Utility Scale Solar PV Innovations & Startups Report

Comprehensive Showcase of Global Utility Scale Solar PV Innovations & Startups

From CLIMAFIX, leader in climate innovation intelligence

Utility Scale Solar PV Introduction:

Utility solar PV refers to large-scale ground-mounted solar power plants. The power
from these power plants is exported to the grid from where it is bundled with power
from the rest of the sources.

Globally, utility solar PV power plants have seen some of the most aggressive growths
in the energy sector in the recent past. From insignificant capacities until about 2010,
the global utility solar power plant capacity reached over 775 GW by the end of 2023.

This is a stunning growth that has made it overtake the global installed capacity of
wind power whose commercialization had started much earlier. This strong growth can
be attributed mainly to the dramatic fall in the price of solar PV panels as well as in the
key balance of system components such as the inverters.

As of 2023, utility solar power plants represent quite a relatively mature segment with
robust technology and support solutions.

Utility solar power plants can be deployed in most regions of the world that have
reasonable sunlight. Even countries like Germany that receive solar radiation half that
of exceptionally bright places (such as the Middle East, India, and so on) have been
successful in implementing utility-scale solar PV projects.

The key challenge for solar PV is its intermittency – it can work only when the sun is
up. This necessitates the use of energy storage solutions such as batteries, which can
significantly increase the cost of solar power for utility-scale solar power generation.

Key innovations in the utility-scale solar PV domain for the 2020-2030 period can be
expected in improving the economics of battery storage, agrovoltaics (agriculture
combined with photovoltaics), floating solar power plants, use of digital solutions to
enhance many components of the value chain (especially in maintenance & asset
management) and effective grid integration of solar power.

The Utility Scale Solar PV Innovations & Startups Report provides insights on the following: