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9+10/2013 The Magazine for Renewable Energies ISSN 1861-2741 74714 www.sunwindenergy.com € 12.00 • International issue
Renewables in france
Industry insights in Paris
Rencontres de l’industrie à Paris
Solar thermal photovoltaics Wind energy
Solar storage tanks: Inverters: Innovation CMS: Where the
Enamel on the rise and specialisation all-seeing eye is good
Editorial
More appreciation for value
creation
T
he debate on renewable energy usually is thus not only a few financially strong
focusses on the costs of generating ener- investors – as is often claimed in the heated
gy from solar and wind power. In Germa- debates – who are benefitting. These argu-
ny, for example, the debate centres on the ments ignore the fact that town and local
question of by how much electricity costs for authority budgets also benefit through taxes Dr. Volker Buddensiek
private households can be allowed to rise in and levies of € 1.1 billion, with a further Editor-in-chief
order to pay for the so-called “Energiewende”. € 1.3 billion benefitting at the state level and volker.buddensiek@sunwindenergy.com
The debate is highly emotional and is strongly € 4.5 billion at the federal budget level.
orchestrated by the media. It has meanwhile It is here, that decentralised renewable
even become a central subject of the German energy systems have a particular strength
general election campaign. However, it is not aside from their use to the operators. As the
just restricted to Germany, but is being deba- manufacturers and operators of renewable
ted right across Europe, from Spain and France energy systems, plus the various service pro-
to the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, and from viders and specialist dealers, are mainly based
Great Britain to Italy. in different locations, jobs and value creation
But while the supporters and opponents of are spread across the whole country. This is
an energy transition in Germany irreconcilably very different from large conventional power
debate the costs of switching to renewable plants, where it really is only a few energy
energy supplies until they are red in the face, it suppliers and the few communities with power
is worthwhile to shift the focus somewhat and plant sites which benefit.
look at the value creation through renewable A growing number of places in which wind
energies. This has now been done by the power or photovoltaic systems are being oper-
Institute for Ecological Economy Research ated are thus benefitting from wind and solar
(IÖW) in Berlin. The results of the study “Value power generation. The 166,000 directly asso-
Creation and Employment Effects through the ciated jobs created in Germany by wind, solar
Expansion of Renewable Energies” deserve to and biomass companies, from manufacturing
be presented as the study does indeed contain and installation to operation and maintenance,
impressive figures. The use of wind power, plus the 211,000 indirect jobs at least partly
solar and biomass in Germany in 2012 achieved dependent on these, are playing a role in
a value creation of € 16.9 billion. Despite sink- strengthening especially the structurally poor
ing system prices especially for photovoltaics, rural areas.
the renewables sector as a whole managed to Those all around Europe who set about
increase the volume of value creation by 10 % having discussions on the costs of renewables
over the year before. By 2030 the authors of should – just in case – also have these figures
the study even expect an increase in annual at hand to provide an example of how switch-
value creation from renewable energies to ap- ing to wind and solar power does not simply
proximately 25 billion. cost money.
According to the study, the manufacturing
of plants and components makes up the largest
share of value creation, at € 6.6 billion. But
maintenance and operator profits together
achieve exactly the same amount again. And it
Sun & Wind Energy 9+10/2013 3
Table of contentS
Photo: REC
Process heat:
It can’t be done without a partner
Solar thermal process heat has the potential to grow into a large
field of business. Concentrating collectors can be paired with
combined heat and power or can even generate steam directly,
without the need for heat exchangers.
Page 55
World market silicon & wafer:
Photo: Industrial Solar
Light at the end of the tunnel
Like everybody else, the silicon and wafer manufacturers have
been feeling the effects of the downturn in the PV industry
whose recent past has been characterized by overproduction,
falling prices and profit slumps. More than one company has
fallen by the wayside. Meanwhile, however, the most difficult THE MAGAZINE for
Renewable Energies
time seems to have passed and hope is growing. But the ISSN 1861-2741 7471
4 www.sunwindenergy.c
om € 12.00 • International
industry players need a good strategy. issue
9+10/2013
Page 84
9+10/2013
EU PVSEC:
Industry insights in Paris
Rencontres de l’industrie à Paris
RENEWABLES IN FR
This year, the solar industry will get together at the EU PVSEC in ANCE
Paris. In addition to the conference presentations about the Industry insights
latest developments and innovations, companies will present
R in Paris
encontres de l’ind
their new products at the PV industry exhibition. ustrie à Paris
Page 78
Photo: EU PVSEC
SOLAR THERMAL
PHOTOVOLTAICS
Solar storage tanks WIND ENERGY
: Inverters: Innovati
Enamel on the ris on CMS: Where the
e and specialisation
all-seeing eye is go
od
4 Sun & Wind Energy 9+10/2013
Onshore logistics still has
potential
Logistics is more than just a side topic for the
wind power industry. A lot of money can be
saved or also wasted here. Logistics compa-
nies expect business in the billions in the
field of onshore wind power. They are thus
expanding their portfolios and becoming
Photo: REpower/Oelker
specialised.
Page 122
French market:
On the rocky road to renewables
Un chemin semé d’embûches
France is quite bureaucratic in many areas. The PV industry in France is rapidly shrinking – but
at the same time, some companies are expanding and occcupy interesting niches. The solar
thermal market has stabilised, but another decline is in sight. And in the wind energy sector
François Hollande has promised improvements because wind farm approval takes an eternity.
