General tour
The world's largest exhibition for solar technology, Intersolar Europe, presents the latest industry trends and developments of 1,500 exhibitors on an exhibition area of 135,000 sqm in 12 exhibition halls. The variety of topics covers all aspects of solar energy, ranging from research and development, production and distribution of modules, inverters and mounting systems to representations of public and private institutions. One focus of this year's exhibition is "energy storage". The tour provides a general overview of the exhibition and the solutions of the solar industry in the different fields surrounding the topic of solar energy.
PV on Industrial and Commercial Buildings tour
The costs of purchasing photovoltaic plants have fallen so significantly in recent years that photovoltaics is now able to offer a commercially attractive alternative to conventional power for medium-sized businesses. Once market prices reach €0.13– €0.14 per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity, it becomes worthwhile for companies to generate and consume their own power via a PV installation. For cost-saving reasons, most industrial roofs are low-weight constructions. Suppliers of mounting systems have adapted to the requirements of flat industrial roofs by offering simple support frames that minimize installation time, such as self-supporting systems which do not have to be drilled to the roof. Once again this year, new solutions for mounting solar modules onto flat roofs are being presented at Intersolar Europe 2013. The tour takes you to manufacturers of photovoltaic mounting systems and exhibitors specializing in solar engineering of PV solutions for companies and local authorities.
Energy Storage tour
Where and how can we store photovoltaically generated power for us during periods of peak loads? The direct use of photovoltaic electricity generated on site is becoming increasingly important. The slow progress of the network expansion in Germany coupled with remuneration for PV electricity used on site have stimulated the rate at which end consumers use their own electricity. However, the share of PV electricity that is used on site rarely exceeds 40%. People consume less electricity during the day and the sun does not shine at night, meaning that solutions must be found to ensure that, electricity that cannot be fed in to the grid at periods of peak load is available at a later time. In addition, energy storage is indispensable for off-grid systems in remote areas, in order to secure the electricity supply as far as possible. Power storage solutions therefore have the potential to relieve the grid. The tour gives an overview of existing solutions in the field of energy storage technologies and their areas of application. Special attention is paid to storage technologies that can store the power generated by small PV installations, i.e. large storage systems, such as pumped storage or hybrid power plants, are not included.
Solar Process Heat tour
Solar process heat may develop into the largest sector within the solar thermal technologies market, as it can be used in a wide variety of ways within the industry. The German government has increased subsidies to give commercial enterprises an incentive to exploit the sun. Since last year, companies have received a subsidy of up to 50% of their investment costs on solar heating systems for the generation of process heat. Subsidies are available for systems with a collector area of up to 1,000 sqm. The Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau banking group supports larger plants through its Erneuerbare Energien-Premium (Renewable Energy Premium) program, which offers low-interest loans and repayment grants. The tour offers the opportunity to visit suppliers of systems technology for process heat and to learn about the benefits and possible applications of solar thermal technologies.
