solar

Europe wants solar panels without forced labor. The only problem is that almost everyone comes from China

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In the early 2000s, Europe was consecrated as The largest solar energy manufacturer worldwide. After more than two decades, that dominant position is a memory against the unstoppable advance of China, which has achieved that more than 80% of global production leaves its factories. A paradigm shift. China has a very particular look of seeing the world in the long term, thanks to that philosophy he has managed to position himself as a leader in solar energy. His method has managed to manufacture cheapest solar panels thanks to a subsidy strategy, vertical integration and almost absolute control of supply chains, such as has detailed Bloombergnef. Meanwhile, European manufacturers have had to compete with those priceswhich has triggered a wave of factor closures, bankruptcies and personnel reductions. Europe’s response. The old continent wants to make its own solar panels again, but motivated by an ethical and geopolitical pressure in the sector. According to Financial TimesThe scrutiny over the Xinjiang region, in China, has grown, which concentrates about 20 % of the world production of polysilicio and where various Western governments have denounced violations of human rights and forced labor against the Uigur population. Faced with this, countries like the United Kingdom have taken a firm position. In April, the British Government declared that your state energy company may not use solar panels linked to forced labor. This ethical trend could force European solar developers to rethink their supply chain and prioritize more transparent suppliers, even if they are less competitive in price. There are already measures underway. On the one hand, in a more ambitious attempt to recover part of its energy autonomy, the EU approved last year The Net Zero Industry Law. This regulation forces to consider not only the price, but also criteria such as the resilience of the supply chain, the environmental impact and the local origin by making public purchases of clean technologies. On the other hand, European products will be prioritized in tenders to equip hospitals, public buildings and other state infrastructure with solar energy. According to Solar Power Europe for Financial Timesthis regulation could create a market of up to 9 gigawatts of solar capacity for “resilient” products already in 2026. But the numbers do not lie. The distance with China is abysmal. Today, Chinese solar panels are sold at about $ 0.09 per watt, a radical decrease from the dollar per watt in 2012, According to Bloombergnef. European companies simply cannot compete in costs compared to the scale and efficiency of the Chinese model. There is something more background. Not only is it a matter of assembly, but strategic minerals. In a broader context, starting a mine can take up to 17 years since it is activated all protocols. Instead, China has been assuring its sources of lithium, rare earths, copper and silicon for 20 years. In this way, even with the new EU regulations working perfectly, the so -called “resilience market” would cover less than 14 % of the solar capacity added in Europe, According to Financial Times. And there would be no guarantees that these panels be produced by European manufacturers: they could come from India, South Korea or other countries that do not use materials of Chinese origin. Will it go through the hoop? Here the main question that arises is: Is Europe ready to assume the political economic cost of reindustrializing its solar sector? Or will it accept the dependence of a cheap but geopolitically complex supplier? For now, the measures seem insufficient to significantly alter the structure of the market. The European energy transition progresses, but does it mounted on Chinese panelseven when their governments promote technological and ethical sovereignty speeches in commerce. Europe has aroused a race that she helped to start. Recovering the lost terrain will be difficult. The sun does not expect, and China already closed the umbrella. Image | Climate Group Xataka | Filling mirrors space is a booming business. THE OBJECTIVE: DO NOT MAKE NIGHT ON SOLAR PANELS

