Renewable Energy

The Brazilian town of Vale do Jequitinhonha (MG), which stands out worldwide in mineral production, is the stage of a multisectoral program for the use of Brazilian lithium. The government is now exploring the opportunities of the area in the energy transition.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, presents the solar irradiance data it collected for Europe in July, The data show that solar irradiance averages across Europe maintained fairly typical monthly totals, despite the month being punctuated by weather extremes. “This reaffirms nature’s remarkable equilibrium amidst a period of significant weather fluctuations,” Solcast says.

Scientists in India have proposed to use solar modules at the end of their lifecycle as a building material for low-cost small housing units. With solar module recycling currently not viable economically, the researchers said their approach makes conventional solar panels into BIPV products without any modifications.

Enel Green Power has switched on the 398 MW Guanchoi solar plant in Chile’s Atacama region.

Researchers at the University of Illinois have conducted a survey, combined with prior research, outlining solar grazers’ investments and earnings. The report also delves into complex grazing business plans on large utility-scale solar facilities.

Portugal’s Ministry of the Environment has awarded 5 GW of grid-connection permits, primarily for PV projects. These permits cover 5 GW for power plants linked to the high-voltage transmission network and an additional 1 GW for projects connected to E-Grids at lower voltage levels.

Wood Mackenzie expects 270 GW of new global PV capacity in 2023, up 33% year on year. However, the annual growth rate is anticipated to fall to 1% in 2024 and to increase again by 5% in 2025.

Solar Energy Corp. of India (SECI) has launched a tender to select developers for 1.5 GW of firm and dispatchable power from renewable power projects with energy storage systems. Bidding closes on Sept. 15.

China-based Halead is offering a reflective material for ground-mounted bifacial PV projects, which it claims can increase the annual power production of a solar plant by over 9%. Germany’s TÜV SÜD certified the performance of the solution.

UK researchers suggested utilizing heat pumps to preheat hydrogen to very high temperatures, which they said could reduce the need for hydrogen by more than 20%. The process is also claimed to have the potential to reduce the European industry’s energy demand by approximately 200 TWh per year.