SOL AR POWER Southeast Asia: A Bright Future for Solar
Southeast Asia Imminent solar power boom The demand for solar is on the rise, creating plenty of outstanding opportunities for solar installers and EPCs in the next few years. Southeast Asia is preparing for an imminent solar power boom. The combination of economic growth across the region and the decline in solar panel prices has created ideal conditions for widespread adoption of solar energy in the region. There were 47,002 new PV installations in Asia in 2016, and 64,168 in 2017 a cumulated annual growth rate of 2.6%*. Following this, there is great potential for further growth. Southeast Asia had an installed solar capacity of just over 3GW at the end of 2016. This number could more than quadruple by the end of 2020*. But it s not just economic growth and solar panel prices that point towards more demand for solar. Annual power demand growth across Southeast Asia stands at 6 per cent per year. With electricity costs high and infrastructure in remote areas undeveloped, solar is an attractive option for meeting the demand. In fact, many governments are choosing solar primarily for economic reasons rather than environmental ones, setting high renewable energy targets. Thailand and Malaysia have committed to making renewables 18 per cent of the overall energy generation mix and the Philippines has set a target of 35 per cent. And there s one more important factor that bodes well for the future of solar in Southeast Asia: sunshine, and lots of it. Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) is high across the region. For example, Thailand s GHI is 1,600 to 2,000 kwh/ m2/day compared to 1,000 to 1,200 kwh/m2/ day in Germany, Europe s solar leader. This combination of factors means that there will be plenty of outstanding opportunities for solar installers and EPCs in the next few years. ABB is at the forefront of some significant solar projects in the region, providing these EPCs and installers with a wide range of reliable sun-to-socket solar solutions. If you d like to achieve even more with your solar installations, get in touch with your local ABB sales representative, or visit http://abb.com/solarinverters
Southeast Asia Case study examples
Taiwan: A greenhouse powered by green energy Taiwan s Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs, outlined its targets for renewable energy installation in The Renewable Energy Development Act. The Act set a renewable energy installation target of 20GW by 2025 and the government has backed this up with a pledge to invest $32.7 billion in PV by 2025. Growth in number of solar installations has been impressive. There were 1,678 new PV installations from 2016 to 2018, a cumulated annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28.9%*. The CAGR between 2018 and 2022 is predicted to be between 25 and 30%*. The private sector is also increasingly supportive of PV projects, with First Bank and Cathay United Bank both giving their backing to PV plants. To meet the demand for renewable energy, we re supporting solar installers and EPCs with excellent service, innovative products, compatible prices and tailored training. We agreed a deal with SunnyRich, a leading solar system integrator company in Taiwan with a 20MW customer base. SunnyRich promotes the use of our TRIO-50 inverters to increase the system reliability and efficiency of new plants and installations. We re providing extensive training to SunnyRich s engineering team to enlarge their installation and after sales service capability. This partnership has enabled an innovative solar installation. Decimated by one of the most severe typhoons in living memory, South Taiwan suffered greatly from floods, landslides and earth flow. The Pingtung County Government issued an urgent recovery plan, which included a solar powered greenhouse for healthy crops and to allow the land to recover. In partnership with SunnyRich, we were able to answer the call. SunnyRich successfully built the solar powered greenhouse using ABB s TRIO-50 inverters. The solar system integrator could count on these inverters to create a reliable and efficient greenhouse. It was the ideal solution for an area that needed a burst of positive energy.
Singapore: IKEA rooftops go solar Commercial rooftop installation costs have decreased by 30% in the last five years, allowing companies such as IKEA to achieve operational cost and carbon footprint goals. In Singapore, one of our customers is counting on us for a new rooftop solar solution for home furnishings giant IKEA. Phoenix Solar, a leading solar system integrator, used 20 TRIO-50 solar inverters to power a rooftop plant at IKEA s flagship store. The TRIO-50 combines the performance and price competitiveness of a central inverter with the portability and flexibility of a string inverter. These inverters will help the plant to generate an expected 1.3m kilowatt (kw) hours per year, enough to power more than 280 households. IKEA s flagship Singapore store expects to save $2.4m on its electrical bills over the next 10 years as a result. IKEA is so pleased with the results that it is planning to deploy Trio-50s across other IKEA rooftops throughout Southeast Asia, including Malaysia and Thailand. Commercial rooftop installation costs have decreased by 30 per cent in the last five years, allowing companies such as IKEA to achieve operational cost and carbon footprint goals. And our sun-to-socket portfolio and innovation is ideally placed to meet the project needs of solar specialists such as Phoenix Solar. This in turn allows them to meet the needs of corporate customers such as IKEA and fulfil their commitment to the wider adoption of solar power in Asia.
Vietnam: Factory gets PV power boost A 75kWp solar power installation has helped inject more than 50kW of clean power into ABB s High Voltage and Distribution Solutions factory in Vietnam s BacNinh province. The electricity generated by the PV installation is used to power a waste treatment system, a canteen serving more than 200 people and part of the factory s lighting. As well as lowering environmental impact and making Vietnam a more sustainable society, the solution also allows the factory to save energy and support peak demand. The system includes ABB three-phase solar inverters (TRIO-27.6, TRIO-TM-50.0), an ABB Weather Station (VNS800) and an ABB smart ACB Ekip. All the inverters can be controlled, maintained and monitored remotely through any web-enabled device (phone, tablet, PC) thanks to the built-in Web User Interface (WUI). The Weather Station helps overcome challenging weather conditions, automatically monitoring site meteorological conditions and PV panel temperature in real-time and transmitting sensor measurements to the ABB Ability platform. And ABB s ACB Ekip enables the renewable energy to be seamlessly integrated with the existing grid supply. The surrounding community also benefits from the new installation. The factory employs 900 people across key metro areas in Vietnam and the end customer gets cleaner, more consistent energy thanks to increased availability at peak times, which is less reliant on local power grids. All in all, it shows how sustainable energy technology can secure a long-term profitable future for Southeast Asia.
Thailand: Reliable power form solar rooftop plant ABB s string inverters have helped launch Thailand s largest solar rooftop installation for self-consumption. Bangkok Public Glass Company is the largest manufacturer of glass containers in the ASEAN region. When the company wanted to expand its alternative energy supplies, it counted on ABB for the solution. We supplied 80 TRIO 50.0-TL string inverters for the 5 MW solar rooftop facility at its factory in Ayutthaya province. We also provided supervision for installation and commissioning through its EPC, Gunkel Engineering PCL, Thailand s leading provider of renewable energy. This integrated technology and service solution optimizes the performance, reliability and return on investment of the solar installation. In turn, the solar plant helps Bangkok Glass lower their operating costs and at the same time improves their environmental profile. Thailand is so far the leading nation in southeast Asia for promoting utility scale solar applications. There were 1,047 new PV installations from 2016 to 2018, a cumulated annual growth rate (CAGR) of 46.9%*. The CAGR between 2018 and 2022 is predicted to be between 45 and 50%*. And with this further shift to solar now expected, the choice and efficiency of ABBs sun-to-socket portfolio is perfectly placed to meet the rising demand.
Over to you What could you achieve with your next installation? We have a widespread presence throughout Southeast Asia, ready to help you take advantage of the growing demand for solar in this region. With our extensive portfolio of reliable solar solutions and expert resources, you can count on us, whatever the scale of your project. To find out how ABB can help you achieve even more with your installations, visit http://abb.com/solarinverters and get in touch with your local sales rep. Copyright 2017 ABB. All rights reserved. Specifications subject to change without notice. * All data referenced sourced from ABB & HIS Markit.