Do not get night on solar panels

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Suppose you acquire the power to cancel the night in a certain place in the world; of reflecting sunlight from space to illuminate something concrete, so that it is made from day in a given area. What would you use it? Orbital reflect. A Californian startup wants to obtain this power to illuminate the photovoltaic panels in the hours close to dawn and sunset, when I miss its renewable energy, and when the energy companies could sell more. Orbital reflect has just received 20 million dollars in financing, which will use to deploy a constellation of satellites equipped with gigantic mirrors. Its objective is to reflect sunlight towards Earth on demand. The sun to the letter. The concept is simple: to increase the production of solar energy on the earth directing sunlight to the large photovoltaic plants of the soil before dawn and after sunset. Like the space solar stations, but without the complications of concentrating the energy in a laser or microwave beam, placing large mirrors in orbit would significantly expand the light time that a solar farm receives to generate electricity, solving one of the great Peros of solar energy: its intermittency. The company has already performed tests with a mirror in a hot air balloon at almost 3 km on a solar farm, generating 500 watts of energy per square meter of photovoltaic panel with approximately half of the brightness of the sun. A first demonstration. The first orbital reflect mission is scheduled for the spring of 2026. A demonstration satellite will test a 18 x 18 meter mirror made with mylar plastic tensioning to form a solid reflective surface. It is expected to reach a brightness of 0.1 lux, comparable to a full moon on a clear night. The mission aims to illuminate 10 iconic locations during the night to generate dissemination and public interest. An ambitious goal. The initial idea contemplates a constellation of 57 small satellites in a synchronous polar orbit with the sun, about 600 kilometers of altitude. They would provide about 30 additional minutes of sunlight to photovoltaic plants. In the long term, orbital reflects plans to launch a constellation of thousands of satellites with much larger reflectors, up to 55 x 55 meters. On this scale, the total luminosity of the constellation would be comparable to that of the sun at noon. Other applications. Although the impulse to solar energy is the final objective, the company has plans to generate short and medium term income with other applications. Since its foundation in 2021, the company has received more than 260,000 applications from 157 countries for its sunlight delivery service. Among future services, they offer the lighting of night construction projects, public events, disaster help efforts, and defense operations. “We want it to be as easy as possible: you enter a website, you tell us your GPS coordinates and we send you some sunlight after dusk,” explains the CEO of orbital reflect, Ben Nowack. Science fiction made reality. Image | Orbital reflect In Xataka | Space energy never worked. A military escalation in orbit is making it come true

The solar energy that does work without electricity

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The blackout of April 28 left Spain and Portugal without light, even surprising those who had solar panels at home. How is it possible? The answer is in the connection From facilities to the electricity grid, but there is a solution that comes from Seville. Short. The Toscano company has developed Combi Max, a differential that, when it detects a supply cut, electrically isolates the house of the rest of the network and allows you to continue using the electricity generated by the solar panels. Also, like have indicated on their websitethere is another more complete version and with extra protection against overtops and overloads. More in depth. The device developed in Seville works isolating the electrical installation of the house when the light goes, which allows us to continue using the solar energy generated at that time. In fact, its effectiveness is not only theoretical: during the blackout of April 28, several users managed to maintain the supply thanks to this system. “Correos have reached us by thanking us,” said Luis Toscano, founder of the company, In an interview with the sixth column. There are limitations. It can only be used as long as there is sunlight and the installation is generating electricity. In addition, it is not suitable for feeding high consumption appliances such as furnaces, hobs or electric cars. On the other hand, it does allow the essential elements of the home, such as the fridge, the lighting or the load of the mobile, which can make a big difference during a light cut. But it does not replace a battery. It is a great solution for the day and for moments of blackout with sun, but does not replace a battery system. For that reason, if you want to keep the supply also during the night or in cloudy days, it is necessary have energy storage. Having panels is not enough. The blackout has been a warning: it is not enough to generate energy, we must also know how to manage it. This new device, Combi Max, is a step in that address. In an increasingly electrified world it is a big step. Image | Unspash Xataka | The signals were there: Europe detected the blackout oscillations in Spain but did not know how to anticipate collapse

The ice age had a solar storm so powerful that its effects can still be detected in trees

