Flexibility will be key to a large-scale rollout of solar power

Jordan Holweger defended his thesis last July. ©Alain Herzog/EPFL - The successful deployment of solar power will depend on many factors, including how well grid operators are able to balance supply and demand in order to incorporate renewable energy into their low-voltage grids. An EPFL PhD thesis looks at how power utilities can promote flexibility to achieve that goal. The cost of solar power has declined by a factor of five in less than ten years, to an average of 6.8ct/kWh. This form of renewable energy is now cost-competitive and can be generated just about anywhere - and it's poised to play a pivotal role in the transition to a carbon-neutral society. However, one challenge still needs to be overcome: how to incorporate solar power effectively into power grids, especially low-power ones. Jordan Holweger, a PhD candidate at EPFL's Photovoltaics and Thin Film Electronics Laboratory, looked at how power utilities can promote flexibility in solar-power systems so that such systems can be rolled out on a large scale in low-voltage grids.