Innovative solutions for solar
Recent projects – a solar park on a lake in Switzerland, photovoltaic noise-reducing walls in Île-de-France – show the capacity for innovation still available to renewable energies . On condition that we find solutions to reconcile renewable energy, whose production is intermittent, with a stable and secure supply .
Floating solar park, photovoltaic noise barrier… innovative solar projects
Can solar still be innovative? The answer is yes. In the materials used as in the projects, photovoltaics continue to evolve. Two recent examples show this again. In Switzerland, the Lac des Toules floating solar park project has just received an award to recognize “ exemplary performance by national energy players” . Led by Romande Energie , this floating solar park, in service since December 2019, should produce more than 800 kWh. By 2022, Romande Energie plans to expand its power plant to reach a production of 22 million kWh. In Yvelines, the collaborative innovation center Seinergy Lab is experimenting with TechSafe Industries and Ariane Group on a photovoltaic noise barrier. This involves using “ already urbanized spaces ” for energy production, according to the press release .
Challenges to overcome to reduce the effects of intermittent renewable energy production
According to forecasts from the International Energy Agency (IEA), renewable energies (RE) will represent a third of electricity production by 2025. This is what emerges from the “Renewables 2020” report , in which The IEA takes stock of renewable energy production in the world. Even if, at the global level, this production is mainly ensured today by the United States (29 GW) and China (85 GW), the IEA estimates that the balance could change in 2021 with a greater place taken through Europe.
Solar and storage: a solution for the future
However, REs face certain challenges in ensuring a secure supply . Like wind power, solar energy is intermittent, and production depends on several factors, particularly weather. This is even more the case in our European regions, with less sunshine in winter, when the demand for energy is precisely the greatest. The solution to reducing the intermittency effect of solar and wind energy in particular is through storage . This makes it possible to precisely ensure the continuity of electricity supply to the network, and to better integrate renewable energies into the electricity production strategy.
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