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How powerful can it become a solar storm? More than one will have ever asked this question for mere curiosity. And also out of necessity. Answering this question is important in order to prepare in the face of potential storms of great magnitude, but it is complicated: we have a limited sample and the most intensity events are those that happen less frequently. But now we have a new track. The mother of all storms. A recent study has analyzed The remnants of the greatest solar storm of which we have record to date. The storm, about 500 times more powerful than the largest solar storm since the beginning of the space era, would have happened about 14,300 years ago. Although We already had enough previous clues about this eventThe new study facilitates the work of preparing for such events, and can also help us improve our radiocarbon dating techniques. 14,300 years ago. The discovery of this solar storm has been possible thanks to the detection of a radiocarbon peak, the well-known carbon-14, happened towards the year 12,350 AEC, towards the end of the last glacial period. This implies that the storm is not only the most powerful of which we have record, it is also the only solar storm known outside the Holocene, the contemporary geological era (if we exclude the existence debated from the anthropocene). Different storms. The storm analyzed was a solar particle storm. There are different events That we can catalog as solar storms, each with its characteristics, such as radio blackouts, solar radiation storms or geomagnetic storms. Radiation storms, such as the one studied, are produced when large amounts of charged particles from the sun reach the magnetic field of the earth. This field tends to divert the particles towards the poles, making the effect on high latitudes greater. Carbon 14. The team responsible for the new study He turned to a new model Chemist-Climatic, Socol: 14C-EX, for analysis. This is a model designed to rebuild solar storms of particles in climatic conditions of the past glaciations. Thanks to this model, they explain, it was possible to verify that this solar storm was 18% stronger than the event of the year 775 EC, the largest solar storm known until the discovery of this event. “Compared to the largest event in the Modern Era of Satellites (the 2005 particle storm) the old 12,350 AC event was about 500 times more intense, according to our estimates,” explained in a press release Kseniia Golubenko, co -author of the study The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Earth and Planetary Science Letters. More than establishing a record. The study allows us to establish a new framework to the “most pessimistic scenario,” says Golubenko. Knowing what we can face gives us essential tools when preventing this type of event. The study can also help scientists who study something very different: archaeologists. The analysis has been based on carbon-14, a very important isotope when it comes to very diverse organic matter remains, from fabrics to ships. Understanding the peaks of this isotope caused by the impact of loaded particles from the Sun can help us to date back objects created in past times. In Xataka | NASA has calculated how much time we would have to prepare before a devastating solar storm and has got to work to get that time Image | NASA/GSFC/CIL

Its solar panel in tandem already exceeds the theoretical limit of silicon

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The efficiency of solar panels always andStá in object of studyand the only country capable of developing new advances is China. In fact, the company Longi has achieved have even a certificate of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the United States. Short. The Chinese giant of the solar modules He has achieved A new record in solar energy conversion, reaching 34.85% efficiency in a pervskita solar cell in two terminal tandem. In this way, Longi has managed to overcome The previous 34.6% record that Longi herself held two years ago. A key technical advance. To understand the feat, it is important to know the tandem design. This structure combines an upper cape of Perovskita and a lower crystalline silicon, allowing to capture different ranges of the solar spectrum. Through a technique called bilayer interface passive, two layers are introduced that improve the passage of electricity between both active layers. On the one hand, lithium fluoride (LIF) acts as a barrier against load losses. On the other, the ethylendiamium diyoduro (EDAI) fills the nanometric scale holes, ensuring a more efficient load extraction. It’s not just about materials. The Chinese company has also redesigned the structure of the crystalline silicon, making the frontal surface more rough to facilitate the adhesion of the Perovskita and maintaining a standard texture in the rear to optimize the capture of infrared light. This texturing improves the absorption of light and, therefore, the efficiency of the panel. Achievement is not less. Apart from overcoming its own record, the Chinese company has overcome The so-called Shockley-Queisser limit. In other words, it has managed to exceed the maximum efficiency limit marked by 33.7% for a single union. However, tandem cells, which combine different materials such as Perovskita and silicon, can overcome this limit by taking advantage of a broader range of the solar spectrum from the theoretical aspect. For example, research has shown that tandem cells can achieve higher efficiencies 40%and theoretically, some configurations could reach up to 60% . Institutional support. Thanks to the participation of the universities project such as Suzhou and Hong Kong (HKPU), together with the Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute, They have allowed A Longi perfects its silicon hetero -union technology and optimizing manufacturing processes, bringing Tandem technology to a more commercializable level. The next challenge. Longi has shown that the solar efficiency roof remains a mobile objective. However, he will now have this laboratory technology to the mass market. The durability of tandem cells, production costs and industrial scalability They will be key factors To determine if this record becomes a commercial standard or another technical advance without immediate practical application. Image | Pixabay Xataka | New record of efficiency of a solar panel thanks to the Perovskita. The “miraculous material” already exceeds the theoretical limit of conventional panels

