More solar power deals pop up in Latin America
Big clean energy supply contracts have been announced in Brazil, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
A 20-year power supply deal for 238 MW of solar in Brazil
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.
Brazilian hydropower dam to host 30 MW of floating solar
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.
5.5 GW of unsubsidized solar for Brazil
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.
Germany tops global league table for renewable energy
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.
Central Bank of Brazil launches two more solar tenders
Brazil’s biggest lender wants to secure solar power through a leasing arrangement. The central bank expects to buy around 8 GWh of electricity per year for its agencies in the state of Bahia and another 2 GWh in Ceará.
Bolsonaro scraps solar tax planned by Brazilian regulator
The Brazilian president said the potential introduction of a grid fee for net metered solar systems will be eliminated thanks to an urgent ad-hoc decree expected to be approved soon by parliament. The proposed ‘solar tax’ would have affected all new PV installations with a generation capacity of no larger than 5 MW under Brazil’s net metering regime.
Solar-plus-storage will start to make big inroads in the year ahead
By this time next year we may be able to wave goodbye to that old chestnut about renewables endangering security of supply. Elsewhere, the price of lithium – and the products it goes into – could go either way after tanking this year.
Clean energy must be rolled out six times faster
To have any hope of restricting global heating to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius, the renewables success story which saw 108 GW of solar deployed last year needs to be cranked up to the next level – and fast.
Brazil’s Copel contracts another 121.6 MW
The energy provider concluded its second renewables auction on November 13, and has contracted 121.6 MW of wind and solar. Selected projects will be granted a 15-year PPA and will have to begin commercial operations in 2023.
