Why Is Height of Wind Towers Important in Power Plants?

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) states that the global capacity of onshore and offshore wind power plants stood at 500 GW in 2018. Additionally, as per the IRENA, the installed capacity of offshore wind power plants stood at 34,367 MW and that of onshore plants stood at 698,909 MW in 2020. The increasing installation of wind energy plants can be credited to the mounting concerns regarding environmental pollution, depleting fossil fuel reserves, and rising public awareness about renewable energy sources.

As wind towers are an essential part of wind power plants, the surging number of these plants will aid the wind tower market in advancing at a 7.4% CAGR during forecast period, from $26,140.5 million in 2015. Wind towers refer to the tall structures that support wind turbines and their components. Towers hold the nacelles and rotors of the turbines and blades. Wind turbines are placed at an optimum height to generate electrical energy from the wind. As higher-capacity turbines require high wind speeds, tall towers are being installed in onshore and offshore plants.

The selection of wind towers is based on the weight and structure of the nacelle. The strength of such towers depends on the type, weight, and gauge of the material used in their construction. At present, Vestas Wind Systems A/S, WINDAR Renovables, KGW Schweriner Maschinen-und Anlagenbau GmbH Suzlon Energy Ltd., CS Wind Corporation, Trinity Structural Towers Inc., General Electric Company, Siemens AG, and, Shanghai Taisheng Wind Power Equipment Co. Ltd. are offering tubular steel, hybrid, concrete, guyed-pole, and lattice towers for wind power plants.

According to P&S Intelligence, Asia-Pacific (APAC) dominated the wind tower market in the preceding years due to the high energy demand and significant growth in the wind energy industry. In recent years, China has installed the largest number of wind towers due to the presence of a large number of wind power plants in the country. According to the IRENA, the installed capacity of wind energy in China increased from 58 GW in 2019 to 111 GW in 2020.

Thus, the shift toward renewable energy sources, rising government support for establishing wind power plants, and soaring concerns regarding air pollution caused due to fossil fuel combustion will propel the installation of wind towers.

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What are Key Factors Responsible for Growth of Global Mechanical Energy Storage Market?

The increasing concern over the damage caused to the environment because of the large-scale usage of fossil fuels for power generation is one of the biggest factors contributing toward the development of mechanical energy storage systems all around the world. For instance, according to the International Energy Association (IEA), the world will need to increase the amount of stored energy from 176.5 GW in 2017 to 266 GW by 2030 for keeping global warming below 2 °C. 

The cost per kilo watt hour (kWh) of installation of mechanical energy storage systems is much lower as compared to the other types of energy storage systems. For example, the installation costs of compressed air energy storage (CAES) and pumped hydro storage (PHS) types of mechanical energy storage are $53/kWh and $21/kWh respectively, which are much lower than the other types of energy storage, which are usually between $100–$1000/kWh. Driven by these factors, the global mechanical energy storage market is predicted to demonstrate considerable growth over the coming years.

The most commonly adopted types of mechanical energy storage technology are compressed air energy storage (CAES), flywheel energy storage (FES), and pumped hydro storage (PHS). Out of these, the adoption of PHS type of mechanical energy storage is currently observed to be the highest throughout the world. For instance, according to the World Energy Council, over 95% of the global energy storage is currently met by the PHS technology. Moreover, this technology has been providing cost-effective large-scale energy storage solutions and supporting grid balancing services over the last few years.

A major trend currently being witnessed in the mechanical energy storage market is the application of energy storage solutions and various associated grid technologies in the utilities sector. Many utility asset companies and owners are increasingly adopting energy storage solutions in order to meet the high demand for energy during the peak hours and also for providing back-up power. According to a report published by the World Energy Council in January 2016, a sharp decline is expected to be observed in the costs of most of the energy storage technologies during the 2015–2030 period.

Globally, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is currently observing substantial usage of mechanical energy storage systems. This is attributed to the soaring investments being made by the governments of various APAC countries such as India and China in energy storage solutions. For example, as per the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), the total value of energy storage will increase to more than 300 GWh by 2025. North America is also expected to observe major growth in the adoption of energy storage technologies in the coming years, mainly on account of the burgeoning requirement of electricity storage systems in the region. 

