Pro-Nuclear Government Reactivates #CTS Centralized Temporary RadioWaste Store Warehouse Facility

The nuclear sector in Spain is boiling. Enresa - Public company, under the Ministry of Industry, Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda,  which is in charge to manage radioactive waste - has just reactivated the process of the Centralized Temporary Warehouse (CTS) project in Villar de Cañas (Cuenca). On January 31, the Ministry of the Environment sent the file sent by Enresa necessary for this department in order to formulate the Environmental Impact Statement (IES). The processing of this permit was stopped since 2015, when Castilla-La Mancha expanded a natural space to block the CTS construction. But the Supreme Court precautionary annulled the extension issue in January, understanding that the "proper management of radioactive waste" should prevail over "the immediate approval of the extension of a protected area for birds". After this pronouncement, Enresa now takes over the project, which aims to house in a single silo all the waste from the Nuclear Spanish Power Plants.

The Environment Ministry would now have, in principle, three months to formulate the impact statement, without which it would be impossible to build a silo that already carries a significant delay. That deadline, however, can be further extended. The ministry says it is "waiting for more reports". Industry sources indicate that there is still, for example, the ruling of the Junta de Castilla-La Mancha, which opposes this project.

It is to suppose that this report that is missing from Castilla-La Mancha is contrary. In addition to expanding this protected area, the Board also annulled the urban plan of Villar de Cañas that protects the construction of the warehouse. The change of government in this community, which after the 2015 elections passed from the PP to the PSOE, has been instrumental in delaying the construction of the CTS. When Maria Dolores de Cospedal (PP) was president of Castilla-La Mancha, the Board worked in favor of the construction of the silo in Villar de Cañas. When Emiliano García-Page has arrived, this Administration has used all the weapons in its power to stop it. Socialists argue that there is no consensus on the project.

More than a year and a half of stop

For more than a year and a half, the environmental process has been in a limbo. The process to issue the IES was paralyzed on September 29, 2015. Two months earlier, the Executive of Castilla-La Mancha began the process to expand a protected space near the lands of the future CTS. Included in the plot of Villar de Cañas reserved for the warehouse, which prevented the construction of the facility.

The Government, through the State Attorney's Office, appealed. Finally, in a ruling handed down on 18 January, the Supreme Court overturned the decree by which the extension of the protected area had begun. Thirteen days later, the file of Enresa needed for this department to formulate the IES arrived at the ministry.

The CTS is a key piece for the nuclear sector, which contributes 20% of the electricity consumed in Spain. According to the current outdated planning, it had to be operational from 2010, but has suffered delays. Enresa has already spent more than 77 million on a controversial project because of the problems of the soils chosen.

The CTS already passed a first filter of the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN), which approved the floors chosen, despite the doubts that showed from within some technicians of the supervisor. These did not reject that the warehouse could be built in the selected parcel. However, due to the characteristics of these soils, they argued that the costs can be multiplied to make the installation sufficiently stable.

The decision of the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN)  to facilitate the extension of the service life of the Garoña plant has given wings to the sector. The companies know that the Government is pronuclear and, after the worst of the crisis, demand a step further. The Spanish Nuclear Society, which groups not only the electrical, but also engineering, constructors, manufacturers of nuclear fuel ... claims to the Executive a better tax treatment as it happens in Sweden and in some US state.

The CSN's controversial decision on the Garoña nuclear power plant has been a victory for the Spanish nuclear industry and for the large power companies that own the 8 NPPs. The new president of the Spanish Nuclear Society (SNE), José Antonio Gago, implicitly acknowledged in explaining at a press conference that the central - the smallest and oldest of the nuclear park - has been the "spearhead." The success has been so resounding for the industry that the SNE - a non-profit association that goes beyond the corporate lobby grouped in the Nuclear Forum - dares to take one step further in their demands.

The contribution to the Spanish gross domestic product (GDP) of the whole nuclear sector is of the order of 2.8 billion per year (0.25%)

The nuclear industry demands better tax treatment. The petition is based on the fact that countries like Sweden or the United States (New York) give benevolent tax treatment to technologies that do not emit greenhouse gases, including nuclear. According to their accounts, the contribution to the Spanish gross domestic product (GDP) of the whole nuclear sector is arround 2.8 billion per year (0.25%), with a tax contribution of 1,140 million, of which 780 million correspond to taxes paid by the companies and 360 million contributed as a result of their activity.

Companies consider this burden to be excessive. They never willingly accepted the surcharges approved by the PP Government for electricity production in general and for nuclear activity in particular. In 2012, the newly elected PP Executive approved a new nuclear levy with two aspects: a tax on the radwaste production to raise 269 million in two years, and a tax on radwaste storage. The new taxes were never accepted and, in the usual line of big companies, the debate has made its way to the Constitutional Court.

With the controversy alive and all the political wind in favor, the nuclear sector wants not only to extend the useful life of the plants beyond 40 years, even reaching the 80 years, but to receive a fiscal recognition as clean energy. Regarding radwaste residues, dangerous and difficult to manage, better not to comment. The president of the SEN believes that the issue of radwaste is technologically resolved and, in any case, it is a matter for the public company (Enresa) responsible for radwaste management and for building the Centralized Temporary Warehouse Villar de Cañas (Cuenca), a site challenged by environmentalists and the consultant (URS) hired by the Council to analyze the terrain of the ATC. Lands destined for the nuclear warehouse of Villar de Cañas (Cuenca).

