July’s irradiance up in most of South America, down east of the Andes
In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, presents the solar irradiance data it collected for South America in July. The data show that South America experienced temperatures up to 15 C above winter averages, and that most of the continent saw higher than normal radiation. The Chilean Andine, especially Altiplano in the Atacama Desert, which has recorded the highest incidence of irradiance in the world, recorded values 10% above normal.
Argentinian lithium miner sourcing electricity from 100 MW solar farm
Minera Exar has started to extract lithium from the Salar Cauchari-Olaroz mine in Argentina, with part of its energy supply coming from the 100 MW Zonda solar farm, which is owned by oil producer YPF Luz.
Indian hydropower company secures 90 MW of floating PV for $0.046/kWh
SJVN Green Energy has secured 90 MW of floating solar capacity in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh with a bid of INR 3.79 ($0.046)/kWh.
Brazil added 6.8 GW of new PV in H1
Brazil installed 2.3 GW of large-scale solar and 4.5 GW of distributed-generation PV in the first six months of this year.
Biwatt unveils new residential sodium-ion batteries
Biwatt Power, a Chinese manufacturer, has developed new residential sodium-ion batteries with an efficiency rate of 97% and a projected lifespan of more than 3,000 cycles.
Solar bus canopy reduces temperature by up to 20 C
The University of Sevilla has designed a PV-powered “smart” canopy that activates a thermal conditioning system to reduce extreme heat by up to 20 C.
Rio Tinto to build large-scale solar project in Canadian Arctic
Australia-based Rio Tinto says it will build a solar plant in Canada’s Northwest Territories to supply electricity to its Diavik Diamond Mine, which is located about 200 km below the Arctic Circle.
South Africa launches loan guarantee scheme to back C&I solar
South Africa has launched a loan guarantee scheme to support commercial and industrial (C&I) solar projects, with the goal of deploying 1 GW of rooftop PV capacity.
Vertical PV for breakwaters
The port of Valencia, Spain, is assessing the performance a vertical PV wall featuring 21 solar modules, with 8.6 kW of total capacity. A successful pilot project could pave the way for a larger vertical PV system on the port’s breakwaters.
Green hydrogen offtakers can shape the industry’s development
With strong government backing; a systems approach to development that views each component of hydrogen production and delivery as a whole; and growing demand, Australia could be on track for a commercially viable green hydrogen industry by 2030.
