Brazil

The losers in a world which no longer runs on fossil fuels are obvious but the dividend from shrugging off hydrocarbon dependency will be spread around most of the world so it is the nations which are winning the cleantech manufacturing and intellectual property race which appear best positioned for the future.

pv magazine rounds up the latest Covid-19-related stories likely to affect the world of solar and energy storage.

The Ministry of Mines and Energy has delayed auctions to procure new transmission as well as generation capacity and has not announced when they will resume.

Brazilian consultancy Greener has conducted a survey of more than 500 solar companies in Brazil to assess the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The results show that demand has already started to slow down, and that PV system prices are on the rise.

Researchers in Brazil have suggested using solar radiation databases and simulator software to scale PV-diesel mini-grid generators. The profiles of PV generation and mini-grid load demand are critical to finding the right balance, according to the academics.

Big clean energy supply contracts have been announced in Brazil, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

French developer Voltalia has contracted to supply solar power to Brazilian thermoplastic resin company Braskem. The solar plant which will generate the electricity is planned as an expansion of two facilities allocated by the Brazilian government in a public renewable energy auction.

Tractebel will develop the basic design of three floating PV projects at the 52.2 MW Batalha hydropower project, which is owned by Brazilian state-run power company Eletrobras Furnas.

The pipeline of large-scale solar projects that are not being planned to compete in public auctions is growing significantly in Brazil, according to a report by consultancy Greener. The study also reveals that all of these projects have already secured a permit to start commercial operations, and that they are located in six states, including Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo and Ceará.

A list compiled by a British price comparison website draws upon data from German company Statista which shows clean energy – including hydro – made up 12.74% of the nation’s power mix at the end of September.