France-based renewable energy company Voltalia has announced that it is developing a new PV cluster with a potential capacity of over 1.5 GW in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Following the development of large clusters at SerraBranca1 in Brazil and Canudos2 at over 1GW, Voltalia is developing Arinos, a new solar cluster with a potential of over 1.5GW, this time in the southeast of the country. Brazil Solar Potential With the Arinos cluster, Voltalia is developing for itself and third parties. Voltalia has signed partnerships, notably with CTGBrasil. Following approval, these partners will purchase most of the solar sites in the Arinos cluster once the development phase of each site is complete. The development of large clusters of projects allows for the pooling of infrastructure, connectivity networks, and maintenance. This is beneficial, especially for items reserved by Voltalia. Voltalia claims that with each program cluster it develops in Brazil, it ensures that the project has a positive impact on the environment and surrounding communities, such as through the use of local labor. It will continue to expand in Brazil with 5 GW of projects under development in the future. The Voltalia team is involved in every stage of project development with the aim of selecting the best location for electricity production to develop. It said the company has sold about half of its developments since its inception. Voltalia CEO Sebastien Clerc said that with the launch of the Arinos cluster, Voltalia has confirmed its ability to carry out hyperscale projects in Brazil as an energy producer and service provider. For nearly a decade, we have been successfully developing these large-scale wind and solar clusters to produce renewable energy for the greatest number of people, a core goal of our mission. Keywords: engineering news, overseas news Globally, Voltalia produces and sells electricity generated by its owned and operated wind, solar, hydro, biomass and storage facilities. Today, the company has more than 2 GW of power generation capacity in operation and under construction. The portfolio of projects under construction representing total capacity exceeds 11 GW.

Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy developer Masdar has started a project to deploy 1 GW of solar power capacity in four Iraqi provinces, the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity said on Sunday. Ahmed Moussa, a spokesman for the ministry, told the Iraqi news agency on Sunday that a legal consultation agreement for the massive programme was signed last week, setting the stage for the launch of the work. As part of the project, Masdar will build two solar parks of 100 MW each in Mesan and Nineve provinces, a 450 MW solar power plant in Zigar and a fourth in Anbar A solar power plant with a capacity of 350 MW. Musa noted that the government is seeking to diversify power generation in the four provinces and will be able to lower electricity prices after negotiations. The spokesman added that the construction site for the solar power plant has been selected in coordination with the provincial authorities, and Masdar has started a topographical study of the land to assess the environmental impact of the project. The 1-GW deal with Masdar was one of three solar projects the Iraqi government agreed with international companies last year, with a combined capacity of 2.75 GW. Two other agreements include a deal with TotalEnergies SE (EPA:TTE) to deploy a 1-GWp solar power plant and 750 MW of solar power capacity by Chinese state-owned conglomerate Power China. As Kamal Hussein Latif, head of the Iraqi Radioactive Source Control Commission, said in late April, the three projects are expected to be operational by 2025, despite obstacles related to grid connection.

Brazil's "Economic Value News" reported on May 30 that the Brazilian Photovoltaic Energy Association (Absolar) predicted that in 2022, the investment in photovoltaic power generation will reach 50.8 billion reais, and the investment in distributed power generation should exceed 40 billion reais. Large-scale projects will total more than 10 billion reais. The investment will boost Brazil's installed PV capacity by 82%, which should reach 24.9 GW by the end of this year. Sauaia, president of the Brazilian Photovoltaic Energy Association, said the average price of photovoltaic power generation is about US$30 per megawatt per hour (MW/h), and in the last three new energy procurement auctions promoted by Brazil's National Electricity Agency (Aneel) in 2021, photovoltaic Power generation is the cheapest of the two. The A-4 new energy auction project planned by the State Electricity Administration on May 27 will be operational within four years, with photovoltaics accounting for nearly 70% of the registered electricity for the event. Source: Economic and Commercial Section of the Chinese Embassy in Brazil

