The incursion of alternative energies in the regionn begins to gain strength through ventures in private homes, in rural projects and the arrival of industry and businesses that seek to lower operating costs.
At Roca, one of the promoters of this technology is Lino Mocciola, head of FM Renewable Energy and Wega Energy, two companies dedicated to the field of sustainable energy.
in dialogue with BLACK RIVER, the businessman from Roca tells of his experience in the field and contributes suggestions for users, those that can be of great interest so as not to make mistakes when opting for this type of facility.
“There are things that you have to tell people, for example, don’t buy kits, because renewable energies have to be designed for each use, you have to buy systems. When you buy a kit it is something standard, they are taking stock out of it”.
Lino Mocciola, head of FM Renewable Energy.
“In my home I have panels installed and I am one of the first, if not the first, Uger de Roca, that is a user with distributed generation, what I do not consume I inject into the network…”, said Mocciola by way of presentation.
“I do domestic, industrial projects, one of the last ones we did was for Oldelval who installed a retransmission plant in Crucero Norte to have the communication equipment with a battery bank, this project is not voluminous in kW but what is interesting is the technological aspect, work was done to make everything work automated in the middle of nowhere, with remote control of information and processes”.
Consulted regarding What to consider when installing a solar energy system indicated: “There are things that must be told to people, for example, not to buy kits, because renewable energies have to be designed for each use, systems must be bought. When you buy a kit it is something standard, they are taking stock out of it”.
“When they sell you a kit, they tell you that you can power a refrigerator, a television, ten lamps, and that is not the case. because it depends on the devices, if you have a very old refrigerator whose consumption peak is when it starts up, it consumes all the battery, what you thought was going to give up vanishes in a while…”, he explained in this regard.
Photovoltaic systems, in internet kits
“The disadvantage of solar energy is that when the day is over you go to the batteries, there is no more production, that’s why we talk regarding intermittent energy, because it works with the sun.”
For this reason, his main suggestion is: “You have to buy photovoltaic systems, each house has a different consumption and you have to make a custom system for each one.”
He then clarified that “in order to design an efficient system The first question would be what do you want to feed, a refrigerator, television, lights, an air conditioner, that gives you a consumption of x watts…”.
“Another question is: following the sun goes down, how many hours of energy do you need? If it is all night, the battery bank is calculated,” Mocciola said.
“Batteries are another world, they have also evolved a lot and it is the Achilles heel of any renewable system, how do I save energy? Batteries are now deep cycle, that is, they are discharged to the bottom… but in reality that deep cycle is 50% of the battery, which is the useful part, the other 50% is what the battery needs to regenerate. The first batteries were at 30 or 40%, now there are batteries at 90%, that is, they cost a little more but last twice as long”.
“People have to know what to buy, they have to know how to measure what they buy so as not to be deceived and not get frustrated in this,” he suggested.
In terms of costs, the businessman from Roca said that “in a standard house, with an investment of 5,000 or 6,000 dollars you are producing energy for consumption and injecting it into the grid, you have to think regarding generating between 6 and 9 kW per day for a standard home, without battery accumulation…”.
If the idea is to have 24-hour energy, the budget issue changes. Mocciola maintains: “The battery packs take you away from the original budget of $5,000, an average battery costs between $400 and $500 and they are generally put in pairs of 6 or 8, the battery is the most expensive, whoever solves this is going to solve one of the great problems of renewable energy.
“You can be friends with renewable energy because of an environmental issue, which is one of the main ones, or because you have to lower costs, and it aims to cover the need for energy that we are going to have in the future due to the drop in oil production ”, indicated Mocciola in another moment of the talk with this medium.
“In a standard home, with an investment of 5,000 or 6,000 dollars, you are producing energy for consumption and injecting it into the network. You have to think regarding generating between 6 and 9 kW per day for a standard home, without battery accumulation…”.
Lino Mocciola, head of FM Renewable Energy.
“It is estimated that today the world has reached the maximum capacity to extract oil at a reasonable price, from there we are in decline and extraction begins at a very high cost,” he continued.
“The energy contained in a liter of oil is very difficult to compare with any other energy system, there is nothing that equals it, so you have to take care of the oil reserves for the most important things and to manufacture the things I need for the most important things. renewable energy”.
Return of investment
The businessman was critical when talking regarding issues that have to do with the provision of energy from the companies that provide the service. “It must be clear that the rate of return in a country with subsidized rates is long term. As long as the dollar and inputs rise and the rate remains flat, the tips are going to separate more and more. When I did my solar energy project 5 years ago, I had a recovery period of 5 or 6 years and I had 20 years left in usufruct, today I have to talk regarding a recovery time of 12 to 13 years with a remainder of 7 years at best. of the cases”, he clarified from his perspective.