Photo: Philosolaire
S&WE offers you an insight in the different markets of renewables in France.
Pages 28, 38, 68, 78, 112
Review Photovoltaics Department
6 International news 68 French market: 129 Directory
18 Off-grid projects: Solar electricity for Mali Happiness is found in niches 138 Preview and imprint
22 Hybrid power: Now it’s quiet Niches: des opportunités à saisir
in the Seychelles 78 EU PVSEC: Industry meeting in Paris
24 Intersolar North America: Rendez-vous de la branche à Paris
Networking in the USA 82 Interview with Julien Chirol, Donauer,
137 International events about the French market
84 World market silicon & wafer:
Country Special Light at the end of the tunnel
28 France: On the rocky road to renewables 92 Solar Power International: A fresh breeze
Un chemin semé d’embûches 94 Solar power in the USA: state of the industry
I
Photo: MT-Energie
97 India: Who ever said it would be easy?
Solar Thermal 100 Inverters: More than just transducers
38 French market: 106 Inverters and data loggers:
Kicking a man when he’s down Small segment with clever specialisation
Coup de grâce au soldat blessé
44 Storage tanks: Enamel on the rise Wind energy Waste fermentation: Doubly useful –
52 Absorber coatings: On the move 112 French market: biogas and compost
55 Process heat: It can’t be done Service and maintenance gain momentum
without a partner Essor du SAV et de la maintenance The recycling of waste in Europe is nowhere near
58 Municipal systems: 117 Condition monitoring: where it could be if political policy were more
In line with low consumption Where the all-seeing eye is good consistent. Especially bio-waste can be energe
60 Review Intersolar Europe: The final frontier 122 Onshore logistics still has potential tically put to use through fermentation, while
64 Interview with Elizabeth Duarte Pereira, nutrients can be recovered on top, as projects in
UNA University Centre in Brazil BioENERGY England and Germany have shown.
66 Interview with Daniel Mugnier, IEA SHC 126 Waste fermentation: Doubly useful – Page 126
Task 48, on solar cooling biogas and compost
Sun & Wind Energy 9+10/2013 5
Review News – russia
Russian solar thermal energy
industry on verge of big changes
T
Photo: Eugene Gerden he Russian solar thermal industry is on the Despite the existing problems, the situation in the
verge of big changes. Despite the massive industry has improved significantly over the last sever-
protests of local oil and gas lobbyists, the nati- al years. In addition, the Russian parliament recently
onal government has approved a set of measures approved a draft of a bill on the development and use
aimed at supporting it. of renewable energy.
The adopted measures involve selecting projects Several months ago, a special research council in
in the area of renewables on a cost-competitive basis. the field of renewables and in particular solar thermal
The operators of these projects will be eligible to sign energy was established at the Russian Academy of
a contract on power supply, which will provide a guar- Sciences. Experts at the Russian Ministry of Energy
anteed return on investments. Preference will be given have also completed the development of a solar radia-
to projects that have a high level of localisation of pro- tion map, which is specially designed for the use of
duction equipment. The first selections are expected designers of solar systems.
to take place this fall. NPO Machinostroyniy, which is based in Reutovo
According to Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister (Moscow region) and is one of Russia’s leading
Arkady Dvorkovich, who is the person responsible for machine-building companies, is also currently Russia’s
the initiative, the winner of the selection process will largest manufacturer of solar power plants. Another
receive payments for power during a period of 15 years large-scale production facility for solar collectors is
after the launch of the facility, with a guaranteed rate located in Ulan-Ude (Buryatia), where mostly Chinese
of return on investments of 14 %. parts are used.
The support measures already in place for the na- The largest exporters of solar collectors to the Rus-
tional solar power industry were in danger of being sian market are currently German companies such as
dismantled until now, due to a recent joint letter to Buderus, Viessmann, Wolf, Vaillant and Schüco, Ariston
Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The letter from Italy and the Slovak company Thermo/Solar.
was sent by the Russian Community of Energy Most Russian solar power plants are installed in
Consumers, a union that unites the largest consumers the southern regions of the country, which have the
of electricity, and the Council of Power, which is com- highest levels of solar irradiation. The main areas are
prised of the largest players in Russia’s conventional Krasnodar, Stavropol Krai and the Astrakhan region.
power supply market. In addition to the southern regions, Buryatia is ex-
Most Russian analysts in the field of solar thermal pected to remain another centre of the Russian solar
energy and other renewables have welcomed the gov- thermal industry. At present, the total number of instal-
ernment’s decision to provide support to the domes- lations in the region is more than 90 (more than
tic solar thermal energy industry and ignore the argu- 4,000 m²).
ments of opponents. They hope this will improve the According to Vitaly Butuzov, professor, Director of
situation in the industry, which is still difficult. Krasnodar Power Technologies and one of Russia’s
The total area of solar power plants in Russia is leading designers of solar collectors, solar thermal en-
still small, not exceeding 30,000 m². So far, one of the ergy has mainly been developed on the initiative of lo-
greatest obstacles to the development of solar ther- cal authorities and private investors up till now. How-
mal energy has been the lack of a federal law and clear ever, there is a chance that this is set to change signif-
state policy in this area. The industry is also still suf- icantly in the near future if a sound legislative basis for
fering from an acute shortage of affordable the industry is adopted and subsidies are ensured.
equipment. Eugene Gerden
6 Sun & Wind Energy 9+10/2013
Country Special France
On the rocky road
to renewables
Un chemin semé d’embûches
Roof space available: France wants to reign in nuclear power and strengthen renewables. The
solar thermal systems for
backup space heating are problem: in the face of ever-tightening budgets, the cost to Paris of
still a rare sight here in
the Languedoc-Roussillon
expanding green electricity will have to be kept low. This plays right into the
region. Photo: Philosolaire hands of onshore wind energy.