A few days ago, the European Solar Energy Industry Association released the "Global Market Outlook Report" and pointed out that in 2021, the newly installed photovoltaic power generation capacity in Latin America will be 9.6 million kilowatts, an increase of 44%. By the end of 2021, the cumulative installed capacity of photovoltaic power generation in Latin America has exceeded 30 million kilowatts, an increase of more than 40 times compared with 2015. It is expected that under the promotion of policies, the photovoltaic market in Latin America will continue to improve in the future. Before 2026, the installed photovoltaic power generation capacity in the region will increase by 30.8 million kilowatts every year. The report pointed out that in the next five years, Latin America is expected to rank among the top five photovoltaic markets in the world. At present, about 25% of the energy supply in Latin America comes from renewable energy, mainly hydropower and biomass power generation. With the increasing demand for emission reduction and economic recovery, the development of photovoltaics has gradually become an important task in the region. Among them, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and other countries regard the development of renewable energy represented by photovoltaics as the main driving force for economic growth, and put forward green plans or related initiatives. Brazil is the first country in Latin America to deploy renewable energy through bidding for centralized photovoltaic power plants. In addition, distributed photovoltaic projects have always enjoyed preferential policies in Brazil, including tax reductions and allowing owners to sell surplus electricity online. Rodrigo Lopes Sauaia, CEO of the Brazilian Solar Energy Association, said that policy support is the key to the continued expansion of the Brazilian PV market. According to Brazil's latest law, distributed photovoltaic projects put into operation before the end of 2022 will enjoy tax reductions until 2045. Amid soaring electricity bills, photovoltaics have become a popular choice for electricity consumption in Brazil. "In the past year, electricity prices in Brazil have increased by 20% to 25%, which will undoubtedly save a lot of daily expenses for end consumers who choose photovoltaics. This further enhances the competitiveness of photovoltaic power generation." Rodrigo Lopes Sauaia said. Statistics from the European Solar Energy Industry Association show that in 2021, the newly installed capacity of photovoltaic power generation in Brazil will reach 5 million kilowatts. As of the end of April this year, the cumulative installed capacity of photovoltaic power generation in Brazil has reached 15 million kilowatts. It is estimated that in 2022, the newly installed capacity of photovoltaic power generation in Brazil will exceed 12 million kilowatts, and the cumulative installed capacity of photovoltaic power generation will reach 25 million kilowatts, indicating an explosive growth...

On June 13, REC Silicon and Ferroglobe signed a raw material supply agreement. The two parties will cooperate in the development and production of polysilicon to meet the production needs of the solar energy industry chain. The company also pointed out that Hanwha Group's capital increase in REC Silicon since the beginning of this year has provided the company with sufficient liquidity, which is the main thrust to promote this cooperation. It is reported that REC Silicon is a manufacturer of advanced silicon materials. Before 2019, its factory in Moses Lake, Washington, has been producing polysilicon. After 2019, due to liquidity problems and the impact of Sino-US trade, the factory has been closed. This year, Hanwha Qcells' capital increase in REC has provided the company with sufficient liquidity funds, which will support the company's restart of polysilicon production, which indirectly contributed to this cooperation with Ferroglobe. According to the reporter's understanding, after acquiring a 16.67% stake in REC Silicon for US$160 million in January this year, Hanwha Group acquired an additional 4.67% stake in REC from Aker Horizons for US$44 million in March, becoming the largest shareholder of REC in one fell swoop. . The partner Ferroglobe this time is a producer of metal silicon and alloy raw materials, which provides key materials for many industrial and consumer products, and will provide REC with stable raw materials for polysilicon production. Regarding the restart of polysilicon production, REC said that the polysilicon produced in Moses Lake will be used by Hanwha Qcells' PV module production department, which currently operates a 1.7GW module factory in Georgia. In addition, REC Silicon CEO James May revealed last month that the company's polysilicon production using fluidized bed reactor technology is expected to start production in the fourth quarter of 2023 and reach full production in 2024. REC also mentioned that if the Solar Energy Manufacturing of America (SEMA) Act is passed, the US solar supply chain will grow rapidly. Originally unveiled last year by Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff and placed on the Build Back Better policy agenda, SEMA proposes a range of solar tax incentives, including incentives for polysilicon, ingots, silicon Sheet, cell and module project construction and production. "We believe the passage of the SEMA Act will greatly advance the entire solar industry and create tens of thousands of jobs, accelerating America's transition to clean energy," REC said.

Britain's Octopus Energy Group has bought the rights to build a 35-megawatt wind farm in Germany, its first renewable energy generation deal in the country, and the company has huge future expansion plans. The solar and wind investor said on Thursday it intends to "rapidly increase" its power generation portfolio in Germany and is already looking for more locations. Its goal is to have a 1.2-gigawatt wind and solar park portfolio in the country by the end of the century. The rights to the 35 MW Gaishecke wind power project were acquired from a consortium of LindenProjekt GmbH, FH Beteiligungs GmbH and ISB GmbH. To be installed in Hesse near Frankfurt, the 10-turbine plant powered by Vestas hardware will come online by the end of 2023. Its construction is scheduled to begin in the next few weeks. Once built, it will generate nearly 100,000 megawatt hours of electricity, enough to supply about 40,000 homes a year. Andrew Mack, CEO of Octopus Energy Germany, said: "Octopus Energy has been active in the German retail energy market since the end of 2020. We were shocked by the reaction of the German retail energy market to Octopus. The first onshore wind deal is a very important milestone, and it's just the beginning. "Octopus Energy Generation, part of the Octopus Group, manages 3 GW of renewable energy assets in Europe. The company aims to have 18 GW of clean energy generation projects globally by 2027.

