Chile

Colbún, Atlas Renewable Energy, and Innergex were the winners of National Copper Corporation of Chile’s (Codelco) latest procurement exercise. They secured 15-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) to supply clean power from 2026.

Grenergy said its new power purchase agreement (PPA) for 260 MW/1,100 MWh of solar-plus-storage in Chile has a duration of 15 years. The installation is part of the fourth phase of the massive 1 GW/4 GWh Oasis de Atacama solar-plus-storage project.

Reports of broken module glass with no obvious cause have begun to crop up at large PV projects. Module design, glass manufacturing, and interactions in the field between modules and trackers are at play and a clear solution has yet to emerge. Early signs suggest an update to certification standards may be needed.

PowerChina has finished building a 480 MW solar plant in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, which is recognized for having the world’s highest solar radiation levels.

Thresholding methods have commonly been used to characterize the soiling accumulated on glass coupons. Researchers led by the Sapienza University of Rome have identified 16 automatic thresholding methods that may be used for analyzing soiling on PV panels.

A new initiative by the Chilean Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of National Assets is expected to cover storage projects with an aggregate capacity of 13 GWh, distributed mainly in the regions from Arica y Parinacota to Atacama.

Chile covered 20.7% of its electricity demand in October with solar power. The nation has 9.18 GW of cumulative installed PV capacity, accounting for 26% of its total power generation capacity.

Gebrüder Weiss is testing electric trucks with two electric motors and 7.4 kWp of PV output. The modules are installed on the top of the trucks and as mobile extensions.

With utility scale solar installations accelerating, Philip Wolfe, founder of PV data consultancy Wiki-Solar, drills into the data to highlight some interesting variations in relative progress around the world.

Chile is now on track to become the second-largest battery market in the Americas, following the United States. As of this year, the Latin American nation has switched on 12 storage projects, with a total capacity of 1.3 GW. It currently has 85 energy storage projects, totaling 6.4 GW, in various stages of development.