Kathy Gibson reports from Huawei FusionSolar Partner Summit – Carbon neutrality and intelligence are goals driving technology efforts in the next decades.
As we build a new intelligent world, we are creating new energy sources along with new means of transportation, says Hesheng Xia, president of Huawei Digital Power, South Africa.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is critical for new energy generation, he adds. As of last year, there was a total PV installed base of 550Gw: from 2024 to 2030, the annual average will be more than this cumulative total, Xia explains.
“There is a massive incremental requirement for solar PV,” he says.
Part of the reason for this is that, over the past 10 years, solar PV has become a lot more affordable. “And in the future, PV will be translated to PV+ESS (energy storage system),” Xia adds.
On the transportation front, electric vehicles (EVs) are taking off worldwide. Indeed, Xia says, one in three new vehicles in China is an EV.
So there is a big opportunity for adding the infrastructure to charge these EVs, he points out.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly making its way into every industry. Thanks to AI, by the end of 2030, the compute power requirement will increase by 500-times – and this will require still more electricity.
Against the backdrop of this rising need for affordable energy, Xia says PV+ESS is becoming the major energy trend, driven by falling prices coupled with technological innovation. “It is becoming the most cost-effective energy, surpassing other forms of energy generation.
“Over the past 10 years, we have witnessed a journey to PV grid parity; and in the next 10 years, what Huawei calls AI + Grid-Forming will accelerate PV+ESS as the major energy source,” Xia explains.
“Once we can introduce grid-forming technology into the utility power plan, we can stabilise the grid – this is especially important in Africa where grids are so often unstable.
“Meanwhile, PV+ESS, integrating generation with storage, provides an all-in-one solution for businesses and industries and helping them to become low carbon too.”
The rising cost of diesel over the last few years has driven the average Eskom tariff up sharply.
At the same time, the cost of solar panels and batteries is coming down.
“We are at the point where the ‘levelised’ cost of solar and battery is lower than the cost of diesel and grid electricity,” says Nick Lusson, vice-president: partner and ecosystem development at Huawei Eastern Africa Digital Power.
This means we are seeing a shift away from PV on its own to PV+ESS, allowing users to increase the amount of solar they use.
Huawei has been developing products in the solar environment for the last 13 years, playing in the residential and C&I markets.
Among the limitations that have hurt battery projects in the past include a mismatch and low available capacity, short lifespan, and complex operations and management (O&M), as well as fire risks.
Huawei has launched new commercial and industrial (C&I) solutions.
Based on the 1+3+x design architecture, the solution stats with a smart PV inverter, linked to cloud, optimiser and ESS, with the x being all the other components that can be connected to this system.
A smart charging station can also be added if businesses are moving to electric vehicles (EVs), for example.
The smart PV controller is the brains behind the system and Huawei has introduced the SUN-2000 150KTL – a150Kw inverter offering advanced efficiency and built-in active safety.
At more than 99,8% efficiency, the grid-friendly system offers the optimal balance of system cost and long life.
Huawei also launched the LUNA2000, a 200KwH smart string ESS – a temperature- and dust-resistant module system with built-in management and air conditioners.