Chile

Chile is launching a new initiative to reuse PV modules via a public-private partnership involving Enel Green Power.

The allocated land will be used for either wind or solar power projects. Interested developers will have time until May 25 to submit their project proposals.

The Chilean energy regulator has launched an auction to supply electricity to the national system over a period of 15 years from 2027. The final results will be announced in the summer.

Spanish renewable energy company Acciona is using a robot dog, instead of drones, to monitor a solar park in northern Chile. The device has a built-in thermal vision system that generates thermographic reports on the status of the different PV plant components, as it walks between the panel rows following a programmed route.

The recharging station will operate 24 hours a day and in a flexible format, which will allow fleets of electric buses, last-mile distribution vehicles, trucks, taxis and private electric cars to be supplied through fast charging points.

While there are still many uncertainties as to the way in which hydrogen trade might evolve and change economic ties and political dynamics between countries, experts agree that green hydrogen can bring winds of change to the global energy arena. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, significant geoeconomic and geopolitical shifts are just around the corner.

In other news, Oil India is setting up a 100 kW green hydrogen production facility in Assam, while the German government is providing €60 million for a project aimed at preparing electrolyzer technologies for industrial production at gigawatt scale.

Storage projects, and projects linked to some storage capacity, will also be entitled to participate in the procurement exercise.

Falling electrolyzer costs driven by economies of scale, increased automation of production and the modularity of such systems will bring green hydrogen to a competitive cost with its fossil-fuel powered variants in a dozen markets by 2030, according to WoodMac.

The Antípodas project was announced by the Chilean government last week. It is aimed at taking advantage of the huge solar potential of the Atacama Desert, which is the world’s region with the highest solar radiation.