Recording of Wednesday, June 19, 2024 | The smarter E Europe 2024 | Conference Program | Language: English | Duration: 17:13 .

BELECTRIC's Johannes Linder Discusses the Viability of Tracker Systems in Germany Amid Changing Market Conditions and Emerging Hybrid PV Power Plant Trends

Johannes Linder, Director of System Design and Innovation at BELECTRIC, provided an insightful presentation on the company's core competencies and recent trends in solar power systems. BELECTRIC specializes in system design optimization, technology evaluation, EPC services, operations, and maintenance. They have a substantial presence with 2.2 GW under contract and 5 GW installed since 2001. In his recap from previous years’ presentations, Johannes discussed how tracker systems can be profitable not only in sunny southern locations but also in the Nordics due to their superior power-to-area ratio. He highlighted that while trackers are rising globally and finding applications particularly within agri-PV designs in Germany, they haven't overtaken conventional PV systems significantly due to market conditions. Market dynamics such as high tariffs combined with low-interest rates favor area-efficient systems like flat fixed-yield setups; conversely, lower tariffs paired with higher interest rates make yield-optimized approaches like tracker systems more attractive. Despite this potential for profit through better PPAs during peak grid times (with declining premiums), module price drops balance out these benefits making it less evident why trackers haven’t achieved significant breakthroughs yet compared to fixed-yield installations. This year’s focus is on hybrid PV power plants integrating co-located batteries optimizing interactions between battery storage and photovoltaic generation—indicating a shift towards enhancing system design efficiency amidst evolving market landscapes.

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Speaker

Johannes Linder
Director System Design & Innovation
BELECTRIC GmbH
Germany

Talk of session: Hybrid PV Power Plants I: Providing Flexible Generation for the Energy System

Hybrid power plants play a crucial role in addressing the flexibility limitations of variable renewables. Solar and wind and/or battery storage systems improve grid-stability, allow to integrate more renewable energy and offer potential additional revenue for power plant operators.

This session will include:

• Hybrid solar power plant case studies
• Status and developments of hybrid solar power plant systems
• Policy frameworks for a solar-based hybrid power supply

Further Talks of this session:

Welcome and Introduction

Speaker

Jenny Chase
Lead Solar Analyst
BloombergNEF
United Kingdom

To Talk

Hybrid Wind-Solar in the Age of Saturated Grids

Speaker

Kyle David Ryan
Senior Project Engineer, Solar Engineering
RWE Renewables Europe & Australia GmbH
Germany

To Talk

Zerbst: Developing Germany's Largest Hybrid PV-BESS Project

Speaker

Laurent Talbot
Head of Energy Storage
Statkraft Erneuerbare GmbH
Germany

To Talk

How Optimized Schedules & Revenue Stacking Make Hybrid Plants Profitable

Speaker

Isabella Caschetto
Product Manager Digital Services
SMA Solar Technology AG
Deutschland

To Talk

Fire Chat: How Can We Find Enough Flexibility in the Energy System for the Solar Industry to Build a Terawatt a Year?

Speaker

Howard Wenger
President
Nextracker
Spain

To Talk