Switzerland-based institutional investment group SUSI Partners has entered a development deal for two large-scale solar-plus-storage hybrid power plants in Chile.
Solar curtailments in California, the US, have never been higher in 2023, as solar generation outpaces transmission capacity upgrades, according to a report from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Curtailment remains the most talked-about subject in Vietnamese solar, but potential solutions such as foreign investment in transmission and grid-based energy storage are being held back.
Green hydrogen electrolysis is emerging as a potential solution to curtailment, taking excess solar and converting it into hydrogen for either long-duration storage or use by other industries, writes Alissa Tripp, senior research and commercial analyst at Octopus Hydrogen.
US solar and storage developer Avantus is scaling up a strategy of deploying high-capacity factor power plants that aim to maximise transmission infrastructure while limiting curtailment.
The proliferation of solar requires PV projects to adapt to their grid surroundings, which increasingly entails connecting alongside adjacent technologies, be it energy storage, other renewables or green hydrogen. Amid the growing threat of curtailment, Jules Scully looks at the rise of the ‘solar-plus’ market and the financial models underpinning it.
Powering electrolysers with renewables generation that would otherwise be curtailed could be an effective strategy for producing green hydrogen in the coming years until the H2 sector benefits from further cost declines, it was suggested during a panel discussion.
Grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) could be cost-beneficial in avoiding renewables curtailment while reducing the need for significant investment in new infrastructure projects, research from the US Department of Energy (DOE) has revealed.
