all scopes, with a trajectory towards carbon neutrality by 2030. With Greenvolt Next Ireland’s expertise in renewable energy installations for large businesses like us, we will be able to significantly reduce our reliance on the grid, generating 20% of our energy on-site each year.”

Greenvolt Next is a pan-European platform operating across 12 countries, specialising in distributed-generation solutions for the commercial and industrial sector. In Ireland, the company has a long-standing presence – formerly known as Enerpower – and continues to support businesses in their transition toward more efficient and sustainable energy models.

A Dive into the Technology Used in Solar PV

In a world where the consequences of climate change are increasingly apparent, the push to reduce greenhouse gases, mainly by burning fossil fuels, is in full swing. Investment in green energy, such as solar energy, is increasing with each passing year, and for good reasons.

Switching to green solar energy is now economically feasible. While there has always been an abundance of solar energy to tap into, the technology to harness ample solar energy for typical household or commercial use cases was cost-prohibitive. 

It’s estimated that the amount of sunlight that hits the earth’s surface in just one hour and a half is enough to meet the world’s full-year energy consumption. On average, 342 watts of solar energy hit every square meter of earth yearly (https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/135642main_balance_trifold21.pdf). This is a huge amount of energy, which, if tapped into by using solar PV, can make a significant difference in reducing carbon emissions. Recently, harnessing solar energy to generate electricity has become a viable option.

Solar PV technology such as pvgeneration.ie used in harnessing solar energy has improved tremendously in the past decade, improving the efficiency of commercially available solar panels. With increased efficiency, typical solar panels can generate more electricity and meet our needs, reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

Let’s dive into the solar PV technology that’s making harnessing solar energy possible.

Solar Photovoltaic Technology: How PV Cells Convert Sunlight into Electricity

A photovoltaic cell is a non-mechanical device that converts sunlight to electricity. Every PV cell is made of a semiconductor material. Semiconductor materials conduct electricity better than insulators but not as well as conductors, such as metals, can. When sunlight strikes PV cells, the photons can provide enough energy to dislodge negatively charged particles called electrons.

The dislodged electrons also attain energy to flow through the material, creating an electrical current that can be harvested to power electrical appliances. The front of the PV cells are treated to attract the dislodged electron or current of electricity. With the electrons moving to the surface of the PV cell, an electrical imbalance between the front and the back surfaces of the PV cell is created, thereby creating a voltage potential that allows the current to flow.

The vast majority of PV cells are made using silicone semiconductor material. The abundance of material and the longevity of silicon-based PV cells makes it commercially viable to produce silicon PV cells.

Every PV cell can produce as much as 1 to 2 watts, which is insufficient to power household or commercial appliances. However, when the cells are connected in a package to form a panel, they produce usable electricity. Typically, solar panels are connected to create an array, further enhancing the electricity-generating potential of the PV cells.

Once the electron reaches the surface of the PV cells, the current is extracted through a conductive metal and transferred to external loads – appliances that use electricity or storage batteries. 

PV cells generate direct current (DC) electricity. You can charge storage batteries directly with DC electricity. However, nearly all devices use alternating current electricity. As such, homeowners and businesses that invest in solar panels must also invest in an inverter, which converts the DC electricity that PV cells generate to AC command devices.

PV Efficiency 

One of the most essential measurement metrics for solar PVs is their efficiency. Understanding what happens to sunlight when it hits the PV cells is important to understand PV efficiency. When solar radiation hits the PV cell, it can either be reflected by the cell, pass through it, or be absorbed by it. The absorbed sunlight is the proportion of sunlight that generates electricity. As such, PV cell efficiency is the measure of the amount of electrical power generated by a PV cell compared to the energy of sunlight that hits the cells. 

The efficiency of PV cells depends on the intensity of solar radiation and the wavelengths of light the PV cell can utilise to generate electricity. The semiconductor bandgap indicates the wavelength of light the materials can absorb and use to dislodge electrons to generate electricity. As such, the efficiency of a solar PV cell depends on the bandgap matching with the wavelength of the light. 

Commercially available PV cells from companies such as NFC Energy in Meath typically have an efficiency of 15% to 25%. However, niche PV cells such as those used in satellites and experimental cells can achieve about 50% efficiency.

