201 MW online in Colombia: Atlas Renewable Energy has inaugurated the 201 MW Shangri-La Solar Project in Colombia, calling it one of the largest PV projects in the country. This is also the company’s maiden operational project in Colombia. Located in Ibagué, Tolima, the project is expected to generate close to 403.7 GWh of clean energy annually. It developed the project in partnership with the Colombian energy company ISAGEN. Both the partners are committed to co-developing, building, and operating 1 GW of solar projects in the coming years.
Statkraft commissions Brazilian projects: Norway’s state-owned energy company, Statkraft, has inaugurated 274 MW of hybrid renewable energy power plants in Brazil. This includes the 76 MW Morro do Cruzeiro Solar and the 198 MW Eugênia Solar power plants, with battery storage, in Bahia state. It will also commission the 69 MW Serrita Solar Farm in Pernambuco this autumn. All of these projects, totaling 340 MW capacity, represent an investment of NOK 2.3 billion. Statkraft says this represents 5% of new solar capacity in Brazil in 2025. The 3 projects will produce 789 GWh annually.
Solar-powered hydrogen project in Brazil: EDF Power Solutions, part of the EDF Group, has launched its maiden hydrogen pilot plant in Brazil at the Norte Fluminense Thermoelectric Plant (TPP) in Macaé. Developed under Brazil’s National Electric Energy Agency’s (Aneel) R&D program with a BRL 4.5 million investment, the facility uses solar PV panels to produce 18 m³ of high-purity hydrogen with a purity level of 99.999%. The hydrogen produced will be used for the industrial processes of the TPP Norte Fluminense, particularly in cooling the generators. The project aims to boost efficiency, cut operating costs, and potentially enable future hydrogen sales.
The project utilizes blockchain to track hydrogen output and includes an energy management system patented by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). This patent, says EDF, lends it exclusive rights in Brazil for up to 20 years and helps attract investors.
BESS for solar in Chile: ACCIONA Energía, the renewable energy arm of Spanish energy and infrastructure company ACCIONA, will install a 200 MW/1 GWh battery energy storage system (BESS) for its 238 MW Malgarida PV Complex in the Atacama Desert in Chile. It can deliver 200 MW of energy for up to 5 hours, and can also be dispatched at night. This will be one of the largest storage projects in Latin America on commissioning in early 2027, it adds. The Malgarida PV Complex was commissioned in July 2021 (see 238 MW Solar Project Energized In Chile’s Atacama Desert). ACCIONA Energía operates 5 solar PV and 3 wind farms with a combined 922 MW capacity in Chile, along with a development pipeline of 3 BESS projects totaling 1.5 GWh, linked to its PV projects.
