New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
New US solar farm leading agrivoltaic research
31/5/2023
News
Lightsource bp has announced commercial operation of its 152.5 MW ac/173 MW dc Bellflower Solar project in Indiana, US. Meanwhile, plans for 3 GW of solar capacity in Spain progress, and a new report claims the global floating solar market will pass 6 GW by 2031.
Located about 40 miles east of Indianapolis, Lightsource bp has developed, financed and will own and operate the Bellflower Solar farm, expected to offset the equivalent of 202,000 t/y of CO2 emissions.
The company has planted 800 acres of land under and around the solar panels with vegetation that includes native species beneficial to pollinators and other wildlife. An additional 10 acres has been dedicated to lush pollinator gardens with more than 60 different types of flowering plants.
The solar farm is part of a research study which will measure the ecological benefits of pollinator habitat at utility-scale solar. Land under and around the solar panels is also being kept in agricultural production. A local commercial beekeeper is managing hives and will produce solar farm honey, while another local Indiana farmer will graze sheep to help maintain the vegetation.
Spanish solar news
Elsewhere, TotalEnergies has obtained a favourable Environmental Impact Assessment from Spanish authorities for an estimated 3 GW of installed capacity across the country.
TotalEnergies plans to develop 48 power plants in the Madrid region (installed capacity of 1.9 GW), in the Murcia region (more than 350 MW), in Castilla-La Mancha (more than 300 MW), in Andalusia (263 MW) and in Aragon (approximately 150 MW). The first projects are expected to come onstream in early 2024.
The plants will generate about 6,000 GWh/y of clean energy, enough to meet the annual electricity demand of nearly four million people. They will also avoid the emission into the atmosphere of an estimated 50mn tonnes of CO2 during their lifetime.
Global floating solar market to top 6 GW by 2031
Meanwhile, the global floating solar market is expected to pass the 6 GW threshold by 2031, as photovoltaic (PV) developers struggle to meet growing solar demand, according to recent Wood Mackenzie analysis.
‘The global solar industry, including PV developers, continue to battle limited land availability and increasing land costs for ground-mount solar projects, which is driving demand for floating installations,’ said Ting Yu, consultant at Wood Mackenzie.
Floating solar is expected to have a steady market share compared to overall global solar demand, with the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) for floating solar (FPV) expected to rise 15% in the next 10 years. Fifteen countries are forecast to exceed 500 MW of cumulative FPV installations by 2031, with Indonesia, India and China making up almost 70% of the total FPV demand in 2022.
The analysis shows that the Asia-Pacific market had approximately 3 GW of floating solar projects in 2022, capturing over 90% of floating solar demand that year. In China, the FPV project pipeline is expected to grow at a steady pace, with cumulative floating solar capacity to cross 13 GW by 2031 at a 12% CAGR over the next 10 years.
With almost 150 MW, Europe is the second largest region for FPV demand, with the Netherlands in the lead followed by France. More countries are adopting the technology as multiple land use is being enforced in regions across Europe. ‘Although it is still a small market in Europe, the trend is positive, and bigger floating PV plants are expected in the near future,’ Yu said.
