1. Session title:
Future Technology Innovation and R&D
Innovations and
boarder conditions
Domenico Sartore - GIFI's Member - Milan, 24 / 2 / 2010

2. Innovations and boarder conditions
Outline
 Technology potential vs. Grid Potential
 Utility scale vs. Residential scale
 HVAC vs. LVDC
Domenico Sartore - GIFI's Member - Milan, 24 / 2 / 2010

3. Innovations and boarder conditions
New Techs In Italy
 Many PV start-ups
 R&D activities: CPV, CdTe, micro-
crystalline Si, Multi-junctions,...
 Program “Industria 2015”: 25% funds
requests for PV research
Domenico Sartore - GIFI's Member - Milan, 24 / 2 / 2010

4. Innovations and boarder conditions
Thin-film is still an option?
 For very large PV system the price gap
between thin-films and c-Si is reducing
 For very large PV system low efficiency
is a drawback
 Silicon constitutes the 25% of the Earth
surface
Domenico Sartore - GIFI's Member - Milan, 24 / 2 / 2010

5. Innovations and boarder conditions
… but where is the limit?
 Currently we need realistic and
sustainable development projects
because of GRID LIMITATIONS and
REGULATIONS
Domenico Sartore - GIFI's Member - Milan, 24 / 2 / 2010

6. Innovations and boarder conditions
A possible scenario
 Low cost CPV (made in Italy) system:
turn-key price 2 €/Wp
 Good irradiation site with available
“brown-fields”: Sicilia or Puglia
 No grid connection due to a 60 years
old electrical line
Domenico Sartore - GIFI's Member - Milan, 24 / 2 / 2010

7. Innovations and boarder conditions
What do we need?
 Investments in the grid (even not
smart!)
 A unique national rule for very large
system (Autorizzazione Unica)
Domenico Sartore - GIFI's Member - Milan, 24 / 2 / 2010

8. Innovations and boarder conditions
The other half of the sky...
 Energy storage system can
dramatically contribute to PV deployment
 The new goal: have a predictable PV
power source
Domenico Sartore - GIFI's Member - Milan, 24 / 2 / 2010

9. Innovations and boarder conditions
Residential first
 With a “new” storage system it is
possible to modify our vision of small
residential system
 Stand-alone become the optimal
solution to avoid regulations and grid limits
Domenico Sartore - GIFI's Member - Milan, 24 / 2 / 2010

10. Innovations and boarder conditions
Back to the future
 Why do we have to loose energy in the
AC/DC conversion in our houses
(transformers everywhere) when the PV
current is DC … and our laptop is DC?
 No inverter, 110 V are enough, no
AC/DC losses
Domenico Sartore - GIFI's Member - Milan, 24 / 2 / 2010

11. Innovations and boarder conditions
LVDC grid
 Residential LVDC grid or minigrids will
reduce the cost of/for electricity for the
final consumer: this step will remove all
the barriers to create a new energy era.
The PV Era.
Domenico Sartore - GIFI's Member - Milan, 24 / 2 / 2010

12. Innovations and boarder conditions
HVAC grid... or HVDC
 HVAC could be necessary to permit the
distribution of the energy... but... why not
HVDC?
 HVDC is better than HVAC with power
> 1000 MW and distance > 700 km
Domenico Sartore - GIFI's Member - Milan, 24 / 2 / 2010

13. Innovations and boarder conditions
How GIFI promotes the
innovations
 In the 2011 version of the “Conto
Energia” with 2 main initiatives
 1) FiT for CPVs
 2) FiT prize for programmable PV plants
Domenico Sartore - GIFI's Member - Milan, 24 / 2 / 2010

14. www.gifi-fv.it
Thanks for your attention
GIFI:
toward the solar
economy