Recently, a project to build a solar farm that would supply 15% of Europe’s power failed because the cost of power transmission did not drop as quickly as the price of solar panels. Currently, producing electricity from solar panels is 2 to 3 times more expensive than from hydro, coal, or nuclear energy sources.
Solar energy in manufacturing is an ecological necessity and an economic winner. Manufacturing facilities are hubs of activity. They use enormous amounts of energy in a wide variety of processes, all of which are scaled up for maximum intensity.
One drawback of solar energy is that it cannot supply power after dark. But this problem can be solved with the addition of a battery bank. Solar-compatible batteries can supply energy on demand, as long as some of the energy collected by solar panels goes unused during the day.
The available power grid infrastructure was built to work with consistent power generation levels and these grids may not be able to cope with the inconsistency of solar energy. Another factor that reduces the competitiveness of solar energy is how often electricity is produced; also known as its capacity factor.
It also makes it an unattractive business prospect to build large solar farms or even produce solar panels. Recently, a project to build a solar farm that would supply 15% of Europe’s power failed because the cost of power transmission did not drop as quickly as the price of solar panels.
Solar energy potential is high in much of the region, but the power grid makes little use of it. Our tracking found that three-fourths of the battery manufacturing capacity is locating in states with lower-than-average renewable electricity generation today.