diurnal solar surpluses, night spikes … and increasingly cheaper batteries

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For years, conversation about the future of Spanish electricity has been reduced to fear of two words: “China photovoltaic”. Panels cheap and reasonably efficient. But the final weapon is not arriving in containers from Shanghai, but increasingly frequently in the van of a neighborhood installer: lithium batteries packs that allow reducing the dependence of the conventional electricity grid. Cut the cable. Or, at least, loosen it. The cheaper that changes the rules Past, present and future of the storage price: 2015: Storing a kilowatt-Hora cost more than 1,100 dollars/kWh. 2024: according to Bloombergnefthe average price of the pack was at 115 dollars/kWh (about 105 euros/kWh), after a 20% drop in the last year. 2026-2027: By then, the same consultant estimates that the psychological bar of the 100 dollars/kWh will be broken. With these prices, Storing domestic energy costs less than the term valley of the PVPC ratewhich now ranges between 0.11 and approximately 0.13 euros/kWh. That makes the battery the natural complement of any roof with panels and a direct enemy of the demand managed by the distributors. To understand the impact of this cheaper on the accounts of the companies in the sector, you have to understand how they earn money. Iberdrola. Its 2024 ebitda, According to its annual resultsit was almost 17,000 million euros, broken down like this: Networks: 6,423 million euros. 38% of the total. Generation and customers: 10,425 million euros. 62%. 52% of Iberdrola’s investment goes to networks, its most stable and regulated segment. Endesa. Its 2024 Ebitda reached 5,300 million euros, with a similar distribution: Electric distribution: 1,750 million (approximately 33%). The rest comes mainly from generation and marketing. Naturgy. With an Ebitda of 5,400 million in 2024: ELECTRIC NETWORKS AND GAS: They represent approximately 45% of the business. The company has increased its investment in this segment by 15% compared to the previous year. For all these companies, Each kilowatt-hora that does not circulate through its networks directly impacts its profitability. Today, the threat is hypothetical, but tomorrow it will be arithmetic. Battery and panel: the combo that takes off According to data from Auto: In 2021, only 2% of residential facilities included battery. In 2024 that figure reached 71%. And they are not just coastal chalets, hybrid kits reach peripheral single -family and even communities of pioneering neighbors. With subsidies and 2.0TD rateamortization drops between 6 and 8 years, and energy self -sufficiency touches 80% in optimal conditions. Electric grid as electron pipe begins to stagger. And not only because of the fall in the demand managed, but because the flow is reversed. In the moments of sun and low demand, thousands of homes are beginning to return energy to the network or simply not need it. For a company that invests billions in transport and distribution infrastructures, that is a problem. But the regulatory framework is starting to move. And your address is not clear. The CNMC has on the table The new toll methodology for the period 2026–2031. Among the Options in consultation: Move part of the fixed costs of the network at the end of power, and begin to remunerate flexibility services, such as storage or coordinated discharge of domestic batteries. They are two changes with opposite consequences: The first penalizes the self -consumer with drums, although he barely consumes. The second rewards it, if your battery helps to balance the network at critical moments. Everything will depend on how normative design is related. And who is heard more. But for now, the government Last the arrival of aid for energy storage through 700 million Feder funds. This transformation is not an isolated case. Several European and American electricity have understood the message before the Spanish. And they have begun to move. Nextera has already hired 81 GW from Solar With storage for 2027, with a good part behind the accountant. That is, in homes. Enel x He has launched virtual power plants pilots (VPPS) In Italy and agreements to display regulated batteries. EDF He is exploring flexibility markets in the United Kingdom and France. In Spain, Endesa has timidly begun to explore this land with its project FlexiCy In Malaga. The background logic is clear: The network will remain necessary, but less as a unidirectional route and more as a smart platform for exchange and balance. And the interesting thing It is not so much the exact point in which we are, but the slope of the curve. According to The International Energy Agencyto meet the objectives set in COP28, world storage capacity It must be multiplied by six before 2030. Of which 1,200 GW must come from batteries. Spain, with its diurnal solar surpluses and nocturnal peaks of consumption, is one of the most fertile land in Europe for that transition. Despite the fear of these years to the threat that came by boat – Chinese plates – the real threat is the one that arrives in a van. In lithium, phosphate and iron packages that allow each home to keep their own energy. In that context, The network business is focused on a transformation: to bill kilowatts to offer guarantees of energy continuity. And there is the key: whoever adapts to the new model will not only resist better. You can also lead it. In Xataka | We have second to second the data on the great blackout in Spain. They complicate everything even more Outstanding image | EcoFlow

