Top 5 New Cleantech Coming in 2020
Despite the progress in solar, wind and energy storage in 2019, more radical breakthroughs will be needed to solve longer-term grid decarbonization challenges, such as how to deal with intermittency and seasonal weather variations in regions with very high penetrations of renewables. Here are some picks for upcoming tech that is poised for a strong year ahead.
1. Marine Solar
Many sea-based PV projects were announced in 2019 (see here and here). Availability of land for ground-mounted arrays is dwindling and land costs are rising, along with cities’ emission reduction targets.
Proponents also suggest that a marine environment could help boost production by keeping solar panels cool. Oceans of Energy expects offshore power yields to be roughly 15% higher than comparable onshore projects, and Swimsol 5-10% uplift in production compared to rooftop-mounted panels.
However, an inland floating array costs 10-15% more than a ground-mounted system. Only time will tell if these more pain, more gain solar arrays will sink or swim.
2. Static Compensators
Definitely a sleeper pick, static compensators could be key in grid integration of growing amounts of renewable energy.
Static compensators mimic the action of rotating masses previously provided by thermal turbines, thereby helping maintain a constant frequency across the electricity network. Renewable-heavy grids could lack this natural frequency-response mechanism, necessitating compensators.
GE has been an early, successful developer.
3. Dynamic Export Cables
Floating wind poses a challenge: how do you connect a floating platform to a static cable on the seabed? The answer is to use “dynamic export cables” that both carry high voltages and move with the platform.
These are key for floating offshore wind, which could soon trump the traditional bottom-fixed status quo (see Equinor’s 88MW Hywind Tampen project).
4. Molten Salt Reactors
The molten salt reactor could provide carbon-free electricity with fewer radiation risks than traditional nuclear. They are nuclear reactors that use a fluid fuel in the form of very hot fluoride or chloride salt rather than the solid fuel used in most reactors. Since the fuel salt is liquid, it can be both the fuel (producing the heat) and the coolant (transporting the heat to the power plant). Learn more about them here.
Other upcoming branches of nuclear include fusion and small modular reactors.
5. Green Hydrogen
Hydrogen has historically been manufactured either through electrolysis (expensive), or through various fossil-fuel intensive methods (environmentally harmful). Fortunately, better alternatives are starting to surface, as sustainable production methods move from “emerging” to “established”. Read about what the top 10 countries in the space are working on here.
The industry could reach the scale of oil and gas without the emissions, while providing a value-add for grids by integrating variable renewable energy. Hydrogen can be used for grid energy, decarbonization of industrial processes, gas heating and heavy transport.
Sources: Greentech Media