The world’s largest exhibition for the solar industry introduces the Special Exhibition “PV ENERGY WORLD”
The share of photovoltaics in German electricity supply is growing at a welcome rate of knots, and is set to rise from 3% to 10% by 2020. However, in order for the power supply system to smoothly accommodate this level of solar power, it needs to become more sophisticated and flexible. The “PV ENERGY WORLD” Special Exhibition at Intersolar Europe in Munich has therefore been designed to reflect the importance of this issue in the future development of photovoltaics. This exhibition will highlight the growth potential of solar power in the German energy mix and also illustrate the measures, technological advances and political conditions necessary to achieve the set targets.
An increasing number of solar installations in Germany are generating more and more solar power. Between 2009 and 2010, the German market for solar power installations almost doubled. According to estimates from the German Federal Network Agency, more than 240,000 new photovoltaic installations with a total output of 7.25 gigawatts (GW) were connected to the grid in 2010. By the end of the year, the total installed PV capacity had therefore increased to around 17 GW. The percentage of solar power in the German energy mix is anticipated to rise from the current share of 3% to approximately 10% by 2020. The German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar) expects the total installed PV output to be between 52 and 70 GW by then. Solar power will therefore continually evolve into a mainstay of a sustainable energy system.
Developments in German power supply
Solar power installations in Germany already generate a considerable share of electricity within the German energy mix. In the future, these installations will therefore also need to actively help stabilize the power network. Inverters will therefore be used in the future to stabilize the voltage and frequency, for example by feeding reactive power into the grid. According to recent studies, this measure alone will allow up to 200% additional solar power to be connected to the grid. Owners of photovoltaic installations using more of their own solar electricity is another way of taking the burden off the infrastructure. To increase the ratio of on-site consumption, manufacturers have started offering more and more solutions which move power consumption to times of the day when solar power is produced, or which store solar power until the evening. As the production of solar power is decentralized and fluctuates depending on the level of solar irradiation, the power supply system also needs to be adapted to these new requirements. For example, intelligent electricity grids, known as “smart grids” could be established by further developing communications equipment. These smart grids integrate all the market players into one communication network and thus allow the entire system to be managed efficiently, rendering power supply more transparent and easier to control.
