Solar Solutions and Large PV Power Plants Oscar Araujo Business Development Director - Americas
Solar Business of Schneider Electric The Solar Business of Schneider Electric is focused on designing and developing renewable energy products and solutions and providing best-in-class, global customer services and technical support. Our innovative products help you to get the most efficient solar harvest from your installation, and you benefit from having a single supplier for all of your components. Our products and solutions are present at every link in the energy chain and contribute to your total energy savings. 2
Brief history Antoine Becquerel first described the photovoltaic effect in 1839, and Albert Einstein explained the mechanisms in 1912 When a material is exposed to sunlight, exposed atoms release electrons The «free» Electrons create a continuous low voltage In the 1950s teams of Bell Laboratories manufactured the first crystalline silicon cell First commercial applications with space programs A real interest born from the second oil shock (early 1980) for terrestrial energetic applications In 1963 the first cells are installed in Japan Today, photovoltaic cells are present in various applications 3
Some examples of applications General public applications (few watts) Installation in the residential (1 to 5 kw) Installations in buildings (few 100 kw) Solar Farms (few megawatt) 4
Current generation A cell 70 mm A photovoltaic cell is made from a slice of silicon N doped zone 300 m P doped zone Photons - + - A slice of silicon - - - + + + + - + The silicon is doped with impurities. This creates an area with excess electrons (N zone) and a deficit of electrons or holes (P zone) The energy of photons from the sun will release electrons The electrons will recombine with holes through the external circuit to balance the junction : A direct electrical current is generated 5
The main manufacturing technologies Mono crystalline silicon cells ( M-Si ) Higher efficiency Quite high manufacturing costs Poly crystalline silicon cells ( P-Si ) Widely used Cheaper than mono crystalline Thin film or amorphous silicon cells ( a-si ) Lower efficiency but better than crystalline on diffuse radiation Cheaper than polycrystalline Suitable to large building projects, roof or cladding systems Flexible and lightweight 6
Structure of a photovoltaic system Junction box = Photovoltaïc generator Inverter Energy production A photovoltaic generator produces DC Energy conversion An inverter converts direct current into alternating current. Raccordement au réseau The connection and protection of continuous and alternative circuits Junction boxes DC and AC protection enclosures Protection enclosure 7
Off Grid and Solar Back-up Power Systems 8
Residential Grid-Tie Systems 9
Small Commercial Grid-Tie Systems 10
Utility Scale Grid-Tie Systems 11
Schneider position and offer: leader in offering the lowest LCOE possible Increase O&M efficiency Offer high level of Equipment reliability Decrease Construction price O&M costs investment Life time Decrease O&M costs taxes production Financing costs High level of Bankability By Reduction of risks Reduction of Construction time 13
The Bigger The Better Below 10 MW, CAPEX is strongly increased As an example, cost of electricity is increased by 15% if the power plant size is 5 MW instead of 50 MW Price (100% for 24 MW) 150% 145% 140% 135% 130% 125% 120% 115% 110% 105% 100% 95% CAPEX as a function of size 90% 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 14 MW
How is a Solar Farm Built? 15
Civil work : Land leveled if needed, Screws or piles are positioned to support structures 16
Structures : Aluminum or steel construction Pre-assembled or easy to put together on-site 23
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Modules : Crystalline or thin-film 29
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Array boxes : Connect strings Cables are usually trenched 34
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PVBox for Power conversion Includes Inverters Transformers MV protection Cooling equipment Typical Size: 1MW 38
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Large power plants are made of 1MW (or larger) blocks 42
Grid-Tie Substation Includes transformers Circuit breakers energy meters 43
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Large power plants are just " Copy-and-Paste " of smaller blocks 1MW (or larger blocks) 20 000m² Olmedilla, Spain, 60 MW 45
Schneider Electric offers a comprehensive solution 50 % - Panels 50 % - Civil work Structures Electrical Equipment 27 % - Schneider Electric equipment 7 % - Engineering & Commissioning 15 % - Civil works 36 % - Screws, structures & panel mounting 15 % - Cables & Electrical installation 46
SE Business Models 3 Electrical EPC Adequate packages + Project Management Electrical Engineering Electrical Installation Security system Operations and Maintenance Services Commitment on availability level 2 1 Products/Equipment Inverters Transformers Switchgears Solution Package: PV Box Grid Box Array Box Monitoring/SCADA 47
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