Duration and solar power generation

Does aggregation affect the intermittency of solar power generation?

The aim of this article is to address the fundamental scientific question on how the intermittency of solar power generation is affected by aggregation, which is of great interest in the wider power and energy community and would have profound impacts on the solar energy integration into the energy supply and Net-Zero Implementation.

What is intermittency of solar energy?

It is well recognized internationally that the intermittency of solar energy is a fundamental technical/economic barrier which limits the penetration level of solar power in the energy supply.

What are the timescales for solar power aggregation?

Timescales (durations) considered are mainly minutes 16, 19, 20, 21, hours 14, 17, 18, 26, months 23 and years 15, 24, 25. Furthermore, the geographical scale for solar power aggregation varies with plant/site 16, 19, 20, 21, 27, to state 15, 18, 23, 24, 26 and to sub-region 14, 25 but with a limited number of PV sites/stations.

What is (cap) in solar power time series?

\ (Cap\) is defined in (2). The duration curve, which is defined as the solar power time series sorted in descending order, is another effective approach for characterizing the intermittency of solar power time series in terms of availability.

How much solar power will the UK need by 2050?

To meet the UK government’s net zero target, the Climate Change Committee estimates that between 75-90 gigawatts (GW) of solar power will be needed by 2050. Analysis by Solar Energy UK indicates this would mean solar farms would, at most, account for approximately 0.4-0.6% of UK land – less than the amount currently used for golf courses

Can solar photovoltaic and wind power be integrated?

However, the integration of high shares of solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind power sources requires energy storage beyond the short-duration timescale, including long-duration (discharge duration >10 hours and <100 hours) and seasonal (discharge duration >100 hours) energy storage (Fig. 1).