35 photovoltaic plants to be built by EMGD in the coming years with technology for greater use and cost optimization
Technological advances increase the yield in the generation of photovoltaic energy and transform Minas Gerais into an exponent of the sector. EMDG is one of the companies at the forefront of major projects in the field for the coming years. Understand a little more in the course of the article.
Even in prehistory, atmospheric discharge, popularly known as lightning, was one of the first contacts of human beings with electricity. Since then, great advances have brought to the contemporary world a range of resources capable of enabling the generation of electricity through the more varied means, and more and more efficiently.
An important part of this advance, the generation of energy from the photovoltaic effect, produced from the exposure of materials such as Silicon to sunlight, has occupied a prominent place among the already traditional energy matrices. Although it may seem simple, considering that the sun rises for everyone, the capture, generation and distribution processes of this energy source have dedicated legislation, demand equipment of the highest technological capacity, in addition to meticulous planning for the structuring of a plant capable of obtaining O maximum possible yield.
Newly connected in the city of Pirapora, in the North of Minas Gerais, the Photovoltaic Plant (UFV) Corvina, the first enterprise of the Minas Gerais Distributed Generation Company, was conceived and designed with the support of these advances. One of the most significant of these, the trackers, works as a kind of solar tracker, positioning the capture panels at the best angle of inclination, in relation to the incidence of solar radiation, for each moment of the day. For this to happen, an algorithm integrated with a set of sensors commands a hydraulic system that moves the modules, increasing their yield by up to 25%, compared to systems assembled with a fixed structure.
in more than 35 photovoltaic plants to be built by EMGD in the coming years, another technology will also be used in their favour: the bifacial modules, as the name implies, have the capacity to process the incidence of light on both sides, delivering even more efficiency to ground plants. Compared to the single-sided modules, the new technology takes advantage of the amount of light reflected by the ground, using the rear part of the equipment. The feasibility of using this technology takes into account factors such as the height of the ground, the angle of inclination and the reflection coefficient of the terrain. Depending on the combination of these elements, the performance gains of bifacial modules can reach up to 10% of energy generation compared to conventional modules.
Another important factor in the advances of the segment is the accelerated evolution in the production of photovoltaic cells. In 2015, the highest power commercial modules were from 300 W to 320 W. Currently, EMGD uses 440 W modules that occupy practically the same area. However, it is energy storage that has shown itself to be a new frontier of exponential growth in the use of solar sources. Containers with stationary batteries are already being used in some distributor projects throughout Brazil. In addition to improving the quality of the energy supplied, this type of battery relieves surges, failures and demand peaks at times of high consumption. One of the great differentials of this system is the possibility for Distributed Generation companies to offer consumption compensation at times when the customer has a higher cost, or to supply part of the power demand required by them. These actions bring benefits both to entrepreneurs, who start to consume clean energy at a lower cost, and also to distributors, who will have support in the supply of energy and power to consumers at times of greater system overload.
According to a survey by Bloomberg New Energy Finance – a team specializing in the availability of data, news and analysis for the sector – the price of lithium-ion batteries fell by more than 75% between 2010 and 2018, the second technology which is cheaper in the global electricity sector, second only to photovoltaic solar, which reduced 83% in the same period. This sharp drop in prices is a trend that has been confirmed, making technology increasingly accessible and opening up new opportunities for the advancement of solar energy.
In the political field, some decisions also strengthen the path of photovoltaic energy in Brazil. Especially in Minas Gerais, where recently Governor Romeu Zema announced, for Juiz De Fora, the construction of the first lithium-sulfur battery cell factory in the world, a technology even more advanced than that of lithium-ion batteries. Their arrival should greatly accelerate the energy transition from fossil sources to renewable sources, and the Minas Gerais Distributed Generation Company remains attentive and prepared for this moment.