Having solar panels at home sounds very good in case of national blackout. The problem is that they don’t work

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The national blackout that Spain has suffered It has been historicalbut has also sown the doubt. While the vast majority of citizens ran out of light, in the street there was “life” in some supermarkets or marques that made the use of other renewable alternatives. Surely also, today more than ever many will ask about the need to have a solar installation in their home, which leads us to another question: how does a network of domestic panels work before a national blackout? Installation in normal conditions. Before talking about the case of a blackout as the one that occurred in Spain, it is convenient to explain the most basic of A “standard” installation In a typical home. In most cases, solar panels capture the radiation of the sun and generate what we call DC (DC). This current passes through an investor that converts it in turn in alternating current (CA), and that is precisely what we use in homes. In Spain and in almost all countries, most solar facilities are connected to the electricity network (known systems as on-Grid). This allows, on the one hand, to consume solar energy directly in the house. On the other, pour the surplus to the network (which entitles economic compensation, such as the net balance or Simplified compensation). Finally, of course, it allows you to receive electricity from the network when there is not enough solar generation (for example, at night or on cloudy days). The problem occurs when there is a situation like that occurred yesterday. Installation in blackouts. When you have a photovoltaic installation in the house of only panels and there is a blackout, something contradictory but very important happens: even if you have solar panels working, the sky is sunny and the beginning of the day, your house is also It is left without electricity. As? Yes, this occurs by security regulations (for example, in Europe under the standard VDE 0126-1-1 and similar), all solar investors connected to the network must detect the loss of tension and turn off immediately, is what is called Anti-Isla protection. The reason? The reason for this “cut” is to protect network maintenance technicians: if there were thousands of houses by sending electricity to a supposedly “dead” network, it could be lethal for workers They are at that time repairing the failure. Therefore, if you have only solar panels connected to the network, you cannot use electricity during a blackout. Your solar panels are automatically disconnected. There is no more. The solution: batteries. If you also have batteries, the thing changes, although here the situation varies depending on the type of investor and configuration you have. If you have hybrid investors (solar + battery), there are modern investors that already allow to continue operating in what is called Island or back-up mode. This means that when they detect a blackout, they are physically disconnected from the network and come to feed only your house using solar energy and energy stored in your batteries. In addition, there are also systems for backup investors (The so-called back-up inverters), where a separate system is used that can feed a specific part of the house (for example, fridge, essential lights or internet). One More Thing. But even so, for this to work you need lithium or lead batteries properly sizeda hybrid investor compatible with operation in island mode or an inverter with backup function (Back-UP), a automatic cutting system that separates your home from the public network in case of blackout guaranteeing safety, and finally an electrical panel prepared to isolate non-essential loads (for example, it makes no sense to keep the electric oven or air conditioning on if the energy is limited). In any case and to place all this in perspective in the Spanish landscape, only 33% of facilities Current domestic lots in Spain include batteries. This means that most households with solar panels would continue to suffer electric cuts during a blackout like the one that occurred yesterday. The reasons are very varied, but the extra cost of investment of them after the solar installation (already large) is key. The promise of self -supply. All this leads to a final question: Is it possible to be self -sufficient (energetically) in Spain? The short response is no. The promise of solar self -supply on the peninsula is based on taking advantage of the high solar radiation (Spain receives on average between 1,600 and 2,000 kWh/m²/year) to generate clean energy and reduce dependence on the electricity grid, especially in single -family homes. Thanks to photovoltaic self -consumption and the Price drop Of the solar panels (more than 80% have fallen in the last decade), today it is technically possible to cover between 60% and 80% of the annual consumption of an average house in Spain only with solar energy, and in some cases, almost 100% If appropriate storage batteries are installed (although with the network hitch). The problem. However, self -supply has important limits: solar production is intermittent (there is no generation of night and lowers a lot in winter or cloudy days), the batteries remain expensive (between 4,000 and 9,000 euros a complete domestic installation) and its capacity only allows a few hours or days of autonomy without network. Plus: We already said it, the current legislation requires that the systems connected to the network be disconnected in blackouts if they are not equipped to function in Isla mode, which implies that, without a specific design (and of large disbursement), even with solar panels, you could run out of electricity in general cuts. Image | Pxhere In Xataka | What is the “energy zero” and why the supply can go suddenly but it takes hours to recover In Xataka | Spain is dark: a general blackout has left us all without light

