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The heat is on for solar sceptics
如果你注意到最近反太阳能言论的升级，你并不孤单.
许多人质疑英国是否应该支持这种有时难以预测的能源生产方式.
Here Mitie’s Energy Markets Research Manager, Alan Whitefield, takes a closer look at the issues behind the heated debate.
少数直言不讳的人对太阳能的好处提出了质疑，但他们的说法有什么实质内容吗?
As someone who has made a career in the energy industry, and who takes particular interest in solar, 我想调查一下这些指控是否经得起推敲.
Let’s look at what is being said…
Raining on the solar parade
其中一个主要的批评集中在我们心爱的、相当多变的英国天气上.
Sceptics claim that because sunshine isn’t guaranteed here, 太阳能电池板不能在最佳水平上运行，因此是浪费时间. In fact, 他们还正确地指出，在特别炎热的天气里，太阳能电池板的效率会降低. Similarly, 他们说，因为并不总是有足够的风来保持涡轮机的运转, there is little point in pursuing wind power.
Other critics go further still, 暗示太阳能和风能发电只不过是一个昂贵的笑话, or reckless waste of everyone’s money.
一位国会议员最近在六月的热浪中毫不掩饰自己的观点， tweeting他说:“在这波热浪中，英国不得不启动燃煤发电机，因为太阳太强，太阳能电池板不得不脱机.”
这种负面的叙述甚至被媒体引用. Last year The Telegraph reported: “Weather too hot for solar panels.” And the Daily Mail 他写道:“尽管阳光增加，但太阳能电池板在高温下效率较低.”
Shedding some light on the matter
So, what is really going on?
According to Solar Energy UK, solar performance does fall by 0.34% for every degree the temperature rises above 25°C. However, 白天变长，天空更晴朗，这意味着即使在效率下降的夏季，太阳能发电量仍然要大得多.
Not convinced? Look at the table below, 这表明英国在2023年6月的太阳能发电量比去年多得多, despite the recent high temperatures.
但是国会议员提到的燃煤发电站呢? 为什么他们需要支持太阳能和风能发电?
There are three main reasons.
Firstly, 澳博国际官网低的风力意味着风力发电场的发电量低于一年中的正常水平.
Secondly, the June heatwave saw increased use of air conditioning, pushing demand for electricity above normal levels, meaning another source of power was required.
And thirdly, 其他补充来源的电力供应出乎意料地减少, meaning demand was outstripping supply in the evenings.
Sun on the solar horizon
值得注意的是，上述所有问题都将在未来几年内得到解决. After all, 英国政府已承诺到2035年实现所有清洁能源发电，这是到2050年实现净零排放的关键一步. 成功与否将取决于能否找到减少可变可再生能源发电影响的解决方案, and these will include:
- 在太阳能站点推广更多的电池存储，以确保白天产生的剩余能量在非白天使用.
- 开发利用太阳能和风能生产可储存的碳中性氢的项目, 当可再生能源发电不足时，它们又可以用来发电.
- 在可再生能源生产丰富的时期促进能源利用, for example, for charging EVs or using high energy household appliances.
- Incentivising flexibility when it comes to demand, 当可再生能源发电量低时，消除了对备用煤或天然气发电的需求.
So there you have it. 尽管有很多反太阳能的言论，但在大多数情况下，逻辑很简单. During daylight, even when it’s cloudy or extremely hot, 太阳能提供了电力，否则将来自昂贵的, fossil fuel-based sources. 波动的能源产生不会削弱太阳能的价值.
Press the solar ‘On’ button
Mitie可以帮助您为您的组织决定正确的解决方案. 我们的专家将协助从最初的规划到设计和太阳能电池板安装. 还提供太阳能购买协议方面的援助.
Find out more by emailing the team at [email protected] and we will be right back to you.
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