By Choi Sung-jin
Global solar energy companies are competing to expand their investments in research and development.
Bloomberg recently estimated worldwide construction of photovoltaic complexes will reach or exceed 60 giga watts (GW) this year, more than three times larger than nuclear plant construction.
Global investment in photovoltaic research and development is on a sharp rise amid the forecast that “grid parity” – a point when the power generation cost of renewable energy becomes the same as that of fossil fuels -- may come in 2017, industry experts say.
“The solar energy market grew 41 percent a year on average from 2000 to 2015,” said Tony Seba, author of “Energy Revolution 2030,” at an energy forum held in Seoul on June 8. “As the technological development has sharply enhanced price competitiveness of renewable energy, ‘grid parity’ of solar power will likely come next year.”
A local expert agreed. “This year, the construction of photovoltaic stations will come to 60 GW, three times larger than that of nuclear power plants and 1.5 times more than that of coal-fired stations,” said Lee Woo-hyun, president of OCI, a special chemical company. “At stake is whether and how much the existing power grid and electricity network can accept energy variability."
Global companies are now focusing their investments on energy storage systems (ESS) and big data. Yingli Green Energy, a solar cell module maker in China, spent $63.8 million, or 4 percent of its total sales last year, on research and development.
Hanwha Q Cells also invested $48.3 million, the second-largest investment among solar cell module makers, last year. The company, the merger of Q Cells of Germany and Hanwha Solarone of Korea, increased its R&D investment last year more than three times from that of 2014. About 200 researchers are working at the company’s laboratory in Germany, the single largest such research center in the world.
“Global demands are rising for a comprehensive solution that can sharply raise the efficiency of solar energy,” said Cha Mun-hwan, CEO of Hanwha Q Cells. “To enhance solar energy efficiency, we are also developing technology for the fusion of solar light and batteries as well as analyzing data from cells.”
Even major oil companies are jumping on the renewable energy bandwagon, breaking away from petroleum, industry sources say.
ARAMCO, Saudi Arabia’s state oil company, has recently announced an economic reform plan, making clear its intention to give up “oil addiction.” Royal-Dutch Shell has taken over BG (British Gas) Group for $53 billion, while establishing a unit responsible for hydrogen, bio fuel and wind power.
Total, the third largest oil company in Europe, decided in May to acquire battery maker Shaft for $1.1 billion. It plans to jump into the business of storing wind and solar power in the energy storage systems made by Shaft and supply them to consumers.
ExxonMobil has also set aside $300 billion for large-scale mergers while BP has set up a renewable energy department as part of its “de-oiling” strategy. GE signed a contract with the Saudi government last year to invest $1 billion in aviation and desalinization and $400 million in energy and marine manufacturing, the sources said.
It is urgent for other Korean businesses to pay greater attention to renewable energy, not to lag behind in the future industry, they added.