The share of photovoltaics in German electricity supply is growing at a welcome rate of knots, and is set to rise from three percent to 10 percent by 2020. However, in order for the power supply system to smoothly accommodate this level of solar power, it needs to become more sophisticated and flexible.
The PV ENERGY WORLD Special Exhibition at Intersolar Europe in Munich has therefore been designed to reflect the importance of this issue in the future development of photovoltaics.
This exhibition will highlight the growth potential of solar power in the German energy mix and also illustrate the measures, technological advances and political conditions necessary to achieve the set targets.
An increasing number of solar installations in Germany are generating more and more solar power. Between 2009 and 2010, the German market for solar power installations almost doubled. According to estimates from the German Federal Network Agency, more than 240,000 new photovoltaic installations with a total output of 7.25 gigawatts (GW) were connected to the grid in 2010.
By the end of the year, the total installed PV capacity had therefore increased to around 17 GW. The percentage of solar power in the German energy mix is anticipated to rise from the current share of three percent to approximately 10 percent by 2020. The German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar) expects the total installed PV output to be between 52 and 70 GW by then.
Solar power will therefore continually evolve into a mainstay of a sustainable energy system. Developments in German power supplySolar power installations in Germany already generate a considerable share of electricity within the German energy mix. In the future, these installations will therefore also need to actively help stabilize the power network.
Inverters will therefore be used in the future to stabilize the voltage and frequency, for example by feeding reactive power into the grid. According to recent studies, this measure alone will allow up to 200 percent additional solar power to be connected to the grid.
Owners of photovoltaic installations using more of their own solar electricity is another way of taking the burden off the infrastructure. To increase the ratio of on-site consumption, manufacturers have started offering more and more solutions which move power consumption to times of the day when solar power is produced, or which store solar power until the evening.
As the production of solar power is decentralized and fluctuates depending on the level of solar irradiation, the power supply system also needs to be adapted to these new requirements. For example, intelligent electricity grids, known as smart grids could be established by further developing communications equipment.
These smart grids integrate all the market players into one communication network and thus allow the entire system to be managed efficiently, rendering power supply more transparent and easier to control.
PV ENERGY WORLD at Intersolar Europe
The new Special Exhibition "PV ENERGY WORLD" in hall B5, booth B5.130 at Intersolar Europe 2011 will, for the first time, demonstrate which concrete steps are necessary to increase the market share of solar power. The Special Exhibition will both present the German energy mix of the future and illustrate the size of the role that photovoltaics could play in it.
It is arranged by the organizers of Intersolar Europe, Solar Promotion GmbH, Pforzheim, and Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG (FWTM), Freiburg. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE will be responsible for managing and designing the exhibition's content. The four thematic areas of Smart Grid, Smart PV Building + E-Mobility, Smart PV Cities and Smart PV Technology and Economy will illustrate the measures, technologies and political conditions neces sary to increase PV electricity generation.
Expert presentations and panel discussions will also be hosted in the Special Exhibition's central forum. Among the Special Exhibition's supporters, SMA Solar Technology AG, Niestetal, will back the event as its main sponsor. Sponsor is SOLARWATT AG, Dresden. Supporters are Delta Energy Systems (Germany) GmbH, Teningen and Fronius Solarelektronik, Wels.Munich welcomes the international solar industry
From June 8 to 10, 2011, the international solar industry will flock to the New Munich Trade Fair Centre where Intersolar Europe will open its doors. The world's largest exhibition for the solar industry will feature over 2,000 international exhibitors presenting their products and services across 165,000 square meters of exhibition space, spanning 15 exhibition halls and an outdoor exhibition area.
Over 75,000 visitors from all over the world are expected to attend Intersolar Europe 2011, all eager to find out about the latest products and services in the fields of photovoltaics, PV production technology and solar thermal technology.Intersolar Europe 2011 will take place from June 8 to 10 at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre.
