Renewable power reinvented

Most of the new grid capacity being added in the world is renewable or nuclear.

So says Dr Peter Harrop, chairman of IDTechEx in the United Kingdom.

Norway and New Zealand have been almost entirely on renewables for some time.

Both solar and wind energy are being reinvented.

For example, Airborne Wind Energy is the flying of kites and, increasingly, tethered drones that tap winds above conventional wind turbines.

These winds have four times the power and are much more consistent, so the main potential is to go where conventional wind turbines cannot, Harrop says.

“The drone versions can even rise through zero wind at ground level to tap the strong stuff.”

Solar roads can dynamically charge vehicles off grid and feed communities.

Dynamic charging of vehicles is now advancing rapidly, thanks to the Qualcomm work in France, KAIST in Korea, TDK in Japan and others.

Growth of large-scale solar power plants far from cities has slowed as the transmission infrastructure to move that electricity must be further developed. Installations atop factories, malls and airports are likely to surge six-fold to almost 40 gigawatts by the end of 2020, and 125 gigawatts by 2040. Expect solar roads there too.

JinkoSolar is to collaborate with Seris on new bifacial solar cells.

These two entities have begun collaborating on the creation of higher efficiency, mass-producible cells. The target is 20% more energy output in outdoor applications compared to conventional silicon solar cells.

The argument is that solar cells have become so cheap relative to an overall solar power installation, it is now economically viable to add a second layer of cells that will work at one-fifth the efficiency level of sun facing cells.

Infrared harvesting may be possible from under a vehicle and solar windows in vehicles as more energy independent electric vehicles (EIVs) develop.
“The future is looking exciting,” Harrop says.