Our views about the new power supply paradigm
The electrical system all over the world is typically organised in a "radial structure" based on few centralised power units and a decentralised retail service to any single customers (either industries, services and private households) disserved by a national grid on different voltage levels.
The increased efficiency and decreasing costs of small units power facilities have made possible to move toward a more decentralised power supply chain, delocalising production's facilities closer to consumers.
Among new renewable sources, Photovoltaic is performing in the most efficient manner. The fast decrease in panel's prices[1], due to the booming production all over the world and the increase in efficiency per unit, had lead PV in many European countries to reach the so called "grid parity"[2].
PV is a very flexible production's source, which can range from few kW to over 100 MW per unit, allowing to define easily locations. Maintenance costs are very limited in term of financing expenditure and in term of manpower and spare parts.
Solar production is easily predictable and is technical reliable, so presents less problems for the grid's management and is less dangerous for eventually domino effects. Moreover solar power plants can be built up in short time, doesn't required important civil works like other renewable (for instance hydro) or traditional (for example thermal power plant) and even the grid connection, for average unit may be cheap and doesn't need particular technical skills.
DPT bsed on its broad team's experiences, is offering to power companies, industrial groups and real estate companies key solution for dealing with the new challanging environment and defining competitive supply's business models.
[1] 18 months ago the panel's price per Watt in Europe was around 1.4 EUR, nowadays is ranging roughly 0.55 EUR/W
[2] "Grid parity" mans that the price per kWh produced by solar unit is competing with the traditional production sources