Central & South America

An international research team has identified parameters to integrate PV cells into unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Grenergy said its new power purchase agreement (PPA) for 260 MW/1,100 MWh of solar-plus-storage in Chile has a duration of 15 years. The installation is part of the fourth phase of the massive 1 GW/4 GWh Oasis de Atacama solar-plus-storage project.

The government of Sao Paulo, Brazil, says that a new 7 MW floating solar project on a reservoir in the megalopolis is the first phase of a 75 MW facility that will be completed in 2025.

An international research team has demonstrated, for the first time, the technical feasibility of solar cells relying on absorbers made of silver, barium, titanium, and selenium (Ag2BaTiSe4). The simulations showed these devices may reach efficiencies of up to 29.8% and be based on different buffer layer materials.

Diesel generators have been the workhorse of disaster relief for decades but as the frequency of extreme weather events rises, so do calls to decarbonize the emergency response. Sustainability may not be the only benefit to using solar in a crisis, as pv magazine discovers.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that Brazilian solar power production outperformed December expectations, with most of the country’s utility scale assets receiving irradiance well above average irradiance. Argentina saw storms through the month, though the south of the country stayed mostly dry and saw some of the highest daily irradiance across the continent.

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.

Colombia’s new decree includes requirements that energy communities must meet, such as rules on collective self-consumption and collective distributed generation.

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.

PowerChina has finished building a 480 MW solar plant in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, which is recognized for having the world’s highest solar radiation levels.