“As long as the rates continue to be subsidized, renewable energies for normal users are going to be further and further away, so one issue to resolve is the rate. You have to know very well what you want to do to install a solar system”.
“There are companies that are installing to lower consumption during peak hours of their company’s demand, so as not to have Edersa’s penalty for excessive consumption, they seek to retract demand from the network through these systems.”
100% sustainable
There are people who want to produce energy to consume and inject into the grid and because they are on the green line, but there are others who want to disconnect from everything. That’s possible?
Mocciola says: “Yes, it can be done, you design a system and adapt your life, you have to readapt yourself to what you are doing. If you want to put up a solar system and be independent from the grid, you already know that at night you cannot wash dishes or wash clothes because it will consume a lot of energy, that is done during the day…”.
“You can isolate yourself from the grid with a good system and good batteries to accumulate the energy you need for the night, it is viable, in the city not much is done, in the countryside it is 100% done. In the city there is a movement with those who want to leave the system, but they are the least, ”she commented.
Projection
“In Argentina we are fine with photovoltaic energy, there are very good developments in Jujuy, Catamarca, Mendoza, of the wind type, biodigesters, when the economy calms down this is going to explode”, indicated Mocciola.
In the sector everything is dollarized, the cost of a system “is the money you want to spend for what you want to do, in a standard home with an investment of 5,000 or 6,000 dollars you are producing energy for consumption and injecting it into the network. You have to think regarding generating between 6 and 9 kW per day for a standard home, without battery accumulation. Battery packs take you away from the original budget of $5,000, an average battery is $400-500 and they are usually put in pairs of 6 or 8. The battery is the most expensive, whoever solves this is going to solve one of the big problems of renewable energy…”.
Artifacts that accompany consumption
When talking regarding alternative energies, other concepts that go hand in hand with the performance of these systems must be incorporated. One of them is energy efficiency.
“Basically, what you have to do when you install a solar system is change your lifestyle with energy, optimize its use, if you have an irrigation pump for the patio, put it in the sunny hours, wash the clothes in the hours of sun, the dishes with the dishwasher the same… everything you can concentrate on during the sunny hours must be done like this… at night you have the LEDs and the television that consume the least, there your savings will be felt”, he maintains the rocky businessman
And he clarified that “it is useless to put 30 panels in a house if you do not accompany it with an appropriate investor, everything is money.”
Priorities when investing
“If you have $2,000 and you ask me where you would put it, I will tell you in the inverter, it is the brain of all this, the higher the quality and the better technology everything will work, then in the good quality panels, from recognized brands, monocrystalline, this changes month by month, the inverter is the motor of the system”.
“You have to look for a company that is recognized, that gives you guarantees because this can also fail, so you have to be covered, have support, you have to do a good study of your energy efficiency.”
It is estimated that the life cycle of the panels is 20 years, while the batteries are in the range of 6 to 8 years.
“The panels are degrading, at the time of installation they lose 2%, and then have a fall of 1 or 2% per year… when it reaches 60% of its production, it is estimated that it stabilizes and remains with that production, this It is due to the aging of the equipment, the panel can be renewed or kept there. They lose efficiency but are not 100% exhausted”, says Mocciola.
“The systems can be scaled, you can put together a system for today plus a plus of what is estimated to grow, the number of panels can be increased.
what happens in winter
In winter the system can be worked with the inclination of the panels, logically their performance drops at this time. That is why when they are installed they are tilted at more or less 35°, there you have an even annual average, you are going to spend more on the network in winter, but consumption drops because you no longer maintain a pool, air conditioning, etc.”
installation time
The execution of the work is estimated in 2 or 3 days, then there is a period of procedures in Edersa that can take from 1 to 3 months, which is the registration of the installation to make it distributed, to be an Uger user.
“You have to be very clear before installing, both the client and the installer, so as not to have problems later, if you buy a system to power certain devices and then increase the demand, the system will not work, or the batteries will go to run out very quickly.”
Another issue to take into account is that “if you want to have electricity all night then you have to put a battery pack for that number of hours, it cannot be expected that with a single battery that lasts 2 hours you will have energy for 8 or 10 hours ”.
“It is recommended to make purchases in recognized companies or renowned professionals, not in Mercado Libre… the latter can work out well for you, but it is most likely that it will work out badly”.
“I recommend the use of the system 100 percent, renewable energies are going to be a good help for those who generate energy like Edersa, to sustain and balance the system for the benefit of all. Personally, I don’t see big cons, except that what you bought today in a short time is already old.
To comment on this note you must have your digital access.
Subscribe to add your opinion!
Subscribe
