THE RISE OF SOLAR HEAT
LNG prices spur search for renewable alternatives
Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s energy directorate, said she wants solar heat to be given as much attention as solar electricity.
In our last issue, we described the key role solar heat must play in decarbonizing industry. This month, several articles from solarthermalworld.org describe growing opportunities and increased deployments of solar thermal in non-industrial sectors as well. The key drivers: skyrocketing prices for liquified natural gas (LNG) and new incentives in key markets.
Natural gas prices explode
Average price of LNG per MWh over the next four years. Source: E.On Group via Solarthermalworld.org
Natural gas prices have risen to unprecedented levels, especially in Europe, due to the war in Ukraine and Russian weaponization of its energy supplies. E.On Group, one of Europe’s largest utilities, projects that average natural gas prices over the next four years will be seven times historic levels (see chart). In most developed countries, natural gas provides most of the residential, commercial, and industrial heat that are not produced by burning coal. The economic implications of dependence on LNG are increasingly grave.
Solar heat to the rescue
Coupled with new-found concerns over energy security and independence, tight natural gas markets are leading to heightened interest in solar thermal technologies as both a short-term substitute and a long-term solution for both renewable electricity and heat. Even before the invasion of Ukraine, progress was underway.
According to Renewables 2022 Global Status Report, solar thermal capacity increased significantly in 2021. For example, annual sales grew at double-digit rates in several large solar thermal markets, including Brazil, France, Greece, India, Italy, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, and the United States.
In the industrial sector, SHIP (solar heat for industrial processes) capacity under construction was dominated by higher temperature systems that use concentrating collector technologies. By the beginning of 2022 concentrating heat systems totaling 32 MWth were planned for commissioning in 2022, up sharply from the 9 MWth of concentrating heat capacity commissioned globally in 2021 for both the industrial and service sectors. Solarthermalworld expects these additions to quadruple concentrating solar heat capacity by the end of this year.
Incentives emerge
Another factor driving global solar thermal capacity is new incentives in key markets like Spain and the United States. German research agency Solrico asked 13 manufacturers of concentrating collectors about confirmed projects planned for commissioning by the end of 2023. In many cases, deployment has been triggered by availability of incentives. Spain will see the largest number of new plants put into operation in 2022/2023 due to the country’s Thermal Energy Production subsidy scheme. In California, USA, three food and beverage plants to be commissioned this year received grants from the Food Production Investment Program there.
In an interview with Solarthermalworld in conjunction with a June meeting of the EU Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), European Parliament member Jutta Paulus is quoted as saying, “In light of persistently high prices for fossil energy, I consider a tripling of solar thermal energy capacity within this decade to be quite realistic,” At the meeting, Mechthild Wörsdörfer, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s energy directorate, said she wants solar heat to be given as much attention as solar electricity. Says Paulus, “We’re still at the very beginning, as low prices for fossil fuels have prevented investments in these technologies.” This has now changed.
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IEA: ENERGY SECURITY DRIVES RENEWABLES GROWTH
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, speaking at Singapore International Energy Week, says (via Reuters) that the world is in the middle of “the first truly global energy crisis.”
At the same time as rising imports of natural gas to Europe amid the Ukraine crisis and a potential rebound in Chinese demand tighten the LNG market, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies are cutting petroleum output by 2 million barrels per day.
The upside, if one can call it that, is that concern over energy security is likely to drive faster growth in renewables. “The energy crisis could be a turning point for accelerating clean sources and for forming a sustainable and secured energy system,” Birol said.
“Energy security is the number one driver (of the energy transition),” said Birol, as countries see energy technologies and renewables as a solution.
Read more here.
ONCE AN AFTERTHOUGHT, LONG-DURATION STORAGE IS NOW AN IMPERATIVE
Anca Gurzu of Cipher says, “Governments have been pushing wind and solar power for many decades, but a parallel focus on energy storage has only emerged in the past several years. The reason for this mismatch? We didn’t need to [consider storage]. Grid operators in Europe and in the United States could rely on natural-gas-fired power plants to fill the supply-demand gaps that renewables couldn’t.”
“That won’t be sustainable anymore,” Gurzu continues, “given the war in Ukraine, which is driving up natural gas prices to exorbitant levels, and more ambitious greenhouse gas emissions targets discouraging gas dependence in the European Union.”
Renewables are the cheapest form of generating electricity today, but that cost doesn’t account for the intermittency of wind and solar power. As the share of renewables grows, achieving balance between supply and demand gets trickier. Already, in countries or regions with a lot of renewables, generators sometimes must reduce the production of wind or solar energy when it can’t be used immediately. This “curtailment” essentially means wasting green power.
Gurzu says, “Long duration energy storage (LDES) could significantly reduce this phenomenon by storing the surplus for later use and help cut reliance on fossil fuels.”
Read more of Gurzu’s Cipher article here.
NEWS FROM 247SOALR
Concentrating Solar Thermal Energy – Savings and Decarbonization for Industry: Webinar with 247Solar Europe
For our Spanish-speaking audience, 
don’t miss an insightful webinar in collaboration with ATA Insights. Wednesday, 16 November 2022, 16:00 CET.
Join 247Solar Europe Director General Carlos Vila Riudavets and other industry leaders to understand the benefits of applying solar thermal technology in industrial processes:
- Understand the uses and applications of solar thermal energy on industrial processes, agriculture or desalination plants
- Hear about the current barriers to entry in the solar thermal industry and how to finance such projects
- Learn about success stories in the implementation of solar thermal and the economic benefits that its applications can bring to your business
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