GCL accepts it has lost 865 million shares in its solar project business
An investigation into the financier which promised to lend the polysilicon company’s solar project development arm $60 million two years ago, has turned up nothing more than an address in St Kitts and Nevis and allegations of fraud against one of its key personnel.
Panama could install 1.7 GW of distributed-gen PV by 2030
The government of Panama has outlined a new strategy for distributed-generation PV. The Central American country currently has an installed distributed-generation solar capacity of 46.63 MW.
Scaling up string inverters in Chile
French multinational energy company ENGIE plans to cease all of its coal-fired power generation activities in Latin America by 2025. In Chile, which enjoys some of the highest solar irradiation levels in the world, much of this capacity will be replaced by PV projects – many of which are already in development. pv magazine spoke with ENGIE’s energy efficiency product manager, Francisco Retamal, as well as Senior Project Chief Julio Saintard and Senior Business Developer Cristopher Llanos about their experience working on solar projects in Chile, and the growing role for string inverters like Huawei’s in all market segments.
AE Solar increases Brazilian presence, signs 120 MW distributorship agreement
German solar manufacturer AE Solar has signed a distributorship agreement with Helte Solar for 120 MW of PV installations in Brazil.
The weekend read: Chile’s energy transition and the crucial election
Chile continues to lead the energy transition in Latin America, but international investors are nervous. The pandemic is subsiding, thanks to a vaccination rate close to 80%, and energy demand is showing signs of recovery. However, the political landscape still has investors on edge, reports Luisa Cabello.
Reasons for repowering
In many of the world’s more mature PV markets, repowering – the replacement or upgrade of all or part of an existing PV system – is an increasingly common strategy for asset owners looking to boost their returns or overcome performance issues caused by aging components. There is, however, much more to consider than simply hardware replacement, and various risks that need to be managed. In this pv magazine Webinar, SMA introduces services it has developed specifically for the repowering market, and takes us through the whole process via examples from successful projects.
Ecuador announces renewables auctions, plans to allocate 1 GW
Ecuador plans to launch a 500 MW procurement exercise in November.
China holds the key to cancelling half the world’s new coal project plans
With pressure mounting on the world’s governments to turn their back on the fossil fuel, China and peers in South East Asia, Europe and South Asia could help deliver a coal-free future at the COP26 climate summit planned in Glasgow in November.
Brazil may add another 20 GW of distributed solar by 2030, government agency says
The Latin American country may see unprecedented growth for PV systems not exceeding 5 MW in size during this decade, according to Brazil’s state-run Empresa de Pesquisa Energetica (EPE) agency. New rules now under discussion in the parliament may further boost this market segment and lead, eventually, to another 30 GW of installed solar power.
Mathematical model to couple PV, wind with cooling-heating-power systems
Brazilian researchers have proposed a new mathematical model to change parameters for wind and solar resources and different levels of energy demand. The model was originally conceived for tropical regions, but it can actually be used in any location. The new methodology models a highly complex system featuring wind turbines and PV modules, as well as solar collectors, fuel lines, gas boilers, engine-generator sets, recovery boilers, absorption and compression chillers, and grid electricity.