F
De la place sur les toits : rançoise Dachy could not be more satisfied.
Les installations ther- “Photovoltaics are bringing our communities re- La France veut limiter la production
miques solaires servant liable returns,” says the Mayor of Leyritz- d’énergie nucléaire et renforcer celle
de chauffage d’appoint Moncassin, a small municipality in the department of des énergies renouvelables. Le
comme ici, dans la région Lot-et-Garonne, situated halfway between Toulouse
problème est que, compte tenu des
du Languedoc-Roussillon and Bordeaux. “Clean energy is ideally suited to our
sont encore rares. region.” The region has little industry and lots of fo-
restrictions budgétaires, le
rests – the swath of land in the centre of Aquitaine développement du courant écologique
could be called economically underdeveloped. There, ne doit pas coûter trop cher à Paris.
on land that stretches across several of the L’éolien « onshore » est avant tout
department’s municipalities, the German company appelé à jouer un rôle.
GP Joule operates one of the largest solar farms in
southwest France with a capacity of 40 MW. The
F
roughly half a million euros the participating munici- rançoise Dachy a tout lieu d’être satisfaite. La
palities receive annually in leases and trade taxes are photovoltaïque rapporte à nos communes des
most welcome, considering the lack of economic recettes régulières », déclare la maire de Leyritz-
28 Sun & Wind Energy 9+10/2013
Country Special France
a lternatives. And yet when the conversation turns to Moncassin, une petite commune du département
nuclear energy, enthusiasm for the PV plant soon Lot-et-Garonne, à mi-chemin entre Toulouse et
gives way to scepticism. “If the whole country were to Bordeaux. « L’énergie propre convient parfaitement à
switch to renewable energy, electricity could get too notre région ». Peu d’industries, beaucoup de forêts
expensive,” says Dachy. “We shouldn’t do away with – cette bande de terre au beau milieu de l’Aquitaine
low priced nuclear energy.” France’s President est ce que l’on appelle une région défavorisée. Sur le
François Hollande is of a similar opinion. Nuclear terrain de plusieurs communes, la société allemande
power, he believes, should remain the backbone of GP Joule exploite l’un des plus grands parcs solaires
France’s energy mix. But, instead of remaining at the du Sud-Ouest de la France avec 40 MW. Les commu-
current 75 to 80 %, he wants to see its share of ener- nes participantes engrangent annuellement environ
gy production reduced to 50 % by 2025. The socialist un demi-million d’euros versés pour les baux et les
included this promise in his election campaign in taxes professionnelles, une manne qui tombe à point,
2012. He’s talked the talk, now he has to walk the compte tenu du manque d’alternatives économiques.
walk. Just how the transition energetique francaise – Et pourtant, lorsque la discussion s’oriente sur l’éner-
the French energy transition – should look was a sub- gie nucléaire, l’enthousiasme fait rapidement place
Wind energy in France ject for debate among the public and stakeholders up au scepticisme. « Le passage aux énergies renouve-
still has much potential, until the summer recess in July. If all goes according lables à une échelle nationale risque d’augmenter
as here in Bar-le-Duc, to plan, the National Assembly will forge the results considérablement la facture d’électricité », estime
Lorraine – the industry of the debate into law by the end of this year. Dachy. Nous ne devrions pas renoncer à l’énergie
is hoping to be the first nucléaire bon marché. »
choice as a replacement Good opportunities for wind Le Chef de l’État, François Hollande, voit les
for nuclear energy. energy choses de la même façon. L’énergie nucléaire doit
Photo: Oliver Ristau rester le pilier du mix français en matière d’électricité.
France wants to put a stronger emphasis on renewa- Toutefois, au lieu de 75 à 80 % actuellement, sa part
L’énergie éolienne en ble energy; that much is clear. But it is a rocky road. dans la production d’électricité doit diminuer à 50 %
France, ici à Bar-le-Duc Scarcely had the public discussion ended for the d’ici 2025. C’est avec cette promesse que le socialiste
en Lorraine, possède summer recess when the French trade association est entré en campagne électorale en 2012. A présent,
encore un grand potentiel MEDEF, which is in favour of maintaining the nuclear il s’agit de réaliser les promesses faites. La société et
– le secteur espère faire status quo, began campaigning against the energy les parties prenantes ont discuté jusqu’en juillet, date
partie du premier choix reform. The central argument: too expensive. In addi- de la pause estivale, des mesures à adopter dans le
dans le cadre du rempla- tion, the French Court of Auditors published a high- cadre de ce que l’on appelle la transition énergétique
cement de l’électricité profile report in late July, indicating a need to limit the française. Selon les dispositions prévues, d’ici la fin
nucléaire par l’électricité cost of expanding renewables in order to spare pub- de l’année, l’Assemblée nationales pourrait fournir un
renouvelableé. lic finances. After hydropower, which has limited po- cadre législatif aux résultats.
tential for growth in France, the report cited onshore
wind energy as the most favourable renewable source
of power, a conclusion that delighted the French wind
energy sector which is hoping to be the first choice as
a replacement for nuclear power.