The nuclear sector considers the criticisms of this type of energy, including those registered in Congress, as "ideological"

Neither the immense controversy with Garoña nor the majority position of Parliament, critical of nuclear energy, make a dent in the sector, which considers the criticism of this type of "ideological" energy. The outgoing president of the SNE, José Ramón Torralbo, summed up the core of his arguments: nuclear power is essential at the moment in Spain and the plants "are today safer than when they were launched." The misgivings and demands of a neighboring country such as Portugal, which has successfully put pressure on Spain in Brussels to paralyze the waste warehouse planned for the Almaraz plant in Cáceres, are not even serious. Before the stoppage of the ATC, the nuclear power plants - there are seven on line - have had to resort to individual silos within their facilities. The one that projects the power station of Almaraz has caused a diplomatic clash between Spain and Portugal, that has been solved with the intermediation of the European Commission.

Faced to criticisms, numbers and percentages. According to the SNE, Spanish Nuclear Power Plants has been operated 91.62% of the 8,760 hours of the year; Have produced 21.4% of electricity; Have helped to moderate the prices of the electric pool and have prevented the emission of 40 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, half of what messes up the car park.

It's nothing to impress the critics of nuclear power. On Monday, the parliamentary group of Podemos-En Comú-En Marea brought to the Congress of Deputies a bill to decree the definitive closure of the Garoña NPP and the rest of the nuclear operations in 2024. And on Tuesday, the spokeswoman Socialist Energy Congress, Pilar Lucio, filed another bill to prevent the reopening of nuclear power plants when it has been agreed to terminate, as it could with the Santa Maria de Garoña nuclear plant in Burgos.

The Garoña plant near Burgos in northern Spain (Image: Foronuclear)

The opposition to the extension of the useful life of nuclear power plants coincides with the trend

It registers in the surrounding countries in the EU like Germany, France or Belgium. But in the opinion of the nuclear lobby it moves away from the wider international reality. According to their data, nuclear energy in the world is expanding, with new countries interested. These are the data: in the world there are 449 plants in operation; 105 operate above 40 years; There are 60 under construction and 167 planned. The fact that these new plants are projected in Asian countries such as China, India or in countries of Eastern Europe with poor democratic and economic quality is, in his opinion, a simple detail. To compensate always will remain US and the weakness of memory. After all, five years have passed since Fukushima.

Sources: unesa, Manuel Planelles, Santiago Carcar & Detector Network Flags Traces of radioactive Iodine In Europe

Toledo #PV: the Oldest #Solar 1MW #Power #Plant #In the World has Operated since 23 years (1993%2016)

Toledo-PV was the photovoltaic power plant that inaugurated the power scale of the MWs in Europe. It began to operate in 1993, so it has already completed 23 years of operation and, standstill better, good operation, as recent article on the operating experience of previous years shows: «Toledo-PV Plant 1MWp and 20 Years of Operation»

Toledo-PV: The Oldest Solar 1MW In the World has been Operating for 23 years 1993/2016

Abstract/Summary: The paper is a summary of the energy production during the 20 years, 1994-2014, of operation of the photovoltaic plant, Toledo-PV. The photovoltaic power plant, located close to the “La Puebla de Montalbán” village In Toledo (Spain). Toledo-PV plant with a nominal power of 1 MWp was inaugurated in July 1994 and has operated satisfactorily since that time providing electricity to the Spanish grid. The plant is owned equally by three companies: Enel Green Power, RWE and Gas Natural Fenosa.

Author(s):  M. Alonso-Abella, F. Chenlo, A. Alonso, D. González
Keywords: Evaluation, Large Grid-Connected PV Systems, Performance
Topic: OPERATIONS, PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY OF PHOTOVOLTAICS (from Cells to Systems)
Subtopic: Operation of PV Systems and Plants
Event: 29th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition
Session: 5BV.1.44
Pages: 2728 - 2733
ISBN: 3-936338-34-5
Paper DOI: 10.4229/EUPVSEC20142014-5BV.1.44
Price: 0,00 EUR
Document(s): paper, poster 

Some years earlier there had been another power plant with MW power in the USA. But it used conventional photovoltaic modules in combination with V-shaped side mirrors, which practically doubled the incident irradiance. Under these conditions, the modules degraded rapidly, losing 40% of their power in four years of operation, which led to the dismantling of the plant.

Electrical Degradation of the Carrisa Plains Power Plant
Author(s):Schaefer J.EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Rosenthal A. Southwest Technology Development Inst., Las Cruces, NM, USA
Schlueter L. Siemens Solar Industries, Camarillo, CA, USA
WengerH. Pacific Gas and Electric Co, San Ramon, CA, USA
Book Title: Tenth E.C. Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference
Book Subtitle: Proceedings of the International Conference, held at Lisbon, Portugal, 8–12 April 1991
ISBN: 978-94-010-5607-6
DOI: 10.1007/978-94-011-3622-8
Print Online ISBN: 978-94-011-3622-8
Publisher Springer Netherlands
Copyright Holder ECSC, EEC, EAEC, Brussels and Luxembourg

Some years earlier there had been another power plant with MW power in the USA. But it used conventional photovoltaic modules in combination with V-shaped side mirrors, which practically doubled the incident irradiance. Under these conditions, the modules degraded rapidly, losing 40% of their power in four years of operation, which led to the dismantling of the plant. Thus, Toledo-PV is the oldest photovoltaic >1MW PV alive utility in the world and the first one that exceeds 20 years of useful life, a ribbon that, although nobody knows very well why, is usually interpreted as conclusive of technological maturity.

