| Work Detail |
Created by Polish scientists, the model is based on GIS and can be adapted to different market conditions. The researchers applied this to the Polish market and found that 3.61% of the countrys available land can accommodate utility-scale photovoltaic systems.
Researchers from the Polish Academy of Sciences have developed a novel method for analyzing land eligibility and conducting techno-economic evaluations of commercial-scale photovoltaic systems.
The new approach, which the researchers called Spatio-Temporal Scientific Computations (Silicon), is based on a geographic information system (GIS) that helps analyze geographic cells with a spatial resolution of 100 m.
“To address the issue of country-specific cost elements, the model incorporates a breakdown of the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) typically used by governmental and intergovernmental organizations,” the research group clarified. “The proposed approach can be used to develop national and regional strategies focused on large-scale photovoltaic installations, facilitating the achievement of renewable energy goals.”
The method consists of two main modules: one aimed at analyzing land eligibility and another focused on techno-economic evaluation.
Regarding land eligibility, the method uses two types of data sets, either in raster or vector format. A raster dataset is a GIS dataset format that represents data as grids of cells or pixels and is ideal for continuous phenomena such as elevation and temperature. On the other hand, a vector data set represents features such as points, lines, or polygons with precise boundaries, making it suitable for marking data such as roads and cities.
“In the case of vector data sets, the geometries are expanded by applying a buffer or converted to a raster format,” the researchers said. “For raster data sets, map pixels that represent the geographic extent of the country are assigned binary values. Subsequently, exclusions related to land availability are applied to indicate buffer distances and land specifications.”
The model is trained to find an area that fits a utility PV system, based on some exclusion criteria. For example, the method knows not to place a system within 5 km of an airport, 120 m from power lines and 200 m from bird protection areas. It also excludes geographic areas with elevations greater than 2,000 m or slopes greater than 30 degrees.
The result of this first step is all the eligible land that a country could offer for large-scale PV deployment. This result is then used as input in the techno-economic assessments model, which returns results such as the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) at the same 100 m resolution. For that calculation to be applicable to different economic zones, the method asks to enter information, such as local installation, hardware and software costs.
“The second component is based on established financial concepts, such as capital investment costs, operation and maintenance costs, and the levelized cost of electricity,” the academics explained, noting that the costs can be transformed into formulas adaptable to various studies. of cases.
To validate their model, the scientists applied it to Poland and found that around 3.61% of the countrys available land can accommodate commercial-scale solar photovoltaic systems, corresponding to an area of ??approximately 11,277.70 km2. Depending on the efficiency of land use, that area can be used to host photovoltaic capacity ranging between 394.64 GW and 563.77 GW. The results also indicate that the LCOE could range between €0.043 ($0.045)/kWh and €0.049/kWh, with a national average of €0.045/kWh.
“Furthermore, the majority of sites suitable for the deployment of large-scale PV systems were found to be concentrated in four regions located in central and western Poland (Lodzkie, Lubelskie, Podlaskie and Mazowiecki),” the report notes. . the team added. “These regions represent more than 50% of the total capacity and electricity production potential. Furthermore, Mazowiecki represents around 20% of the potential installable capacity.” |