Other Types of Solar Cell Technology 

While the solar PV industry is dominated by silicon solar cells, there is an array of other types of solar cells. They include:

#1: Thin-Film Solar Cells – Thin-cell PV cells are made using a micrometre thick layer of semiconductor materials such as copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) or cadmium telluride (CdTe). Consequently, these PV cells are flexible and lightweight, which makes them ideal for portable applications. Thin cell PVs are also easier to manufacture than traditional silicon-based PV cells. 

#2: III-IV Solar Cells – The III-IV Solar PV Cells can be considered the most advanced currently available PV cells. They are named after the group of elements they are made of – that is, Group III materials such as indium and gallium and Group V elements such as antimony and arsenic. These types of solar cells are more challenging to manufacture and, therefore, more expensive. As such, they are typically used in high-tech environments where high power-to-weight ratios are essential, and their high cost is not a prohibiting factor, such as satellites and high endurance UAVs.

Additionally, research is ongoing to develop new types of solar cells that are cheaper and easier to produce while retaining high levels of efficiency (or even improving efficiency). Various national laboratories and private organisations are pursuing new PV technologies such as quantum dot PV cells, concentration PVs, multijunction PV cells, PV cells made of organic materials, and PV cells made of hybrid organic-inorganic materials (such as Perovskite Photovoltaics, which are a type of thin-film PV cells).

 

Solar Power: What is it and How Does it Work?

We’ve all heard of solar power before but how many of us actually know what it is and how it works? Probably not quite as many of us. I mean, most of us know the basics: solar technology generates energy from the sun that we can then use as power. But let’s dig a little deeper into the subject…

Brief History

It could be argued that solar energy has been used by our ancestors for centuries, starting way back in the BC days. Remember when they’d use the sun to bring fire to life with magnifying materials? That’s what we mean. However, solar energy that we know today, collected via silicon panels, was brought to life in the 1950s. Since then, the urgency for humans to choose renewable energy over fossil fuels has accelerated massively, as many countries are aiming to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by the year of 2050. 

Therefore, solar technology has come on leaps and bounds in the past few decades, with the mounting pressure of climate change and environmental issues at new highs. People are starting to wake up to the need for change, and can now see the multitude of benefits to solar energy – it’s typically much better for the planet as well as the people, animals, and plants on it. Solar PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements) are something that have made renewable energy all the more accessible in recent times – wondering ‘what is PPA?” Click the link to find out. Now, using a premier solar company is more affordable and cost-effective long term than it ever was before, for the individual as well as businesses.

How Does Solar Power Work?

Solar power is generated by energy from sunlight being absorbed by photovoltaic (PV) technology. Electricity can then flow through cells producing a current. This works as solar cells have a semiconductor within them made from silicon – when sunlight hits this, an electric field is created through one of the two silicon layers becoming positively charged, the other negatively. Electrons become loose and subsequently create power that can be converted into electricity for us to make the most of. In addition to efficiency advancements, the physical design and durability of solar panels have significantly improved, allowing them to better withstand environmental factors such as inclement weather and temperature fluctuations. This has been pivotal in their widespread adoption in various climates and regions around the world.

Will All Countries Make the Switch to Solar?

As it stands, many affluent countries are trying to encourage and increase the usage of not just solar power, but renewable energy in general. However, Ireland is experiencing a slow transition to renewable energy for a number of reasons, including a lack of confidence in the implementation efficiency and affordability in current times. However, plenty of countries are going full steam ahead, with China the country that produces the most solar energy out of any other country in the world – which is relatively good news, as they’re the country with the highest carbon footprint and population. China is followed by the EU and the United States. Cost and infrastructure can be something that holds many nations back when it comes to solar, but as it becomes more affordable and commonly found over time, we are likely to see a large shift.

 

Electric cars as part of the energy transition: Audi is researching bidirectional charging technology #Audi #Pv #V2H

Increasing network stability, lowering electricity costs, and contributing to climate protection is the vision that Audi and the Hager Group are pursuing. The incorporation of the electric car into the domestic grid is at the core of an innovative research project on bidirectional charging. This offers major advantages in combination with a photovoltaic system in particular. Excess PV electricity can be stored temporarily and output as needed.