Both attributes, antiquity and reliability give Toledo-PV the venerable condition that, coupled with the fact that in its construction concurred some first-fruits of interest, make of Toledo-PV a project deserving of the historical name, whose event deserves more celebration of the Which he has so far. (The first story was published on September 5, 2016).

At this point it is important to insist that this lack of celebration reaches not only the scope of the rumor that could be made with the banner of "... I am the one who has the oldest PhotoVoltaic MW in the world ...". More regrettable is that this lack extends to the field of scientific production. Toledo-PV is a project designed, executed and operated by private companies (Endesa, RWE Energie AC and Unión Fenosa, coordinated by the latter) which, as such, have all the legitimacy not to advertise information that could constitute a competitive advantage for them. But Toledo-PV is also a project that was financed exclusively with Public money and from that, as such, one would expect returns in knowledge of general interest. The aging of the photovoltaic modules is one of the aspects on which Toledo-PV should have generated public and rigorous knowledge. It is not possible at this point to imagine a conflict of interest, since neither of the two types of modules used in its construction - Saturn modules of BP Solar, and modules MIS of Nukem - is realized in the current market. However what has been published about Toledo-PV is minimal and disappointing. After a series of articles published in the years 1994 and 1995:

1st 1MW Solar PhotoVoltaic Power Station In Spain -Plant Description & Gained Experience During Construction- Toledo-PV
Contributors: Hill, R. / Palz, W. / Helm, P.
Conference: European photovoltaic solar energy conference; 12th; 1994; Amsterdam
Size: 4 pages
ISBN: 0952145243, 0952145235
Type of media: Conference paper
Type of material:Print
Language: English
Keywords: Photovoltaic solar energy, solar energy

100 kWp tracking PV plant at the Toledo PV Project,
Jiménez C, Lorenzo E, Yordi B.  Proc.12th European PVSEC, Amsterdam, 1994; 822-824.

The Data Acquisition System for the 1MW PV Plant in Toledo, Spain. 
Mukadam K, Chenlo F. Proc. 12th European PVSEC. Amsterdam 1994; 818-821.

PV modules and Array Testat Toledo PV plant.
Lorenzo E., Zilles R., Proc. 12th EU PVSEC, Amsterdam 1994, 807-809.

Operational Results of the 100 kWp Tracking PV plant at Toledo-PV Project.
Lorenzo E., Maquedano C., Valera P. Proc. 13th EU PVSEC, Nice (1995), 755-758.

The 1 MW PV Photovoltaic Plant in Toledo, Spain. First Operational Results and Operating experiences, Mukadam K., Chenlo F., Proc. 13th EU PVSEC, Nice (1995).

All these old publications, created in the heat of the constructive impulse and basically describe aspects related to the construction of some of its elements, such as the follower or the data acquisition system, there have been only two communications to the European photovoltaic congress, one in 2005 and another that opens here the list of references.

There is here a double pity. On the one hand, for the loss of what could have been learned in terms of resistance to weathering materials that have a presence in the current technological landscape, such as encapsulation polymers, oxides of the AR layers or metals of the electrical contacts of the cells. On the other hand, because the absence of rigorous information pays for the flourishing of another, more rumorous than rigorous, which, based on only half-truths, conveys frankly erroneous messages.

A paradigmatic example of the latter is the recent publication in journalistic media [1], sometimes more prone to rumor than to rigor, of the news that says that the original modules of the Toledo-PV plant have been replaced by new ones "Retrofit". The news, true in itself, is published together with comments suggesting, first, that the original modules of Toledo-PV had been much degraded - "... in the last study, carried out in August 2015, the effective power had been reduced by 37%" - second, that the current modules are technologically much superior to the original ones - "... these are modules with a new technology that produces 20% more in unfavorable conditions Of 'mismatch' caused by shadows, dirt, aging, temperature gradients, etc. - and, thirdly, that the fact of changing the modules has made it possible to learn a lot - "... this 'revamping' has allowed us to know, with real and quantifiable magnitudes, that the useful life of a photovoltaic plant is 22 years ...".