30 Sun & Wind Energy 9+10/2013
Solar thermal French Market
Kicking a man
when he’s down
Coup de grâce au soldat blessé
Le marché français du solaire s’est
stabilisé mais une autre crise
s’annonce. La France est en effet à
présent confrontée à une propagande
nationale négative au sujet de la
technologie solaire thermique.
D
onner une image négative du secteur en
France équivaut un peu à « donner le coup de
grâce à un soldat déjà blessé : beaucoup de
sociétés de la branche sont dans une mauvaise situa-
tion financière et il est urgent de réorganiser le sec-
teur en redorant son blason, en opérant une réorien-
tation intelligente des subventions publiques et en
donnant une nouvelle dynamique à la R&D et à l’inno-
vation. » déclare Daniel Mugnier, spécialiste du
solaire thermique au bureau d’études français
Tecsol SA.
Jean-Marc Robin, PDG de Robin Sun, société spé-
cialisée dans la construction de capteurs solaires
thermiques intégrés aux bâtiments, ne semble pas
très optimiste en ce qui concerne l’avenir à court terme
du secteur solaire thermique en France. Il attire
l’attention sur la presse très négative, comme le rap-
port intitulé « La politique de développement des
énergies », publié par la Cour des Comptes. Ce rapport
présente clairement le solaire thermique comme
désavantageux par rapport à d’autres sources d’éner-
gies renouvelables. Le message est clair : cette techno-
Robin Sun collectors can The French solar market has logie est trop coûteuse et trop peu performante. Le
be integrated seam- rapport poursuit en disant que la France a investi trop
lessly into the building stabilised, but another decline is in d’argent dans de « telles » technologies inefficaces et
envelope. Photo: Robin Sun que cette situation ne peut perdurer.
sight. As if that were not enough, Mugnier confirme que l’étude de la Cour des com-
Les capteurs de Robin France is facing a negative national ptes montre, bien que de manière très inexacte, un
Sun s’intègrent parfaite- problème réel, à savoir que les prix pour le solaire
ment dans l’enveloppe du propaganda campaign against solar thermique en France sont encore trop élevés bien
bâtiment. qu’un volume important de subventions ait déjà été
thermal technology. investi dans ce domaine. Néanmoins, il souligne que
l’étude compare le solaire thermique à la biomasse
T
o paint a bad picture of the sector in France is pour la génération de chaleur renouvelable et que la
a bit like “kicking a man when he’s down”: comparaison se base sur le coût du financement public
Many companies in the sector are in a bad fi- par tep (tonne équivalent pétrole) annuelle. Cette
nancial condition, which is why it is urgent to comparaison n’est pas juste, se plaint Mugnier, parce
38 Sun & Wind Energy 9+10/2013
r eorganise the sector by restoring its good image, in- que, d’une part, elle n’inclut pas le coût annuel du bois
telligently re-orienting public incentives, and resto- lors du calcul de l’efficacité de la biomasse et, d’autre
ring dynamism in R&D and innovation,” says Daniel part, la base de l’énergie tep pour le solaire thermique
Mugnier, a solar thermal specialist at French enginee- est seulement prise en compte pour une année et pas
ring company Tecsol SA. sur 20 ans, ce qui correspond à la durée de vie moyen-
Jean-Marc Robin, CEO of Robin Sun, a firm build- ne d’un tel système. Il poursuit en disant que les études
ing custom integrated solar thermal collectors, is ap- nationales macroéconomiques font souvent une
parently not very optimistic about the near future for analyse approximative de la situation en créant des
solar thermal in France. He points to very negative raccourcis sur l’interprétation des chiffres. En réalité,
press, such as a report, by the French Court of le solaire thermique peut afficher un bon ratio entre les
Auditors (Cour des Comptes) entitled Energy Develop- fonds publics et l’efficacité énergétique combinée à la
ment Policy (la politique de développement des ener- qualité, particulièrement dans de nouvelles maisons
gies). It clearly presents solar thermal as disadvanta- individuelles et immeubles collectifs lorsqu’il est géré
geous in comparison to other sources of renewable par des sociétés compétentes. Telle devrait être la si-
energy. The message is that solar thermal costs too tuation que présentera l’ADEME (Agence française de
much and is too inefficient. Furthermore, the report l’environnement et de maîtrise de l’énergie) dans un
states that France has already invested too much proche avenir, déclare Mugnier. « L’ADEME vient de
money in inefficient technologies and that such in- terminer une étude très détaillée sur la compétitivité
vestment “cannot continue”. du secteur solaire thermique. Cette étude n’a pas en-
Mugnier confirms that the Court of Auditors core été publiée mais conduira à un évènement très
study points, although very inaccurately, to a real important, à savoir les premiers Etats Généraux du
problem, that prices for solar thermal in France are Solaire thermique », conclut Mugnier.
