Central & South America

The €240 million Parque Fotovoltaico Sol de Vallenar project is being developed by Spain’s Cox Energy in Chile’s northern region of Atacama.

The Pirapora solar complex, located in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, began supplying electricity to the Brazilian grid in mid-2018.

Through the tender, the province’s state-owned power provider Empresa Provincial de la Energía (EPE) intends to select PV power projects not exceeding 5 MW in size, and wind farms up to 10 MW. Selected projects will be awarded a 20-year PPA.

In its new strategic plan for the period 2019-2021, the Italian power utility announced it will invest an additional €10.6 billion in renewable energy projects. It aims to strenghten its position in the markets where it has an integrated presence such as Italy, Spain, Chile and Brazil.

Some 350 MW will be divided between wind and solar for projects of 500 kW to 10 MW in scale. The ceiling price for solar and wind has been set at $60/MWh.

The Puerto Rico utility’s favored generation plan, in a report prepared by Siemens, involves an LNG terminal at San Juan and would achieve only 55% renewables by 2038. A scenario without LNG would reach 79% renewables by 2038 at comparable cost, based on undisclosed cost assumptions.

The new rules will enable the microgeneration from solar power generators up to 300 kW for residential users, and 500 kW for industrial users.

Caterpillar-branded SunPower modules will be available in Southeast Asia, Africa, South America, and the Middle East – but not yet the United States.

The country’s fourth long-term power auction, originally scheduled for November, will now be held on December 18. The preliminary call for the auction was made in March.