Well, it is easy to understand that none of these three things honors the truth. What appears to have actually occurred with the original modules of Toledo-PV was not natural degradation but a consequence of a manufacturing failure in an internal welding of the modules. The difference is a lot, because the natural degradation is general and irreversible, whereas a welding failure is particular and reversible. Thus, the news attributes a quality to the general without more support than a particular circumstance. Something like 1) Pepe has mumps, 2) Pepe is man, ergo 3) All men have mumps. If Aristotle raised his head! That a 37% power reduction is not a general health condition but a particular disease is well done without comparing the figure with the many others available in the literature and even with what was published on the same Toledo-PV shortly before , In the aforementioned reference for the year 2014, where it can be read that in July 2012 (ie 20 years after being put into operation), the modules had not degraded more than the equivalent of 0.2% per year, In the case of modules supplied by BP and 1% per year, in the case of those supplied by Nukem.
What is more, the news says that change the modules (operation that the author of the news calls 'revamping', which is still indicative of scorn, because 'vamp' in English means rather better than substitute) has made it possible to know the useful life of a photovoltaic plant "with real and quantifiable magnitudes". In view of this, at least until other more complete information on such magnitudes has been published, that the logical consistency of the link between what is done (the change of modules) and what is learned (the useful life of the plants) is not greater than Of stating that by changing the spare tire of the car, after suffering a puncture, much is learned about the wear resistance of the rubber with which the tires are made. Finally, the technological improvement that the news attributes to the new modules can be put in solfa its wording, when it says that the new technology produces "20% more" but does not say what is the reference for this more. The question is, More than what? Of course it can not be the technology of the solar cells in itself, since the efficiency of the new ones is substantially similar to the previous ones. In this same order of things, a query to the official website of the project (www.toledopv.com) does nothing but increase disappointment. There is not even a mention of the recent change of modules! In short, nothing further from our intention than criticizing news of the press, let alone to those who do honestly fulfilling their work. But this does not prevent the conviction that Toledo-PV deserves much more and much more rigor than has been published until now.

The IES-UPM was lucky (and never better, because the opportunity was given and without doing anything for it) to participate in the construction of Toledo-PV. To put here in writing the memories of that participation is his way of contributing to extend that celebration. It is also their way of honoring the duty to record the firsts in which they had something to do, for information of those interested in the history of solar energy. And it is finally his way of thanking to the life the exquisite fortune of having participated in Toledo-PV.

They have not had any official relationship with Toledo-PV since 1995, so nothing can report on the lessons learned there over their more than 20 years of operation. The cause of the problem that led to the change of modules came to them via radio and non-existent delator. From what they heard, they made the diagnosis, aided by the fact that they had already encountered a similar problem in other plants with similar modules [2] [3]. They may even have mistaken a plan. Then, they would certainly be very grateful if someone who has more and more compliant information takes the trouble to report their error and provide other more truthful information here.

TOLEDO-PV IN BRIEF

Toledo-PV project was a project with an investment of approximately 10 M€ (then they were called Ecus, and still were not emitted in paper) that was covered with public subsidies contributed by two Programs (Joule and Thermie) of the European Union, by the German Ministry of Science and Technology (BMFT) and by the Spanish Electrotechnical Research Program. The proponents were Unión Fenosa, Endesa, RWE, BP Solar, Nukem and WIP.

The project was structured around two main lines: the use of photovoltaic modules of last generation and the participation of electric companies. The declared objectives were, on the one hand, to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the technology and, on the other hand, to involve the major players in the conventional electric sector, to pave the way for future photovoltaic penetration in the network. The price of photovoltaic systems was of the order of 10€ /W, which resulted in electricity generation costs of more than €1/ kWh [4]. Because this cost is at least 15 times higher than generating electricity using conventional technologies (water, coal and nuclear), very few believed in the possibility of photovoltaic technology getting to where it is today. Here comes as a finger to quote Machiavelli's wise assertion about "the unbelief of men, who-in fact-never believe in the new until they acquire a firm experience of it." [5]

THE SITE: 39° 49´51.65"N 4° 17´52,2" O; hasl: 430m

Toledo-PV is located in lands of the reservoir of Castrejón, in the Tajo, near La Puebla de Montalbán. It is a medium-sized reservoir (S=750 Ha & 45 Hm³ of Volume) that feeds the hydroelectric power station of "Carpio del Tajo", of 8 MW, and on whose banks you can enjoy the extraordinary landscape of the "Barrancas de Burujón". Demonstration projects are always a fertile ground for finding reasons, including pilgrimages, to justify their spending. In this case, and although we do not know if came to appear in the papers, there were repeated mentions to the possibility of taking advantage of the coincidence of the reservoir and the photovoltaic power station to study the complementarity of the sun and water as energy resources. Neither such a study came to fruition nor does it seem to make sense. Happens that the flow of water through this reservoir depends, of course, on the rains in the river basin, but also and especially on the irrigation needs in the area, which is the priority application of the reservoir water.

PV GENERATORS: Saturn and MIS-IL Technologies.

The 1-MW of Toledo-PV is divided into three photovoltaic generators: two static 450 kW each (nominal value) and one with horizontal axis tracking and power of 100 kW (figure 1).

The cells of the modules that make up one of the large generators and the small generator are of Saturn technology, manufactured by BP; And those of the modules that constitute the other generator are of MIS-IL technology (metal-insulator-silicon inversion layer), manufactured by Nukem. Both technologies were then presented as "state of the art". The encapsulation of the BP modules is totally conventional (glass-EVA-Tedlar), whereas the one of the modules Nukem presents some variation (glass-resin-glass).

Saturn technology introduced the novelty of "buried contacts" in laser-cut grooves on the surface of cells. The technology had been developed in Australia by the team of the University of New South Wales, directed by Martin Green. BP had bought the patent and opened a factory in Spain, in Tres Cantos, for its industrialization. In addition to reducing the surface of the metallized plug-in cell, which is inherent to the burial of the contacts (Figure 2-b), this technology significantly reduced the emitter's doping, compared to conventional technology. The air gap resulted in an increase in the short-circuit current and the reduction of doping in increasing the open-circuit voltage, thus achieving the highest efficiency of silicon cells at that time: 18% compared to 14% offered by the conventional.

