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Sweden Photovoltaic technology status and prospects Maria Hall, Swedish Energy Agency, Ulf Malm, Uppsala University Andrew Machirant, SPIA, Monika Adsten, Elforsk AB |
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The bulk of the Swedish electricity supply of about 150 TWh per year is generated
by nuclear power (almost 50 % of the electricity production) and hydropower (about
45 %, depending on precipitation). Although growing rapidly, mainly due to the
introduction of a national renewable electricity certificate system in 2003, the
contributions of wind power and biomass-fuelled combined heat and power to national
electricity supply are rather small (0,6 % and 5 % respectively). The installed
PV capacity has reached a mere 4 MW whilst electricity production from PV is less
than 3 GWh. This is mainly due to a previous lack of market incentives for PV.
During 2005, however, a subsidy scheme was introduced (see Implementation and
Market Development).
Government funded energy research is managed by the Swedish Energy Agency (www.stem.se), which is the national authority responsible for issues regarding the supply and use of energy. Its main task is to implement the Swedish energy policy programme, which is decided by the Swedish parliament. The aim of the programme is to develop a more sustainable energy system and to secure energy supply. Main emphasis is on energy efficiency and on the development and promotion of renewable energy such as biomass, hydropower, wind power and PV.
The Swedish Energy Agency provides funding for PV research, cost-shared technological development, demonstration and business development. The budget for PV is in the range of 2 to 2,5 MEUR per year, depending on which projects that are currently running.
In addition to international cooperation through the IEA PVPS, Sweden is participating in PV-ERA-NET, which is an EU-funded network for national programme managers and financiers. The PV-ERA-NET project started in October 2004 and runs over four years. The objective of the project is increased collaboration and coherence between the national PV R&D programmes in the European Research Area.
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The approach was to depart from leading scientific platforms and evolve progressively, via scale-up and prototype manufacturing, towards commercialization. Following the completion of the programme, thin film CIGS and Grätzel cell research now receives continued funding from the Swedish Energy Agency in the order of 0,6 MEUR per area and year.
The thin film CIGS research is performed at Uppsala University and the focus is on CIGS deposition by co-evaporation. The technology is close to industrial realisation and a spin-off company, Solibro AB, was launched in 2003 (see Industry Status below). The aim is to achieve high performance and simultaneous cost reduction whilst utilising processes and materials that minimise the impact on the environment. For the development of the next generation CIGS technology, elimination of cadmium from the buffer layer, minimization of the thickness of the active layer and increased process speed are main objectives.
The research on Grätzel cells, which is performed at the Center of Molecular Devices (www.moleculardevices.se) at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and at the public-private partnership company IVF AB, aims at developing nano-structured dye-sensitized electrochemical cells and modules which can be manufactured at very low cost. However, conversion efficiency is still low and the durability is poor compared with cells of conventional crystalline silicon or CIGS. The competitiveness for this technology is therefore currently in the area of niche products. Basic research is aimed at finding new combinations of dyes and electrolytes, which can increase the cell efficiency and stability in order to reach the longer term objective of manufacturing efficient and inexpensive solar cells for large scale electricity production.
The SolEl programme is a national R&D programme with a focus on PV systems and their applications. The programme is financed by the Swedish Energy Agency, Swedish utility companies, manufacturing companies (PV and other), construction companies and property managers - the budget is set to approximately 0,5 MEUR per year. The present programme period runs until the end of 2007. The programme is managed by Elforsk AB, which is the Swedish electricity utilities' R&D company (www.elforsk.se).
The main objectives of the SolEl programme are to support technological development, demonstration of interesting applications, analysis of performance and costs of PV systems (both technical and non-technical) as well as information dissemination.
The programme also follows international development of PV in general and grid-connected BIPV in particular, e.g. through funding participation in international conferences and reports on the state-of-the-art in PV. It also serves as a reference group for Sweden's participation in IEA PVPS and is a recognized national forum for information dissemination.
The programme also finances feasibility studies on procurement, installation and operation of Swedish PV installations and has implemented web based monitoring of the electricity production from about 20 grid-connected PV installations in Sweden (www.elforsk.se/solenergi). This activity is closely related to the work performed within IEA PVPS Task 2. Development of concentrating PV systems and PV-thermal systems is also included in the programme.
Due to the strong international development in the field of BIPV, the interest from the Swedish building industry in the SolEl programme has increased during the last few years. The involvement of property managers and architects in the programme has shifted the focus of the programme somewhat, from stand-alone systems towards building integrated PV. Recent programme activities include the development of a tool (www.solcell.nu) for executing PV projects in the built environment in the form of a web based information platform for architects, constructors and other actors and serves as a guide through the process.
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The lack of market incentives or subsidies for PV had resulted in a comparatively slow development of the PV market in Sweden until May 2005. Total cumulative PV power installation in Sweden amounted to approximately 4 MW. The market growth rate has been rather constant over the last ten years with a slight upturn (about 6-7 % per year) over the last three years. The capacity installed during 2004 was 285 kW.
From 15 May 2005 until 31 December 2007, a 70 % investment subsidy has been made available for the installation of PV systems in public buildings. The subsidy is a part of an investment programme for energy efficiency and renewable energy in public buildings such as sports centres, conference halls, churches, schools, airports, railway stations, etc. A cap of 100 MSEK (about 11 MEUR) exists, which corresponds to 2-3 MW in additional capacity. The subsidy functions as a tax deduction of 70 % of the investment costs for a completed system installation, with a maximum limit per building of 550 000 EUR and covers both material and labour costs. The programme was specifically designed to further the development of professional know-how among installers, architects, project developers, etc. The subsidy scheme has jump-started the domestic market for PV in Sweden (from previously being entirely focussed on export). On 1 January 2006, a third of the budget had been applied for and the Swedish Energy Agency expects that all 100 MSEK will be fully subscribed by Q4 2006, mainly due to high interest shown by population dense city authorities (Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö).
Hence the total installed PV capacity in Sweden will increase by about 70 % in two years time and the installed capacity of grid-connected BIPV applications will increase tenfold.
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Today, there are four companies in Sweden that produce PV modules. All of them buy cells from abroad and assemble modules, which are to a large extent exported:
Despite the new investment subsidy, the annually installed PV capacity in Sweden only constitutes a small fraction of the approximately 26 MW of modules produced. The share of the production that is exported varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, but is generally more than 80 %.
A growing number of small to medium-sized enterprises exist, which design, market and sell PV products and systems. There are currently no feed-stock or cell manufacturers in Sweden nor any manufacturers that produce PV specific balance of systems components.
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The PV installations in the residential area Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm, which were installed during 2002-2004, were among the first true BIPV projects in Sweden, and the 60 kW PV system on the IKEA building in Älmhult has been the largest installation in Sweden since its construction in 1997. However, within the subsidy scheme there is an application for support for a 75 kW system to be built in Malmö during 2006, as well as for the installation of PV on the Swedish embassies in Athens and Tel Aviv.
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