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Solar Energy

Sweden: Less residential – more commercial PV installations

August 27, 2024 ryansheehanrts

As expected, Svensk Solenergi’s new statistics show a sharp decline in the number of installed photovoltaic systems in the first half of 2024 compared to the corresponding period in 2023. At the beginning of 2023, the photovoltaic market was extremely hot as a result of previously record-high electricity prices and an uncertain world situation. The year 2024 started instead with low electricity prices and an uncertain legal situation regarding green tax credits for batteries.

“The slowdown in the first half of 2024 may look dramatic if you compare it to 2023. But if we look back a couple of years, we see that the number of installations is slightly higher than in 2022 and twice as many as in 2021, despite the uncertainties surrounding the green tax deduction that characterized the first half of 2024,” says Anna Werner, CEO of Swedish Solar Energy.

Recovery of the residential PV market remains to be seen

Up to and including July 2024, 27,500 photovoltaic installations were connected in Sweden, just under a thousand more than in the same period in 2022 (26,600) and twice as many as in the first half of 2021 (13,500). In 2023, 66,000 installations were connected during the same period.

The statistics show differences in the development between small and medium-sized installations. Homeowners with small installations (less than 20 kW connected power) are at 260 MW in grid-connected power until July 2024, just below 2022 when the corresponding figure was 270 MW.

„In June, the Swedish Tax Agency backed down and once again allows green tax deductions for batteries in photovoltaic systems, as intended by the legislator. Now we’ll see how the housing market recovers during the rest of the year when homeowners don’t have to drive around with the handbrake on by mistake,” says Anna Werner.

Increase of 75% of commercial PV installations

Medium-sized installations (20-1,000 kW connected power) show a significant increase in installed power compared to two years ago. These plants are mainly installed by real estate companies and other businesses, and the segment went from 110 MW connected capacity through July 2022 to 190 MW in the same period in 2024, an increase of around 75%.

“Commercial players continue to increase their investments, which shows that solar energy remains a good long-term investment,” says Anna Werner, CEO of Swedish Solar Energy.

460 MW installed in the first half of 2024

A total of 460 MW of solar power was installed in Sweden during the first half of the year, which corresponds to an additional electricity production equivalent to the annual consumption (5,000 kWh/year) of 80,000 villas with geothermal heating.

Also see: Further growth of the Swedish PV market

The new statistics on the solar market are based on data from electricity grid companies representing about 50% of the market. Based on their data, Solar Sweden has calculated an estimate for the whole market. (hcn)

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Solar Energy

Kostal and EPC utilise Italian former industrial roof for solar power production

August 8, 2024 ryansheehanrts

The Italian government has drastically restricted the construction of photovoltaic systems on open spaces. With the exception of agri-PV, it is now completely prohibited on arable land. Industrial roofs offer a way out. The project developer EPC Elettronica Italia in the province of Lecce in Apulia has shown what something like this can look like – albeit on a smaller scale than on open land.

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9,000 square metres built on

The company has installed a solar generator with an output of one megawatt on the roof of a former tobacco processing plant. The modules are located on the roof of the old factory, which covers an area of 9,000 square metres. With optimum solar radiation and no shaded areas, the company can maximise its yield at this location. After all, the southern Italian region of Apulia has one of the highest irradiation rates per square metre on the entire Apennine peninsula.

20 inverters installed

EPC also achieves its high output by using bifacial modules. These feed the solar power into 20 Piko CI inverters from Kostal Solar Elektrik. The commercial inverters from the manufacturer based in Hagen, Westphalia, each have an output power of 50 kilowatts. “The bifacial modules had to be connected to inverters that are capable of handling a very high current: One of the special features of Kostal’s devices is that they support currents of up to 18 amps, making them suitable for this type of installation,” explains Paolo Melandri, Field Marketing Engineer at Kostal. “In addition, the type of devices used also allowed us to optimise the configuration of the strings.”

Practical test of the flexibility of the inverters

The plant in Apulia was one of the first photovoltaic systems in Italy to be installed with such a large number of inverters from the Piko CI series. “For us, this was a practical test of the flexibility of our inverters, as they are rarely used in such a large number of systems with such a high output,” says Riccardo Frassanito, Service Manager at Kostal. “It also confirmed the ability of our products to easily manage data transmission and the interaction between the various devices. This ensures efficient monitoring, even with such a large number of installed devices.”

Also interesting: Sonnenkraft installs PV on listed theatre in Austria

1.41 gigawatt hours of solar power per year

The bifacial modules ensure a high yield. The planners assume that the generator will supply around 1.41 gigawatt hours of clean electricity every year. All of the energy generated is fed into the grid and sold via an electricity trader. The latter has concluded a purchase agreement with EPC for the solar energy generated. (su/mfo)

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