still too high, although a significant volume of sub-
sidies have already been invested in this field. Mesures de soutien proposées
However, he stresses that in the Court of Auditors par le Fonds Chaleur : trop de
study solar thermal is compared with biomass for
renewable heat production and that the compari-
bureaucratie
son is based on the cost of public funding per an- Le nombre de projets solaires thermiques approuvés
nual TOE (Ton of Oil Equivalent). This comparison is par le Fonds Chaleur est en diminution (cf. tableau
not fair, Mugnier complains, because on one hand n°1). « Le Fonds Chaleur est une très bonne initiative
the annual wood cost is not included when calcu-
lating the efficiency of biomass, and furthermore
for solar thermal the TOE energy basis is only con-
sidered for one year and not over a 20 year period,
the average service life of such a system. He says
that national macro studies are often based on an
approximate analysis of the situation, and then
take shortcuts in the interpretation of the figures.
In reality, solar thermal can offer a good ratio be-
tween public money and efficiency when combined IT‘S ALL ABOUT QUAND IL S‘AGIT
with quality and managed by skilled companies, PERFORMANCE DE PERFORMANCES
especially in new single-family and multi-family Fresh water station Station de production ECS
houses. This is a more accurate conclusion, and TacoTherm Fresh 120 TacoTherm Fresh 120 pour
one that will be presented by the French for the particularly fast la production instantannée
Environment and Energy Management Agency and efficient production et efficace de l‘eau chaude
(ADEME) in the near future, Mugnier says. “ADEME of fresh hot water in large sanitaire dans les grandes
has just finished a very detailed study on the com- installations. installations.
petitiveness of solar thermal, which is not yet pub-
licly available, but will precede a very important
event, the first general assembly of the solar
thermal sector,”Mugnier concludes.
Incentives through Heat Fund too
bureaucratic
The number of solar thermal projects approved by
the Heat Fund (Fonds Chaleur) is decreasing (see
table 1.). “The heat fund has been a very good ini-
tiative with significant budgets since 2009. But it
has been rapidly “killed” by important bureaucrat-
ic and complex procedures which have led to a rap- Further Information on / Autres informations sur taconova.com
id decrease in the number of projects over the
Sun & Wind Energy 9+10/2013 39
Photovoltaics french market
Exosun equipped the Porette de Nérone solar park in the southeast of France with trackers. Photos (2): Exosun
Exosun a équipé la centrale photovoltaïque au sol « Porette de Nérone » dans le Sud-Est de la France de trackers solaires.
Happiness is found in niches
Niches : des opportunités à saisir
Anyone who does not know the
Celui qui ne connaît pas bien la France,
country well enough might not n’imaginerait pas que ce pays est assez
believe it: France is quite bureaucratique dans beaucoup de
domaines. Le secteur solaire en France
bureaucratic in many areas. The est en perte de vitesse mais, en même
solar industry in France is rapidly temps, quelques entreprises
connaissent une croissance. Leur
shrinking – but at the same time, principe : trouver des niches
some companies are expanding. intéressantes.
Their strategy: occupy interesting
R
étrospective : en avril 2009, le village de
niches. Cornas en Ardèche est ensoleillé, le climat y
est doux et parfaitement adapté à la viticul-
A
look back: In April 2009, the village of Cornas ture. Vincent Paris, grand espoir de la France parmi
on the banks of the Ardeche is basking in the les viticulteurs, qui se compte lui-même parmi les
sun; the climate is mild and just perfect for the « jeunes vignerons fougueux » et gère son exploita-
cultivation of wine. Vincent Paris, France’s great ‘hope tion selon des principes biologiques, avec rigueur et
of winemakers’, who counts himself among the dynamisme, observe avec une satisfaction évidente
68 Sun & Wind Energy 9+10/2013Discover TM
‘young, wild winemakers’ and consistently uses bio-
dynamic cultivation methods, watches the display on
his solar energy system with evident pleasure. Paris
often stands in front of the display with visitors from
The lowest life-cycle
TM
far and wide who come to see the spectacle of the con-
stantly updating kilowatt-hour display. Paris’s photo-
voltaic system is – as unlikely as it sounds – the only cost utility solar tracker
one within a dozen kilometres. And that in an area of
the country that has 50 % more solar irradiation than
the average value in Germany and provides at least
2.500 h/a of sunshine. The solar boom was smoth-
ered in France in 2009 by excessively high d emand.
The run on the modules
If you ask Paris about the root causes, the answer
comes quickly: “The authorities are very difficult to
deal with, as is the network operator who has to con-
nect the photovoltaic system. If you already have
enough work, as many farmers in the village do, then
this task can hardly be accomplished.” The situation
was so dire that a completely new service was created
to address the need. For a few hundred euros, profes-
sional approval experts would take matters with the
authorities into their own hands and provide the serv-
ice of obtaining the necessary approval, explain Paris
(continued on page 72)
l’affichage de son système photovoltaïque. Il arrive
souvent que Paris se tienne devant cet écran en
compagnie de personnes qui viennent aussi de loin
pour ne pas manquer le spectacle de l’égrenage des
kWh sur le système en cours de fonctionnement. En
effet, l’installation photovoltaïque de Vincent Paris
est, aussi invraisemblable que cela puisse paraître, la
seule dans un périmètre d’environ 12 km, dans une
région qui bénéficie d’un ensoleillement supérieur de
50 % à la moyenne en Allemagne et jouit de 250
heures de soleil par an ! Le boom de l’énergie solaire
a échoué en 2009 en France en raison d’une trop
grande demande.