Nukem's MIS-IL technology had been proposed in Germany by Professor Hezel of the University of Erlangen [6] and characterized because the pn junction, which generates the internal electric field separating voids and electrons, instead of being created by the A conventional process of diffusing phosphorus impurities (emitter "n") onto a silicon wafer with boron impurities (base "p"), was induced by the deposition on the front surface of the "p" wafer of a very thin layer ( Tunnel) of silicon oxide incorporating positive electric charges (Figure 2-c). The result was a cell with a very low-conducting emitter and which had to be accompanied by a particularly delicate metallization grid (many fingers at the same time very thin) to compensate for the negative effect of the low conductivity of the emitter on the cell's series resistance . This "induced junction" technology allowed the cell manufacturing process to be carried out entirely at temperatures below 500°C (in contrast to diffusion, which requires approaching 1000°C), which supposedly offered some advantages for the manufacture of solar cells on thin wafers. The foregoing paragraphs are written in the past, because these innovative cell technologies used in Toledo-PV have in common that none of them are currently in production, so that "last generation" is almost an invitation to jest. However, this does not tarnish the heavy weight of this project in demonstrating the durability of photovoltaic technology, since the non-innovative components of the technology, namely the use of crystalline silicon as a base material and the techniques of Encapsulated modules, also present in Toledo-PV, are the main responsible for this durability and maintain their validity in the current industrial landscape. The technology of the cells was the most visible but not the only novelty relative to the photovoltaic modules that Toledo-PV attended. So was the quality control of its power. As IES-UPM states in EraSolar, Toledo-PV was the first project to establish a contractual relationship between the amount paid to suppliers of photovoltaic modules and the results of the characteristic power measurements carried out by an independent body.

This, which is fortunately today a widespread custom, had to face, then, not a few resistors, rooted in the practice of supplying modules whose actual power was significantly lower than the nominal power. Surely it is a crowd who can rightly feel that they has done much to eradicate this harmful practice. But with the calendar in hand, it's easy to see that the scoop took place in Toledo-PV. The IES-UPM was the one who proposed and carried out the quality of modules. The power measurements were made against real sun and by comparison with previously calibrated by CIEMAT references. The following is a brief history of what happened.

STATIC GENERATORS & 1-Horizontal Axis Sun-Trackers

The original Toledo-PV design was only generators mounted over 30° static structures. Simple and robust, the solar radiation captured by these structures is limited by their own statism. Toledo-PV's are made of galvanized steel and employ approximately 40 kg of steel and 0.1 m³ of cement (in the shoe) per square meter of generator [7]. In today's plants, piles driven by hammer blow are more frequent than the shoes, but with respect to the support structures themselves, the figure of 40 kg of steel per m² still indicates very optimized designs; Although with a certain downward tendency, as a result of which the inclination angles are also somewhat lower, rather in the environment of 20 than of 30 degrees. Later on and at the proposal of the IES-UPM, the project included a follower of a horizontal axis. The followers, of course, increase the uptake of solar radiation, but at the price of incorporating moving elements that usually arouse suspicions about their reliability.

Monitoring on a horizontal axis represents a good compromise between reliability and radiation uptake. Because it is horizontal, the axis can be very long (it does not rise from the ground as it grows) and can be strongly anchored to the ground at regular intervals, as with static structures. In fact, the eyes of the uninitiated often have difficulty distinguishing prima facie between static structures and horizontal followers. The axis is oriented in the direction NS, so the tracking is such that ideally the normal to the surface of the generator describes daily a semicircle that starts pointing east (in the morning) and ends pointing west (in the afternoon) , And the angle of rotation is adjusted at each moment so that the plane containing the axis is normal also contains the Sun. Strictly speaking, in a field of several followers and if the movement were just so, there would be important shadows both by the Morning and afternoon, when the angle of elevation of the Sun is relatively low. To avoid this, the tracking strategy incorporates a "back-tracking" algorithm, which diverts the angle of rotation from the ideal position to avoid shadows. By exerting a little visual imagination, the reader should understand that, with this algorithm, the follower dawns and lies horizontally. Solar trackers with horizontal axis are an invention prior to photovoltaic cells.

The first practical design [8] was proposed in 1884 by John Ericsson, a Swedish engineer who a few years before had achieved world renown for inventing the propeller for naval propulsion. And the solar pump that Frank Shuman designed and installed in Maadi (Egypt) and which operated regularly for almost 5 years (providing a mechanical power of more than 50 HP) consisted of 5 solar collectors each 60 meters long by 4 meters Wide and 8 meters apart. These collectors, which were thermal and concentrated (such as the parabolic trough collectors of the current solar thermal power plants), were a very important milestone in the history of solar plants. A few years after the Maadí solar bomb, the World attended the deployment of an impressive infrastructure for the extraction and distribution of coal and oil, which managed to make these fuels very cheap even in places far from mines and wells, opening a parenthesis in the history of solar energy, which did not resume until, in the 1970s, the first sounding of the oil crisis sounded, whose resonances spread throughout the world in the form of concern for oil-dependence Industrial society. A very well-known manifestation of this concern was the PSA (Solar Platform of Almería), in which thermal collectors were also equipped with monitoring in a horizontal axis. And this is related to Toledo-PV because they were, in fact, the same engineers who had designed the trackers structures that makes the motor torque in the very large tracker  axis, allowing to move loosely the 200 m² of the collector, ready for extreme wind situations. In addition, the high multiplication factor also allows to easily control the tracker angle [9], without counting the laps of the motor (1 lap of the motor corresponds to half a minute of degree, which is a huge precision for the requirements of this application). The Toledo-PV tracker was manufactured by Jupasa, a Spanish company specialized in the manufacture and assembly of metallic transformations of great dimensions and high precision. Nowaday the oldest living PV-Tracker in the world and still enjoys excellent health, which saves more comments on the goodness of his design. The control system was developed by the IES-UPM. The following is a brief history of this development.

