Brazil

Valmont Solar says its new production facility boasts the largest tracker control system manufacturing unit in Brazil and will create more than 300 new jobs. The solar tracker specialist says the factory will serve as a vital supply hub for the Latin American market.

Reports of broken module glass with no obvious cause have begun to crop up at large PV projects. Module design, glass manufacturing, and interactions in the field between modules and trackers are at play and a clear solution has yet to emerge. Early signs suggest an update to certification standards may be needed.

Brazilian conglomerate Intelbras says its new storage solution consists of one or more batteries that can be connected in parallel, with up to 10 units. It reportedly has a useful lifespan of more than eight years.

Oversupply is hitting some solar manufacturers hard but grid constraints and labor shortages are unlikely to hold the solar industry back in 2024.

New figures from Absolar, a Brazilian PV trade group, show that the country could install 9.3 GW of solar in 2024, bringing it to 45.5 GW of installed PV capacity by the end of next year.

Scientists in Spain have proposed to combine anaerobic digestion plants with photovoltaic-thermal panels and have found that this combination may achieve an LCOE of $0.045/kWh across several locations in Europe and North America.

Solar, at 34.9 GW of installed capacity, now accounts for 15.8% of Brazil’s energy mix, ranking second after hydroelectric plants at 49%, but ahead of wind power at 12.2%, according to the Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy (Absolar).

Brazil has announced a $3.6 billion hydrogen production plan, Adnoc has launched a green hydrogen refueling-station pilot in the United Arab Emirates, and the European Union has moved forward on the establishment of EU-wide hydrogen rules.

Prof. Ricardo Rüther, the coordinator of the Strategic Solar Energy Research Group at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), installed a solar energy system at the university 26 years ago. It currently operates at about 80% of its nominal power.