Ruée sur les panneaux
photovoltaïques Over
150 M
Si l’on en demande les raisons à Vincent Paris, la ré-
ponse ne se fait pas attendre : « Les démarches W
auprès des administrations sont très difficiles, au sold
même titre que les relations avec l’exploitant du ré-
seau qui doit raccorder l’installation photovoltaïque.
Quand on a déjà beaucoup de travail, comme c’est le
- Exclusive warranties
cas ici pour beaucoup d’agriculteurs du village, il est
impossible de faire face à cette charge supplémen-
- No greasing: - 60% maintenance costs
taire. » Paris s’explique : « La situation était tellement
désespérée qu’une prestation de service entièrement
- Highest wind resistance on the market
nouvelle est apparue. Moyennant quelques centaines
d’euros, des professionnels habitués au contact avec
- Third-party certified
les administrations se sont chargés, avec son instal-
lateur Richard Barras, des démarches administratives
en vue de l’obtention des autorisations nécessaires,
dans le cadre d’une prestation de service. La deu
xième raison qui explique que la forte demande des
(suite à la page 72)
Sun & Wind Energy 9+10/2013
www.exosun.net
69Wind energy French Market
Service and maintenance
gain momentum
Essor du SAV et de la maintenance
A host of laws makes the French wind market a hard nut to crack. President
François Hollande has promised improvements because wind farm approval
takes an eternity. The service and maintenance market is gaining
momentum.
T
he French wind market is trailing far behind
L’appareil législatif constitue un
official political objectives. Although the num
ber of new installations over the past few years
obstacle sérieux au développement du
has been quite respectable, the target of 19 GW marché français de l’énergie éolienne.
onshore is still a long way off. Currently, 4,500 tur Le Chef de l’État François Hollande a
bines are rotating in France with a rated capacity of promis des améliorations pour
just 7,800 MW. accélérer la procédure d’autorisation
The sluggish expansion is due to an abundance of
en vue de la création de nouveaux
laws and regulations. To date, project developers have
had to muster a great deal of patience. The reason is
parcs éoliens, actuellement
that depending on the département, approval proce extrêmement longue. Le marché du SAV
dures take up to between three and ten years and are et de la maintenance est plus
Wind turbines don’t very risky. “Abolishing the ‘zone de développement dynamique.
always cause pro- éolien’, which only permitted the installation of wind
tests. They also attract turbines in these zones, is bound to speed up the pro
L
onlookers curious to cedures. However, the industry is hoping for more e marché français de l’éolien affiche un retard
watch their spectacular reforms,” says Philippe Vignal, wpd AG’s CEO in sensible par rapport aux objectifs politiques
construction. France. “This could soon be the case as part of the formulés. Bien que, ces dernières années, un
Photos (2): ABO Wind ‘choc de simplification’ that has been announced,” taux de construction passablement satisfaisant ait pu
comments Vignal. He added that Hollande had être atteint, l’objectif des 19 GW « on shore » est loin
Les éoliennes ne font promised in mid-July to cut the red tape for private d’avoir été atteint. A l’heure actuelle, la France
pas toujours l’objet de individuals and companies. compte en effet 4 500 installations qui représentent
protestations. Il y a aussi In the meantime, the rule that wind farms need to une puissance nominale de quelque 7 800 MW.
des curieux qui prennent consist of at least five turbines has been already over La lenteur du développement des constructions
plaisir à regarder leur turned. And the French President has further plans. He d’installations est en étroite corrélation avec toute
montage spectaculaire. intends to reduce the share of nuclear energy from une série de lois et de directives. Les cabinets d’étude
112 Sun & Wind Energy 9+10/201375 to 50 % and to accelerate the development of doivent jusqu’ici faire preuve de beaucoup de patience
renewable energy by passing a new environment law. car les procédures d’autorisation durent, selon les
Another hot issue is what role the listed Électricité de départements, de 3 à 10 ans et comportent beaucoup
France (EDF) is going to play. After all, the majority de risques. « La suppression de la « Zone de
state-owned energy giant dominates 98 % of the Développement Eolien » qui ne permettait l’érection
French electricity market. d’éoliennes qu’à l’intérieur de ces zones, raccourcira
certainement la durée de ces procédures. La branche
Manufacturers have a firm grip on espère néanmoins d’autres réformes », déclare
service Philippe Vignal, Directeur général de la société wpd
AG en France. Ceci pourrait être le cas dans le cadre du
All this doesn’t discourage project developers, be « Choc de simplification » annoncé », espère Vignal.
cause although the 15-year-long incentives are fairly Mi-juillet, François Hollande a promis d’alléger les
complicated they are still quite acceptable. Depend charges administratives qui pèsent sur les citoyens
ing on the district and project, the tariff amounts to français, ajoute-t-il.