Prime Infrastructure Holdings Inc, an infrastructure company led by Philippine billionaire Enrique K Razon Jr, plans to develop a solar-plus-storage project in the Philippines with a capacity of 2,500 MW to 3,500 MW. The project will be executed by Terra Sular Philippines, a subsidiary of Terra Renewables Holdings Inc, a subsidiary of Prime Infra and Solar Philippines Power project Holdings Inc. The facility will benefit from a battery energy storage system (BESS) with a capacity between 4,000 MWh and 4,500 MWh. Prime Infra calls it the world's largest solar-plus-storage project. Prime Infra said today that the solar park has been awarded a 20-year contract to supply power from an 850-megawatt portion to domestic utility Manila Power, also known as Meralco. The electricity retailer is expected to start getting power from the 650 MW capacity by 2026, with Terra Solar planning to complete the project in 2027. When fully constructed, the plant will be able to eliminate annual consumption of 1.4 million tonnes of coal or 930,000 litres of oil, according to developer estimates.

According to federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) estimates, more than 97% of new renewable energy additions in the United States in the first quarter of 2022 came from photovoltaic systems and wind power facilities, indicating that the deployment of renewable energy is making steady progress. In terms of electricity generation, however, the two renewables increased by more than 24 percent. Based on the commission's further estimates of installed wind and photovoltaic systems in the United States, 78,416MW will be added over the next three years, meaning that the United States will install more than 2.2GW of photovoltaic systems and wind installations per month from now on. If a total installed capacity of nearly 180GW is planned for deployment in the US, it will more than double the current 72GW of cumulative installed capacity over the next three years. However, industry insiders have questioned whether such high deployment volumes will be possible in the U.S. renewable energy market amid pv module tariffs, price increases and supply-side disruptions. On the other hand, in the US, renewable energy generation (including photovoltaic systems for households) rose 18.3 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier and accounted for 24.4 per cent of total electricity generation, according to survey data published by the International Energy Agency. In March alone, renewables accounted for 27.8 per cent of electricity generation. According to the report, in the first quarter of 2022, the amount of electricity generated by PHOTOVOLTAIC systems in the United States increased by 31.8 percent and that generated by wind facilities by 22.9 percent. Renewable energy generated 16.4% more electricity than coal and 30.3% more than nuclear. Critics have been skeptical that the new renewables will be able to keep up with growing demand, even as electricity is vacated by decommissioning coal-fired and nuclear plants. There seems to be an emerging consensus that at least the remaining plants should be retained, as gas prices rise and their use for power generation looks increasingly unwise from a sustainability point of view. Source: saurenergy

Iraq, a major oil producer, aims to have 12 GW of renewable power generation capacity by the end of the century, Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar told the country's official newspaper Al-Sabaah. The minister said the ministry has signed contracts for about 2.5 GW of new solar power plants. He believes that Arab countries need to seek a model that produces the highest energy at the lowest cost in order to have a modern economy. Renewable energy projects, especially solar projects, are key to achieving energy security. Replacing oil with natural gas will also help with access to cheap electricity and diversified energy sources, Abdul-Jabbar said. The minister noted that Iraq has the potential for renewable energy in a vast area, while traditional energy is concentrated in certain areas. According to Jabbar's estimates, the country's generating capacity is around 19 GW, while demand exceeds 30 GW. Plans for large-scale solar power plants across the country were recently announced. Last week, Iraqi electricity minister Adel Karim said a 750-megawatt solar park would be built in the southern province of Muthana to ensure the province has enough electricity. Another 150 MW solar project is planned in Anbar province, the country's largest by area. Source: Research and Search Photovoltaic Intelligence Analysis

French automotive technology company Faurecia, part of the Forvia Group, has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Engie and EDP to install 100MW of solar power projects on-site at its sites in 22 countries by 2023. The two French energy companies will install solar arrays at more than 150 locations. They will sell the electricity generated to Faurecia for 15 years, which will be enough to meet 7% of its global electricity needs as the company aims to make industrial operations carbon-neutral by 2025, 10% of this total capacity. Nearly 30% will be installed by the end of 2022. This article is organized by TrendForce New Energy Network