Audi has committed to the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement and is working on making its vehicle fleet CO2-neutral by 2050. In order to achieve this aim, the premium brand is pursuing a broad electric offensive that involves launching around 20 fully electric models by 2025. And not only that: The electric car is to evolve into part of an increasingly broad mobility offer and become an element of the sustainable energy transition.

In the first half of 2020, renewable energies contributed more than 50 percent to the German electricity mix for the first time. However, the increasing percentage is also accompanied by a basic dilemma of wind and solar power: The generation of electricity is not always constant. On sunny days and phases with strong winds, there is often a lack of capacity to store the generated energy that the grid cannot use.

As the number of registered electric cars increases, the number of mobile energy storage units also rises. This offers great potential, provided that the storage capacity can be used intelligently. This is why Audi and the Hager Group joined hands and developed a research and solution approach that creates financial incentives and offers greater security of supply: bidirectional charging. “Electric mobility is bringing the automotive industry and the energy sector closer together. The battery of an Audi e-tron could supply a single-family home with energy for around one week independently. Looking ahead, we want to make this potential accessible and make the electric car part of the energy transition as an energy storage device on four wheels,” says Martin Dehm, technical project manager for bidirectional charging at Audi.

The electric car as a flexible energy storage unit

The idea is as simple as it is genius: The high-voltage battery of the electric car is not only charged via the wall box at home but can also supply energy back to the house as a decentralised storage medium. If the customer has a photovoltaic system, the electric car serves as a temporary storage medium for the domestically generated eco-electricity. When the sun is no longer shining, the vehicle can supply the stored electricity back to the house. Bidirectional charging at home – also known as Vehicle to Home (V2H) – has great potential to reduce the home owner’s electricity costs and increase network stability.

As a further expansion stage in combination with a home storage unit, it is possible to achieve near complete energy independence and increased security of supply in the event of a blackout. “Using the battery of electric vehicles to contribute to climate protection while lowering electricity costs at the same time is a vision that we have found fascinating since the very beginning. And we have found an ideal partner in Audi,” explains Ulrich Reiner, project manager at Hager Group.

Near-series technology in use

What sounds simple in theory requires a high level of technical intelligence and coordinated interaction between different technical components in terms of infrastructure and in the vehicle in practice. An Audi e-tron with near-series charging technology was used in the research project. In the test grid, the fully electric Audi model operated with a DC wall box, which enables a charging capacity of up to 12 kW, and a flexibly extendable home storage unit with a capacity of 9 kWh. While it could provide additional flexibility in possible series production, it is not a necessary requirement for bidirectional charging. Thanks to the DC voltage level in the overall grid, the connection between the PV system and the vehicle does not require an inverter and is thus a particularly efficient solution.

Charging with PV electricity saves money 

Bidirectional charging focuses mainly on use cases where home owners use their own photovoltaic system to benefit from cost-optimised charging with their domestically generated electricity. The electric car stores the excess electricity from the PV system that is not used by appliances in the house. If the customer has variable rates, the electric car can supply the entire house in phases where electricity prices are high.

At night or during non-productive times of the rate, the car then uses inexpensive electricity to charge up to the desired target SOC (state of charge). Bidirectional charging also provides a security of supply that extends beyond pure cost optimisation: In the event of a blackout, the system can supply the house with energy via the high-performance HV battery or it can even operate a building without a grid connection independently in what is known as stand-alone operation.

Everyday usability in the focus of the developers

The developers made everyday usability a top priority. “Maintaining mobility is at the centre of our attention. Customers therefore don’t need to restrict themselves in order to make bidirectional charging suitable for everyday use,” Dehm describes the focus of the development. “The intelligent charging management manages the optimum use of the battery, thereby maximizing the cost-effectiveness of the overall system. The system is very easy for customers to use – all they have to do is plug in the car, and the rest happens automatically.”

The joint research project with the Hager Group has proven two essential things: Customers who have their own PV system can design their mobility to be optimised in terms of cost and CO2 consumption while taking some of the burden off the grid at the same time. As a positive side effect, customers who own an electric car from Audi can make an important contribution to the success of the energy transition. The intelligent use of the HV battery in the vehicle also opens up possibilities to use an existing resource that was previously used for mobility purposes alone in a sustainable way.