Central & South America

Brazilian energy agency the EPE has pre-qualified 1,829 renewable power projects with a combined capacity of 100.8 GW for the procurement exercise. The A-6 auction is expected to be the largest in terms of allocated capacity and to deliver lower bids than previous rounds.

Of the nation’s installed operational PV capacity, 3,364 MW is in the form of solar parks while distributed generation contributes around 693 MW.

As the solar industry digests yesterday’s announcement by Theresa May of a net zero carbon ambition by 2050, developer Solarcentury says Downing Street is hugely underestimating the role PV can play in achieving that milestone.

Italian industrial group Maccaferri, the parent company of the insolvent EPC contractor, has also filed for insolvency for another three units of its energy business.

Rodrigo Sauaia, CEO of Brazilian solar energy association ABSOLAR, analyzes the chances of PV in this year’s two energy auctions in which it can compete. But it is not all about auctions, Sauaia tells pv magazine, there are 2 GW of solar projects under development for which bilateral PPAs may be signed, and hundreds of MW worth of such schemes that have already secured contracts.

There was plenty of innovation on display at this year’s SNEC, which closed yesterday afternoon at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. The three-day exhibition ran from Tuesday to Thursday, was well attended and still ranks as the world’s largest solar energy trade show.

Although only two of the nine projects selected in the auction are for hybrid biomass-solar power plants with some storage, seven will rely on renewable energy sources. The largest selected project, however, is a 123 MW gas power plant in the city of Boa Vista.

“Another week, another trade crisis.”

The tender is on June 28. This year’s procurement exercise may allocate less capacity than previous auctions, due to lower demand for contracting new projects.

The funds will be used for renewable energy facilities and projects associated with the bond have already obtained Climate Bond Initiative certification.