What type of solar park setup provides the most profitable business case?

Read here how QING investigated the most optimal solar park setup for one of Europe's largest drug manufacturers.

An enormous energy requirement as the biggest challenge

One of the market leaders in the development and production of medicines came to QING. A huge amount of energy is required to produce medicines. The manufacturer urgently needed more electricity than the grid could provide and also wanted to aim for net zero emissions. The solution? A large-scale solar park with optimal efficiency.

The importance of an appropriate solar park setup

For large industrial energy consumers, it's all about using smart strategies. For large consumers, it is possible to choose the right solar park setup make the difference between significant cost savings and unnecessary spending. But which setup is most profitable for this manufacturer? And how big should the park be? We were going to analyse it for the manufacturer using different setups.

When developing a solar park there's a lot to consider. The most important question for this study was: how much energy do the various possible setups provide, and when is this energy worth the most? An arrangement is the way in which the panels are arranged and oriented. Different setups provide different energy yields.

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Three different solutions

We looked at three different setups: a south setup, an east-west setup, and a tracker.

At a south When installed, the panels are completely turned to the south. During the day, most of the sun falls on the south. This therefore means that a southern setup generates the most energy in the afternoon, when the sun is high and shines perfectly on the panels.

One east-west arrangement is somewhat different, where the panels are turned to both east and west. This results in a generally lower yield, but is spread over the entire day. What is the advantage of this option? With this setup, more panels can be placed per square meter, because the backs of the panels are against each other and there is no gap like the south setup. This ensures a higher yield. In addition, this setup provides more energy during hours when electricity is more expensive to extract from the grid, which makes it extra interesting for the drug manufacturer.

The third option, a tracker-setup, consists of panels that follow the sun. While this setup is more expensive and can hold fewer panels per square foot, it offers a steady yield from dawn to dusk, which can be especially beneficial for the early morning and late evening. This option therefore also applies to a higher yield during hours when the electricity is more expensive.

What are the results?

The average value of the electricity produced can then be determined using a formula. The analysis shows that the south setup is the most valuable for the drug manufacturer, thanks to the high energy yield in the afternoon.

The east-west setup was attractive because of the higher energy yield during expensive hours, while the tracker setup offered a steady yield, did not provide significantly more value.

For the drug manufacturer, this analysis is very valuable, as a properly chosen solar park system can provide significantly more energy. and can also reduce dependence on expensive electricity from the grid.