Hence, it may safely be said that the adoption of mechanical energy storage technology will surge across the world in the years ahead, because of the increasing need for energy storage in order to curtail the global warming and rising pollution levels caused by the large-scale utilization of fossil fuels for power generation and the low costs of installation of the mechanical energy storage systems.

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Why is Use of Ultra-Thin Solar Cells Soaring in Asia-Pacific?

With the escalating pollution levels and depletion of fossil fuels, the demand for solar energy and other types of clean energy is rising sharply. Moreover, the falling manufacturing costs of ultra-thin solar cells are further boosting their sales across the globe. The price of a photovoltaic (PV) cell is a crucial factor which determines the overall cost of solar electricity. Although the levelized cost of energy (LCoE) of PV panels is less than that of other renewable energy sources, it is still significantly higher than that of fossil fuels. 

As per the International Energy Agency (IEA), the LCoE for coal will be $55.7 per Megawatt-hour (MWh) and around $66 per MWh for PV cells by 2020. The organization estimates that the LCoE for coal and PV cells will be equal by 2024 and $57.3 per MWh and $40.0 per MWh, respectively, by 2040. The decline in the prices of PV cells will be majorly driven by the increasing research and development (R&D) activities that are being conducted in these cells for improving their efficiency and reducing their cost.

Due to the aforementioned factors, the value of the ultra-thin solar cells market surged to $30.0 million in 2019 and the market will exhibit a CAGR of 56.9% from 2020 to 2030 (forecast period), as per the estimates of the market research organization, P&S Intelligence. In terms of the technology used for their development, ultra-thin solar cells are classified into cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS), and gallium arsenide (GaAs). Amongst these, the demand for CdTe-based solar cells was found to be the highest in 2019, as this was the only technology that can produce power output similar to that of crystalline silicon (c-Si)-based solar cells.

Moreover, the other technologies are still in the initial development stage and thus, find applications in test projects and laboratories. Geographically, the demand for ultra-thin solar cells will boom in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in the coming years. This will be because of the surging number of R&D projects that are being launched by various ultra-thin solar cell manufacturing companies in the region. These projects, which are primarily aimed at enhancing the power production capacity of these photovoltaic (PV) cells and reducing their purchasing cost, have resulted in the development of ultra-thin solar cells, which are being increasingly used in the automotive industry in the region.

Hence, it can be safely said that the sales of ultra-thin solar cells will shoot up in the forthcoming years, mainly because of their falling manufacturing costs and the rising popularity of solar energy across the world.

Read More: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/ultra-thin-solar-cells-market

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Why is Demand for Geothermal Power Shooting Up Globally?

With the growing demand for renewable energy and clean energy, on account of the escalating pollution levels and depletion of fossil fuels, the demand for geothermal energy is rising rapidly across the world. Moreover, due to the increasing focus on energy security and energy independence, many governments are enacting policies for encouraging the adoption of geothermal energy. For instance, the European Union (EU) aims to achieve at least 20% of their power needs with renewable energy sources by 2020, under the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). 

Additionally, many countries are taking initiatives such as focusing on launching geothermal energy projects, for reducing their oil imports, which is also fueling the expansion of the geothermal power market. Besides, the burgeoning requirement for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases is also creating lucrative growth opportunities for geothermal power producers across the world. Economies such as Germany, China, Australia, France, Portugal, and Ethiopia are making huge investments in geothermal energy, thereby offering immense opportunities for capacity expansion of geothermal energy plants.

Furthermore, geothermal power has various advantages over other renewable energy sources such as wind, bioenergy, and hydropower such as less requirement for large land areas, high availability, and the ability to cause zero or no liquid pollution because of the re-injection of effluent fluid and low atmospheric pollution. Due to the aforementioned factors, the revenue of the geothermal power market is expected to rise from $3,233.5 million in 2015 to $6,518.9 million by 2022. Furthermore, the market will progress at a CAGR of 11.6% from 2016 to 2022 (forecast period).

Thus, it can be said with surety that the demand for geothermal power will surge sharply in the coming years, primarily because of the growing requirement for renewable and clean energy, on account of the soaring pollution levels and implementation of stringent environmental protection laws as well as the enactment of supportive policies by the governments of several countries, and the rapid depletion of fossil fuel reserves all over the world.

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