€ 0.82/kWh for the first ten years. On top of this, Le règlement imposant un nombre minimum de
operators are compensated for inflation. The full-load 5 installations pour un parc éolien a déjà été annulé et
hours achieved on site will be gaining importance, le Chef de l’État a encore d’autres projets. Il souhaite
especially in the last five years. Subject to annual réduire la part du nucléaire dans la production d’élec
reference operation time, the upshot will be between tricité de 75 à 50 % et accélérer le développement des
€ 0.28/kWh (for more than 3,600 hours) and énergies renouvelables par une nouvelle loi sur l’envi
€ 0.82/ kWh (for less than 2,400 hours). After the ronnement. Il ne faut pas non plus négliger le rôle
15-year period, operators will be forced to compete d’EDF, société cotée en bourse. En effet, le géant du
and to market their electricity themselves. secteur énergétique contrôlé en majorité par l’État
But it’s these pretty acceptable conditions of all détient 98 % du marché français de l’électricité.
things that have paralysed the wind market. French
opponents to wind power considered this to be a state Prédominance des fabricants dans
subsidy and took legal action right up to the European le secteur du service après-vente
Court of Justice. Since nobody wanted to tackle a
project any more, new installations dropped to 73 MW Les bureaux d’étude ne se découragent pas pour
in the first quarter of 2013, whereas the figure was autant car les conditions de financement sont correc
202 MW on average per quarter in the previous year. tes, même si leur durée fixée à 15 ans les rend com
It’s precisely due to the many difficulties and the pliquées. Suivant le département et la nature du
resulting pent-up demand that many experts regard projet, une indemnité de 8,2 €-ct/kWh est accordée
France as one of the emerging wind markets. And pendant les 10 premières années. Les exploitants
this is where German companies have had the upper bénéficient en outre d’une compensation pour infla
hand to date (see p. 116). These companies also tion. Le nombre d’heures de pleine charge atteintes
control the service and maintenance business, as sur le site entre avant tout en ligne de compte durant
they mostly sign long-term, full-service maintenance les 5 dernières années. Suivant la durée d’exploita
agreements. tion annuelle de référence, une rémunération com
To offer customers the best service possible, prise entre 2,8 €-ct/kWh (pour plus de 3 600 heures)
market leader Enercon has developed a decentralized et 8,2 €-ct/kWh (pour moins de 2 400 heures) est
service network in France. It consists of 25 service encore accordée aux exploitants. Au bout de 15 ans,
stations with more than 100 service teams in all ces derniers doivent faire face à la concurrence et
regions. In total, Enercon employs more than vendre leur courant eux-mêmes.
450 people in France, with an increasing tendency. Paradoxalement, ces conditions assez favorables
ont contribué à paralyser le marché de l’éolien. Les
End of warranty adversaires de l’énergie éolienne en France y ont vu
une subvention d’État et ont porté plainte devant la
While Enercon ties in customers with its maintenance Cour européenne de justice. Étant donné que plus
concept for the whole term, wind turbines from personne ne voulait toucher à un projet, le nombre
Nordex, Vestas or REpower offer some potential for des nouvelles installations a chuté à 73 MW au cours
companies that are independent of the manufacturer. du premier trimestre. Au cours de l’année précédente,
One of them is the Dutch trading platform Spares in la moyenne trimestrielle était encore de 202 MW.
Motion. “We tapped into this market because our cus Ces nombreuses difficultés et le besoin de rattra
tomers who are vendors see good opportunities for page qui en résultent font que les experts considèrent
the spare parts market in France,” says Jochem Sauer, le marché français comme l’un des marchés émergents
managing partner of Spares in Motion. dans le secteur de l’éolien. Ce marché est actuelle
For the main part, the platform brings buyers and ment avant tout dominé par des entreprises alleman
sellers of spare parts together. According to Sauer, es des (voir p. 116). Ces entreprises dominent également
pecially the demand for gear and control units has le marché du SAV et de la maintenance étant donné
been high since the platform’s launch in France. Sauer que, la plupart du temps, elles ont conclu des contrats
remains optimistic: “The manufacturers play a major de maintenance complète à long terme.
Sun & Wind Energy 9+10/2013 113Bioenergy Waste Fermentation
Doubly useful –
biogas and compost
The Swancote plant in Bridgnorth has a pasteurisation unit with which food waste can be pre-treated for an hour at 70 °C. Photo: MT-Energie
The recycling of waste in Europe is nowhere near where it dditionally, separating out the organic waste from
A
landfill waste would save 500 million pounds of
could be if political policy were more consistent. disposal costs.
