Central & South America

Belgium’s Tractebel will build three floating PV projects at the 52.2 MW Batalha hydropower project, which is owned by Brazilian state-run power company Eletrobras Furnas.

The solar giant shipped 14.2 GW of modules last year, up 33% on 2018 for the high-water mark of another year dominated by Chinese manufacturers.

Batteries, and the raw materials that make them, are a frequent target of public criticism. The high water consumption required for lithium extraction is speeding up desertification around the salt lakes of Latin America’s “lithium triangle”, for example. The mining debate highlights general problems with the extraction of raw materials including copper, crude oil and lithium but international companies can still influence extraction methods – and there are plenty of different approaches.

The ‘deep photovoltaic nowcasting’ project developed by Chile’s Institute of Engineering Sciences of the University of O’Higgins, Canada’s Laval University and Japan’s Kyoto University, seeks to make short-term, high-resolution projections of solar energy generation.

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.

The construction group, which indirectly owns 67% of the solar developer will pay the funds to complete the $98m sale of two 50 MW solar farms in China to a third-party soon to also be controlled by Shuifa.

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.

The debt-saddled developer has turned to another of its state-owned backers to dig it out of a hole as it scrambles to raise $242 million in eight days.

The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development will support half a dozen megawatt scale projects featuring solar in the Caribbean and Africa. In addition to around 42.5 MW of new solar capacity, the fund will also back the development of energy storage, waste-to-energy and biogas facilities.