Central & South America

In the face of actual and threatened tariffs in the US and India, the world’s biggest solar manufacturers may have to set up shop in the protectionist nations in question ahead of a predicted cooling in their home market.

In this op-ed for pv magazine, Clean Coalition’s Frank Wasco explores how microgrid projects by Solar Saves Lives and other organizations show that communities can build back right and prepare for natural disasters.

According to data from Brazilian association ABSOLAR, Brazil currently has 27,803 solar PV systems connected to the grid, which benefit 32,924 consumer units and total more than BRL 1.9 billion (around $515 million) in accumulated investments since 2012.

The plant, which consists of a 300 kW solar installation and a 1 MW storage system, was built by local power utility Cemig in partnership with Grupo Algar. The project is located in Uberlândia, in the state of Minas Gerais, which is the Brazilian region with the highest penetration of solar and renewables – and a grid that is in a urgent need of improvement.

Spanish inverter maker Ingeteam has reported a massive order to supply Mexican projects, which it claims will increase its O&M services to cover 55% of the countries solar PV installations. Supply contracts are mostly related to central inverters, although string devices, as well as LV/MV transformers, MV cells, and LV switchgear are also included in the deals.

Enel Green Power Mexico has reached an agreement with the Federal Electricity Commission for a 10% expansion of its Villanueva and Don José solar plants, along with another wind power facility. Overall, around $97 million will be invested in the expansion.

The digital platform is intended to help developers of large photovoltaic plants to raise capital without having to resort to banks or traditional investors.

Puerto Rico’s Financial Oversight and Management Board (JSF) is examining a series of infrastructure projects that, if approved, would be fast-tracked for development and construction. Some of the PV arrays included in the infrastructure round already have PPAs signed with local utility PREPA. Two include co-located storage.

The Swiss-based power producer reported its Q1 2018 financial results. After the company ditched its Chilean project portfolio, some numbers look grim, but performance in the Japanese market appears more promising.