Normal, with solar load and crank. Five external batteries to have the mobile loaded during a blackout

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Behind him Mass blackout That we suffer yesterday throughout the Peninsula, it has become clear that it is convenient to have one or more PowerBank (or external batteries) at home so that at least I can have the mobile with drums. But … which one to choose? In this article we have gathered different external batteries that can be very useful at a time with which we live yesterday with a light cut of many hours. IPOSIBLE WITH SOLAR LOAD by 35.95 euros With coupon, an external battery with solar panels. ANKER LAPTOP by 99.99 eurosan external battery that allows recharging to laptops. Xiaomi Redmi Fast Charge Power Bank by 14.99 eurosa very cheap external battery that has a good load capacity. Wastde with solar load and crank by 59.99 eurosan external battery designed to use it at all times. Anker Zolo by 20.89 eurosan external pocket battery with 30W load. IPOSIBLE WITH SOLAR LOAD One of the most interesting proposals of this list is External Iposible batterywhich is at Amazon at a price of 39.95 euros, although selecting the store coupon stays in 35.95 euros. And it is interesting because its capacity of 26,800 mAh is recharged by solar load, so we can be ready even if we have no light. Comes with four waterproof solar panels that can be folded, includes several USB ports (both USB-C as USB-A and Microusb) and its construction offers water resistance, blows and dust. The brand mentions that the battery offers more than 1,600 load life cycles. * Some price may have changed from the last review ANKER LAPTOP On the other hand, if what we are looking for is an external battery that even allows us to recharge a laptop (useful if the light cut has caught us when we were working), the ANKER LAPTOP It can be a very good purchase option. Costs 99.99 euros in Amazon and is very complete. The Anker Laptop is an external battery that comes with a capacity of 25,000 mAh. Includes three USB-C ports and offers a loading power up to 100Wso you can recharge a good assortment of devices. In addition, it allows recharging up to four devices at once. * Some price may have changed from the last review Xiaomi Redmi Fast Charge Power Bank If what we are looking for is an external economic battery, but also very useful, the Xiaomi Redmi Fast Charge Power Bank Right now it costs 14.99 euros In the official store. In addition, it comes with a capacity of 20,000 mAh, offers a power of 18W. Xiaomi’s external battery comes with a couple of USB-A ports, a USB-C port and another microusb. It also has temperature protectionagainst the short circuits, against overcurrent and also against the overtheions. Xiaomi Redmi Fast Charge Power Bank * Some price may have changed from the last review Wastde with solar load and crank Another of the most interesting proposals of this list is the Wastde external batterywhich comes both with solar load and with a crank. Its price at Amazon is 59.99 euros and stands out mainly for these two reasons: it can be recharged through the solar load or using the crank (very useful for the night). In addition to this, it comes with three output cables (Lightning, USB-C and Microusb) and three output ports (two USB-A and a USB-C). It allows to recharge many devices at the same time, has a capacity of 26,800 mAh and includes a flashlight with three modes: SOS, strobe and continuous. Wastde with solar load and crank * Some price may have changed from the last review Anker Zolo If what we are looking for is an external pocket battery that occupies very little space, the Anker Zolo It can be a very good purchase option. It is located at a price at a price of 20.89 euros And it can be stored practically in any pocket, since its dimensions are approximately 119.9 x 73.4 x 31.4 mm. In addition to this, the external battery offers a 30W load powerincludes an integrated USB-C cable, its capacity is 10,000 mAh and can be recharged in a short time thanks to its 20W power. * Some price may have changed from the last review Some of the links of this article are affiliated and can report a benefit to Xataka. In case of non -availability, offers may vary. Images | IPOSIBLE, ANKER, XIAOMI, WASTDE In Xataka | What do you need (according to the EU) for your survival kit and how much can it cost you? In Xataka | Best Power Bank to load your mobile phone. Which to buy and recommended external batteries