PV Inverters: Tyristhors and IGBTs

DC/AC converters are widely used power electronics equipment: AC motors, power supplies and, most recently, photovoltaic inverters.

The heart of these equipments is constituted by a block of switches, or switches, whose ordered action allows to obtain pulse trains from dc. How these switches are to a large extent defines technology, and Toledo-PV coincided with the dawn of a transition in the field of these devices: the thyristors, which at that time were the mambo dance kings, were replaced by the faster IGBTs, notably easier to handle. Thus, in 1994, Toledo-PV included two inverters with thyristors of 450 kW each, associated with static generators, and an inverter of 100 kW IBGTs, associated to the generator with horizontal tracking. All of them were manufactured by Enertron, and there was the remarkable circumstance that the 100 kW inverter was for some time the European size record in power electronics equipment with IGBTs. All three had a lot of prototypes and their operation and maintenance associated the difficulties of this condition, so that some 7 years later they were replaced by inverters of IGBTs that were already standard equipment in the market. This change is not discussed here in greater detail, to understand that the traffic from the thyristors to the IGBTs was a process that was developed in the general scope of power electronics and in which photovoltaic did not have a particularly relevant role.


Sources:

[1] E. Lorenzo, R. Zilles. Era Solar Nov-Dic 2016 

[2] Progress in Photovoltaics: An investigation into hot-spots in two large grid-connected PV plants.
Muñoz J., Lorenzo E., Martinez-Moreno F., Marroyo L., Garcia M.,
Research and Applications 16 (2008), 693-701. DOI:10.1002/pip.844

[3] Progress in Photovoltaics: Observed degradation in photovoltaic plants affected by hot-spots.
Garcia M., Marroyo L., Lorenzo E., Marcos J., Pérez M.,  Research and Applications 22 (2013), 1292-1301.
DOI:10.1002/pip.2393

[4] Toledo-PV official web: does mention the figure of 1,1 €/kWh in this project; don't worth noting as this website has not been updated since 1998, which seems to be a symptom of the scarce celebration for more than twenty years ago.

[5] N. Machiavelli, The Prince, chapter VI.

[6] R. Hezel, R. Schörner, J. Appl. Phys., vol 52(4), pp 3076-3079, 1981.

[7] Estimated from data contained in: M. Alonso et al. 1 MW PhotoVoltaic Power Station Toledo/Spain - Plant Description and Gained Experience during Construction - Toledo-PV. 12th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, 1163-1166, Amsterdam (1994).

[8] K. Butti y J. Perlin, A Golden Thread (1980). (There is a castillian translation: "Un hilo dorado: 2.500 años de arquitectura y tecnología solar", Ed Blume, 1985).

[9] The design of this tracker included two pulleys of almost one meter in diameter, separated almost 100 meters, strongly anchored to the ground and through which a thick steel cord passed, which transmitted the rotation of the pulleys to the axes of the follower's collectors . This design had a defect that proved fatal: this steel cable, which by its very function had to be well-tensioned, easily oscillated (like a guitar string), causing considerable mechanical damage.

Spanish Power Peak Prices

In the last few weeks we have witnessed rises in the market price of electricity that have exceeded €100/MWh, and an average of just under €90/MWh, which has not been observed for some time. The increases have coincided with the colder days, which has put at risk those who suffer from energy poverty.

Recall that the electricity market price formation is done every hour of the day by starting up the power plants, from the cheapest to the most expensive. That is, the price of the market or the pool works marginally, so that technologies come in order of cost and the last of them to participate, the most expensive, sets the price for the whole or offer/demmand marriage price . Come on, the power plants offer their energy depending on their opportunity costs, but then all the plants charge the price of cassation. What, then, do the prices at which producers offer their energy depend? The cost does not represent the variable cost of producing such energy, which would be a sum of the cost of the fuel, plus the costs of operation and maintenance of the plant. Because the offer is made at the opportunity cost of generating that electricity. Which means that, at the previous variable cost, you have to add the revenues that the plant would give up for producing, regardless of the excess cost (the more profit, the better).

Minister of Energy Mr. Nadal released two weeks ago 2017KW04, (26-ENE-2017) late in the afternoon, a statement in which it says that the causes of the rise in energy prices respond "to a context of higher prices of international raw materials, the Cold Wave, the absence of Rain or Wind, the Nuclear breakdown in France, certain problems in the origins of Gas supplies and the euro/dollar exchange rate."