“Designing a landfill ban could help to maximise
Especially bio-waste can be energetically put to use renewable energy and nutrient recovery,” says
through fermentation, while nutrients can be recovered Benton: “We’d be mad not to.” The up-and-coming
British biogas sector could certainly thus be provided
on top, as projects in England and Germany have shown. with additional resources. The number of new plants
that are not part of sewage plant operation achieved
I
mprovements in the waste economy have only an impressive annual rise of 46 % in the year to April.
been made very slowly in many European coun- The German plant manufacturer MT-Energie GmbH,
tries. The European Commission therefore recently which has a branch in the British Midlands, built five
announced that it would look at EU waste regulations biogas plants on the island between 2010 and 2012.
and recycling targets. Next year, new guidelines are to Three of these use various organic wastes in a co-
aim at recycling half of communal and household fermentation process with energy crops, such as the
waste within the EU by 2020 and to have stopped land- 2 MW plant at Swancote Energy Ltd. in Bridgnorth/
fill in a step-by-step process by then as well. Shropshire. In a wet fermentation process, biogas is
In the last ten years, for example, Great Britain obtained from 38,000 t of raw materials made up of
has considerably increased its recycling share from corn and grass silage, potato peelings, dairy and food
12 to 39 %, but the British still lie far behind the waste. Thanks to an unpacking system, all types of
model waste management countries of Austria, Ger- packaged foods are to be useable here.
many, Belgium and the Netherlands, with their shares Additionally, the Swancote system has a pasteur-
of over 50 %. Dustin Benton, a political consultant at isation unit, with which food waste can be pre-treated
the influential Green Alliance think tank, has now de- for an hour at 70 °C, and which is run using heat from
manded a landfill ban on biological and food waste in a CHP plant. Supermarkets and food processing com-
the AD & Biogas News, “in view of the clear econom- panies in the region can deliver their waste to
ic and ecological benefits.” The value of this material Bridgnorth and thus save on transportation and
as a biogas substrate lies at £ 693 million a year. refuse costs. The plant in Bridgnorth received no
126 Sun & Wind Energy 9+10/2013state support whatsoever and it gets an electricity ment already went into operation in September 2012.
price of 15 p/kWh. The ecological advantages are Approximately 20,000 t of food waste and 10,000 t of
that landfill use is spared and nutrients are returned slurry can be processed here. The second phase is
to the fields. nearing completion. It is to be officially inaugurated at
In Germany, as of 1st June 2005, no more untreat- a public open day on 7th September. In this dry fermen-
ed municipal waste has been allowed to go to landfill. tation phase, 22,000 t of communal bio-waste and
A major point here is the already separate collection 8,000 t of biological commercial waste are to be
of household waste in order to send recyclables to re- treated.
cycling. The separate collection of municipal biologi- “We have one-stop shop for all the phases of
cal waste already began some 25 years ago. Since value creation, and that on the one site,” says Biothan
then, the volume of bio-waste covered by this has in- head Andreas Bug. This enables an overall optimisa-
creased more than sevenfold. The Waste Management tion as the individual plant units can be set up to
and Product Recycling Act now requires bio-waste to match each other best. The seven employees are cur-
be collected separately right across Germany by rently utilising external help to train up in all the pro
2015. This means that an increase in recovered cesses and details of the plant. Each construction
volumes of up to 45 % is possible, forecasts Michael phase only took about one year. The wet fermentation
Kern, head of the waste, environment and energy was put up by Schmack Biogas GmbH and the gas
company Witzenhausen-Institut für Abfall, Umwelt treatment by Schmack Carbotech GmbH, both compa-
und Energie GmbH. nies in the Viessmann Group. The construction of the
The bio-waste is mainly treated through compost- dry fermentation, which uses the plug flow process,
ing. The compost replaces peat from high moors as a was carried out by Axpo Kompogas AG from Switzer-
fertiliser and soil improver. Recently there has been a land. In the future, high-quality compost for gardens
trend to further develop composting with anaerobic and forestry is to be obtained from the solid fermen-
pre-treatment plants for dry fermentation. An esti- tation material separated out after dry fermentation.
mated 10 to 25 % of the total volume of bio-waste The liquid fertiliser is to be used in agriculture.
(4.2 million t), green waste (4.6 million t of garden Together, the two fermentation processes should
waste and material from public green spaces/ generate 47 million kWh of untreated biogas a year.
landscape management) is currently brought togeth- This will be processed to natural gas quality in the
er and used for energy. “The additional costs for the pressure swing adsorption plant, with a capacity of
pre-treatment unit are compensated for through the 600 Nm³/h of biomethane, then fed into the gas net-
EEG and heat yields. The EEG 2012 further improved work. RhönEnergie Fulda as the mother company will
the economic viability, but it’s not yet a sure-fire sell- then be responsible for selling the gas. At the begin-
er,” says Kern on the current satisfactory conditions. ning of January, the two brands “Biothan 100” (pure
biomethane) and the 20 % mix “Biothan 20” were
Universal waste treatment introduced.
The starting point was the desire to be able to of-
An innovative plant in Kleinlüder, Germany, for the first fer natural gas customers green, renewable gas and
time combines wet fermentation, dry fermentation and to do something for the region at the same time, ex-
post-composting. Biothan GmbH, a subsidiary of plains Bug. A large plant for energy crops would have
RhönEnergie Fulda GmbH (formerly Gas- und required a lot of agricultural land and possibly have
Wasserversorgung GWV Fulda GmbH), GWV Osthessen had a negative effect on lease prices. The use of plant-
GmbH and the town of Fulda, is to produce biomethane ed renewable materials was thus not an option. Bug
from 60,000 t of annually supplied materials, whereby says: “This fundamental decision played a major role
the plant concept allows all manner of waste to be used. in increasing acceptance for the plant in all sectors of
The first phase with wet fermentation and gas treat- society.” Christian Dany
Instead of using planted renewable materials, Biothan GmbH ferments bio-waste. There are thus no conflicts
with the population or farmers. Photo: Biothan
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