The US deserts have 1,200 GW solar for AI. The only problem is that Big Tech do not dare to use them

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The Data centers They are the new 21st century factories. And like any factory, they need energy. A lot of energy. The main technology companies are building and operating Great data centers that allow offering services (video or Streaming video gamesfor example), but also where the different models of artificial intelligence. The problem is that They need more and morewhich translates into a growing energy demand. And although there are those who bet on the nuclear power and for the reactivation of fossil fuels, a study considers that the future is in the Solar energy outside the energy network. The problem is that, although the solution sounds great, it is not being applied. Hyperscalists. This is an important term. Technology companies that operate cloud computing infrastructures on a global scale are known as ‘hyperscalist’. Its data centers are crucial for the development of digital services, but also for the ‘big data’ and the advance of AI, and the term “hyperscalist” responds to those data centers can be scalar quickly and on demand. Climbing … how? Well, depending on the needs of that company and the fan that wants to cover, that scalability translates into more storage, a faster processing or a greater bandwidth on the network. Demand. The main players in this are Google, Microsoft, Meta or Amazon and although they have the capacity to expand their data centers, they are running with a huge problem: the amount of resources they consume. In large server centers, Water consumption It has always been a problem that companies have solved in different ways to be more responsible with the environmentbut the arrival of AI has been a revolution. Train and maintain these models consume a A large amount of energy resources And, apart from the water to dissipate the heat of the servers, a great energy capacity is needed. So much so, although there are companies Building more sustainable data centers At the structural level, energy demand is so brutal that They require coal and natural gas To meet demand. And some like Google either Goal they will use nuclear energy to feed your needs Energy out of the network. Contextualized the problem and seeing that these energy needs play against decarbonizationinvestigators of companies such as Stripe, Paces or Scale Microgrids have got to work to determine the best solution to feed those data centers in a sustainable way. His conclusion has been presented in a study in which they estimate that the total energy demand of the AI ​​for 2030 will range between 30 and 300 GW. In the case of the centers where AI training is carried out, that demand will be between 15 and 150 GW. It is a huge fan, but the solution they pose and that they consider optimal is the creation of micro -redes outside the network, fed by solar energy. According to them, systems with 44% solar energy are already competitive in costs compared to those based only on gas, and those that reach 90% renewable can be even more profitable than nuclear projects such as Three Mile Island of Microsoft. Green spots are green plots for a 90/10 stage Build where the sun glued. The advantage of this system is that its construction is fast because you do not have to reactivate a nuclear power plant. You are not tied to what the energy market demands, Geopolitical conflicts They do not leave you without supply, it is clean energy, buy solar panels is getting cheaper And, above all, it is easily scalable. If more energy is needed, it is as simple as adding more panels, but the most important thing in this equation is that they can build these centers in optimal places. Unlike servers centers, which do need to be close to the end user to offer a better service, the data centers in which the AI ​​training is carried out have geographical flexibility. This implies that they can install them in areas with optimal solar radiation and in places where the land is cheap. Optimal areas Optimal areas. In the study they have identified plots in the United States with a potential for up to 1,200 GW of solar energy outside the network, with gas support and an optimal area with large esplanades and radiation during a large percentage of the year. So, CaliforniaNevada, Arizona, New Mexico and the east of Texas They would be ideal places to house those data fueled data centers outside the network by 90%, with the remaining 10% backed by gas. Beyond this, the study points out that most of the appropriate land is private, so it can be purchased to build these facilities and that, in addition, many are within lands that would allow subsidies. If you start today, the construction bond would be between 12 and 24 months and everything seems positive, but it is not being done. If it is so good … why isn’t it? According to researchers, there are three issues that come into play. Two are closely related and have to do that this of AI training is a very recent phenomenon. The designers of the data centers have historically been skeptical when it comes to getting off the network because what they wanted was to enhance, above all, the reliability. They can’t stay a second without energy, go. Related to the historical tendency is inertia: it has never been done before, although current technology would allow to operate only with renewables (as some countries already do). And the third reason is the cost, $ 23 per MWh, specifically. The panels are increasingly affordablebut it is more expensive than not buying those panels -evidently. However, the researchers point out that this extra cost would be dampened by the Cost of emissions and compensation that would be avoided in the short term. Therefore, these solar micro -lands outside the network seem a quick way to feed large -scale data centers, but although technology is mature, it seems to spend time until … Read more