Source: Economía Digital

Spanish Energy Dependence, which lacks raw materials such as oil or gas, is twenty points above the European Union's average dependence. And the only way for Spain to become independent of the oil and gas producing countries is to generate here the energy that we are now forced to import (with Renewable and clean-nativ resources). Issue? The Rajoy Executive has been legislating against renewables for five years and has even been able to threaten to charge a tax on the sun to all those who want to consume solar energy. Thus, over the last few years, Spanish energy dependence has remained very high, and this means, whenever commodity prices rise in international markets, the Spanish economy suffers enormously (in Spain, about 20% of the electricity is generated in thermal plants that burn natural gas and/or oil products).

To understand it better we will give the example of two hydraulic power stations, one of reservoir and another flowing one (it only operates with the water that passes through the river). For a reservoir plant, consuming water to produce electricity does not involve any variable cost, but an opportunity cost. This is so because thanks to the reservoir, the generator has the possibility to store the water and consume it in the future, when the market price is higher. For that reason the reservoir hydraulics can sell the electricity when it suits them and for that reason they will offer to a high price in comparison with the rest. However, in a time of heavy rains, if the reservoir is at capacity limit, the opportunity cost will be zero for the amount of energy it can generate with the water that is required to evacuate. Therefore you will make offers at a very low price or even zero, to ensure that you enter the offer/demmand price cassation.

In the case of a flowing power plant, fuel is water that is free. Therefore, if you have the opportunity to generate, in a situation of water in the river, not doing so will not increase the possibility of doing so with greater benefits in the future, since neither save on fuel nor can store it for another time . So you will bid at a very low price or even zero just like before, to make sure you get married.

This could be applied to combined cycle plants, which are rather costly. But when, as during  this winter, the market has been affected by a set of circumstances - increased demand, a cold wave, export to France due to its nuclear unavailability, little water for hydraulics and little air for wind turbines - Supply is made at a higher cost, affecting the market price since it is its marginal cost that is applied in many of the hours of higher demand.

Therefore, it is clear that in the cost of producing electricity, in one case as in another, market rules intervene, since each actor seeks his own benefit, regardless of the exorbitant price increase. It is clear that this way of regulating the price is not adequate to keep them stable, and that solutions should be found so that consumers pay only what ensures producers a reasonable profitability. So that there are no windfall profits or profits from the sky (which are paid to some technologies), a consequence of the opportunity costs that are always generated at the expense of users, who pay the electricity.


It is the job of politicians to find the way in which an essential service is not susceptible to manipulation or speculation, changing the current rules that have proved to be inefficient, since neither domestic nor industrial consumers can be on the brink of marginalist auctions in which command the opportunity costs.

Improvements in energy intensity and energy efficiency are still far from achieving our climate goals.  Analysis in IEA  last Energy Efficiency report emphasises that policies must be strengthened and their coverage expanded to boost the potential of energy efficiency. Government policies are vital to curbing the risk that lower energy prices could  undermine energy efficiency efforts. High energy prices cannot be relied on as a main factor driving  investments in energy efficiency. Equally, low prices should not diminish the case for efficiency to be at the forefront of national energy policy. Efficiency policies, properly integrated with renewable energy policies, will need to continue to expand and strengthen even at a time when the short-term pressure to act may be diminished.

Energy efficiency is the only energy resource possessed by all countries. Global collaboration and knowledge exchange will be essential elements of strengthening action on energy efficiency in all  countries.

The IEA, with its global perspective, will lead this exchange so that energy efficiency can deliver its  full potential in support of globally shared energy and environmental policy goals. 

Harnessing the potential of energy efficiency is key to transitioning to a sustainable and secure energy system that generates prosperity for our world.

Right now, in Spain, about one in three kWh is generated by renewable sources

And clean sources of energy (Sun, Wind, Water) are not subject to the ups and downs of international markets. If instead of generating in our solar photovoltaic (PV) installations only 3.02% of the electricity (as ER did last year), Spain  generated more than double, as in Italy, the natural gas needs would be lower and the effect of the gas price increase would also be less severe. If instead of having 4,425 MW of installed Solar PV power, we had 40,000, as in Germany, the effect would be the same: less need to import, or less energy bill as a country. The many regulatory changes implemented by the Government during the last legislature and the bottleneck of self-consumption have, however, prevented the growth of renewable generation (ie energy independence) and have led to a change of sign in the markets to a strong increase in electricity prices.

These are two of the causes of the increase in the price of light: the countries that sell us raw materials (gas and oil) have suffered a price increase in their products; And, on the inside, the Executive Rajoy has discouraged investment in renewable facilities (and that, as in the case of self-consumption, these facilities do not need - and are not asking for - subsidy or aid).

But there are more causes. And the absence of rain and wind is one of them. That yes: neither is the most important, nor is it completely true

Because it is a lie that in Spain (505,940 Km²) Wind has not blown during these days (Wind has gone down, yes, but it has not stopped, and in any case it has not gone down as much as for justify the huge increase in the power price). What is true is that in Spain there is less renewable power (less PV, less Wind producing clean kilowatt hours) than there could be if the legislative framework were more conductive. And it is a legislative framework (not aid or subsidy) because now there are investors in the starting grid that would be running facilities if that regulatory frame contains no uncertainties. In any case, the question is: what do you prefer as citizen? to pay foreign power - Algeria, Qatar, Nigeria - a millionaire bill every time the cold starts (pay indefinitely, since Spain will never have gas and/or oil) or the little cost of a new regulation framework for the promotion of nativ renewable energies (some of which do not even need aid anymore).

