Solar Energy Perspectives - IEA

Chapter 5: Industry and transport
telecom satellites, earth observation systems and long space missions are possible only
thanks to PV cells, which already benefit billions of people.
Solar hydrogen, in liquefied form, could find its best application in aviation. Reservoirs for
compressed hydrogen would be too heavy for aviation. Spherical or cylindrical reservoirs for
liquid hydrogen weigh much less. The usual problem with liquid hydrogen is the “boiling-off”
that makes some gas continuously leak from the reservoir. On top of environmental issues
associated with those leaks, this is not convenient for road transport, but could be acceptable
for planes that are fuelled immediately before departure at all world airports. The Cryoplane
study (Faaß, 2001) has shown that the greater volume of H 2 as a fuel could also be acceptable
in specifically designed aeroplanes.
Policies
Policies to support the deployment of direct solar heat in industry currently represent a very
significant missing element of renewable energy policies in almost all countries. Solar heat
is likely to be closer to competitiveness in the industry sector than for space heating in
buildings, because the need is more constant throughout the year and does not reach its
lowest point when the resource is at its peak. Scarce public money could thus be spent very
effectively in boosting solar output. Such investment would also encourage the development
of solar heat and reduce its costs, which would ultimately benefit other uses of solar heat.
Policies to support solar heating and cooling will be considered in more detail in the
forthcoming IEA Technology roadmap for solar heating and cooling, to be published in 2012.
Solar energy generation by industry must also be encouraged. Governments and grid
operators, especially in countries with weak grids and frequent electricity shortages, need to
react appropriately to energy-intensive industries generating their own solar electricity to
secure their own supply and guarantee their processes and equipment against the risks of
shortages. Negotiations on electricity trade with electricity self-producers should acknowledge
that more secure supply for the grid is a welcome by-product, not the primary aim of such
developments.
In both industry and transport sectors, an integrated approach to the deployment of solar
energy would aim to accelerate the deployment of many enabling technologies. In particular,
it would seek to accelerate the deployment of efficient electric processes to replace fossil
fuels.
The full treatment of all relevant technologies and policies would go beyond the scope of the
present publication, but has been addressed in many IEA publications (IEA, 2009a, IEA,
2009b, IEA, 2010a) and specific Technology Roadmaps (IEA, 2009c; IEA, 2011e; IEA, 2011g)
and will undoubtedly remain the focus of further analytical work by the IEA.
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