Solar energy and the price of light are suffocating it

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Europe opted for the wind. For years, wind turbines were symbol of the energy transition in the continent; The spearhead of the European renewable industry. But something has been crooked. Wind energy, especially offshore, has stopped its expansion dry While photovoltaic solar grows wildlyapparently unstoppable. A very unequal career. After a few years growing in parallel, the plot beat wind in facilities at the beginning of this decade. Since then, he has been adding between four and five times more capacity than wind every year. They are complementary energies (the wind blows even at night), but it is being an unequal race. Not to say a beating. In 2024, Europe installed more than 65 GW of photovoltaic solar capacity. At the same time, expanded its wind capacity in 16 GWless than the previous year, but in the line of the last 20 years. The industry has gathered. 16,000 industry members gathered in Copenhagen a few days ago to discuss it, a new record of attendees at the Windeurope Biennial Conference. Giants like Orsted asked for a pact for marine wind: according to Bloombergthe most affected branch of the sector. They want long -term contracts supported by governments that guarantee fixed prices for electricity, which gives us a key to the problem: many projects do not take off for financial uncertainty. Wind energy (black) and solar (yellow) facilities since 2000. Image: Bloomberg Electricity too cheap? Europe already has so much renewable capacity that, when the wind blows, wind turbines flood the cheap electricity marketsinking prices (Sometimes until they make them negative), which discourages new investments. Without mechanisms to manage that oversu Green hydrogen production), Building more wind in certain European countries ceases to be profitable. It is not the only problem. Beef by the increase in steel price, the rise in interest rates and complex logistics to transport palas and towers, the wind industry has seen its offices fired. Building wind farms, especially in the sea, is today much more expensive than a few years ago. Wind is also exposed to greater bureaucracy and public opposition than solar. Permits to install wind farms remain a bureaucratic crucis in many regions (if not, tell Galicia). To which the local opposition is added due to the landscape impact, an obstacle that the solar panels (although they also have their own) raffle more easily. A solar sponator. While wind fight against wind and tide (never better), photovoltaic solar lives its golden age thanks, above all, to mass production in China. The oversight has Negative consequences for Chinese companiesbut in Europe we only see the good side: the solar panels are getting cheaperaccessible and efficient. They can also be installed almost anywhere: roofs, wasteland, facades … and its deployment is much faster and modular than that of a wind farm. Self -consumption and energy communities shoot thanks to these facilities, which also explains the decoupling between solar capacity and wind capacity. A global trend. In the rest of the world Three quarters of the same occurs. While global solar facilities grew 34% in 2024, wind turbines barely added 5% capacity. For Europe, which has a strong wind industry and very demanding climatic objectives, it is very bad news. Although solar grows faster, wind usually has a larger plant factor; That is, it produces more energy by megavatio installed throughout the year. They are also complementary energy sources: the wind usually blows stronger in winter and at night, just when the lot falters. We need both to decarbonize the network in a stable and safe way. In Xataka | Europe has installed so much renewable energy that now has an unusual problem: too cheap electricity

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