Nuclear stop is not the big reason for electricity rise price

That is another of the recurring lies that the Executive Rajoy and surroundings wields each time they paint coats. And there are the Spanish and French operators, Red Eléctrica de España and Réseau de transporte d'électricité, to demonstrate that lie year after year. The interconnection with France is very small and therefore the electricity that our neighbor sends us is very little. Last year, for example, the French sent us 9,189 GWh, when demand registered here was 250,266 GWh.

Conclusion?

Only 3.67% of the kWh we used last year in Spain carried the "Made in France" sticker. It should also be noted that in France, surprisingly, there are also Wind farms, PV facilities, Swamps,Thermal power plants that burn natural gas, coal plants, etc. That is, not all the electricity that comes from the neighbor is nuclear. According to the French operator, about a quarter of the electricity generated by France came last year from gas-fired power plants, wind farms, PV solar plants (in fact, there is more PV power installed in France than in Spain). In fact, of the 9,189 GWh sent to us by France last year, and in view of the French electrical mix (which is diverse, such as Spanish), approximately 2,300 came from non-nuclear installations. That is, only about 6,900 were of nuclear origin. That is 2.75% of the total electricity used by Spain (250,266 GWh) in 2016. As can be seen, the weight of French nuclear power in the Spanish electricity system is minimal, so it does not explain, nor can it explain Neither, the brutal increase that has experienced the price of electricity these days. In fact, during the days when electricity was most expensive in January, French nuclear production was identical to French nuclear production in January last year (even on some days in January 2017 it has been somewhat higher To that registered by the French operator on the same days of January 2016, according to Réseau de transport d'électricité). Finally, the Ministry of Energy recalls in its statement that "what we are experiencing these days is not a novel situation and that the upward behavior of electricity prices is recurrent and is repeated from time to time." The question is then ... what has served the energy reform implemented by the Rajoy Government or ... what is the purpose of the measures now announced? 

Spanish Power Peak Prices

And after "revealing" the causes of the rise, the Executive announces paliative measurements

to The Ministry informs in its note, on the other hand, that "it has already carried out actions to compensate for the rise in prices, such as having frozen the regulated part of electricity receipt in 2017." The government now says that it is freezing the regulated part, but the fact is that it freezes (zero percent increase) after having risen to more than 100% in some sections, something that Mr. Rajoy Executive did in the 2013/2014 bianual period, in the hardest critical moments and with much lower oil and gas prices. In addition, the Ministry continues, "the Government has decided to promote a series of actions to boost this market [gas], improve its liquidity and increase supply." And will not we be delving deeper into energy dependence? Because Spain imports 99% of the natural gas it uses, according to recently explained in Spanish Television Marta Margarit, the general secretary of Sedigas. He have only 7 days of gas autonomy!. Are we going to import more gas, whose price we do not control, to lower the price of electricity?


Finally, the Ministry of Energy concludes its note saying that "to supervise the markets corresponds to the National Commission of Markets and Competition and, for that, on December 30, 2016, Minister Nadal sent his president a letter requesting a thorough investigation of both markets." The statement was released weeks ago by the Ministry after Minister Álvaro Nadal appeared in Congress before the Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda Commission, during which he insisted that electricity has become more expensive due to some of the reasons Press release, the rise in the price of oil and gas and, above all, because of renewables, which were "immature and expensive" when they were installed and have left us a mortgage that we will have to pay for decades. In short, the same speech - exactly the same - that used the Executive Rajoy during the previous term, when it had a large absolute majority. Nevertheless Mr. Rajoy is by no means guilty if Rain doesn't fall or Sun doesn't shine or even if Wind doesn't blow.

Sources: Antonio Barrero F. IEA, Eduardo Collado

NOOR #PV 1 Moroccan #Solar #Power #Project will supply electricity at 0.042 €/kWh w/o FITs subsidies

Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen) has revealed that the consortium led by Acwa Power, which was awarded the Noor PV 1 photovoltaic project of 170 MW last November, will supply electricity for the next 20 years at a price of 0.042 euros per kWh.

Energy Newspaper previously reported that public agency Masen had signed a 20-year energy purchase agreement (PPA) with Acwa Power for the development of 170 MW of solar photovoltaic plants.

The new project, called Noor PV1, actually consists of three plants located in different places: a 70 MW photovoltaic plant located in Ouarzazate; Another 80 MW plant located in El Aaiún, and a third 20 MW plant located in Bojador.

Masen has now reported that "the combined rate for the kilowatt hour (kWh) of the three projects that make up the Noor PV 1 project (with a total capacity of approximately 170 MW) is 0.46 dirhams (€ 0.042)." An extraordinarily low price considering that Morocco has no subsidies (FITs)

Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power was selected after an international tender to develop, build and operate the three plants under the BOOT (Build, Operate, Own and Transfer) regime.

Masen has also confirmed that "the three photovoltaic plants will have to be transferred to Masen (and not to the Onee which is the national electricity company) at the end of the energy purchase agreement." That is, 20 years after the date of the start-up of the plants, which is scheduled for early 2018.

Meanwhile, the photovoltaic sector is awaiting the results of the tender for the first phase of the Noor Midelt solar complex. Masen told pvmagazine that "this phase would encompass two hybrid photovoltaic projects and solar thermal power plants with storage. The CSP gross capacity is expected to be between 150 MW and 190 MW for each project."

Source: El Periódico de la Energía