Acciona and Spanish university claim world record solar generation measurement in Chile

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Technicians of ACCIONA Energia and the UPM during the tests carried out in El Romero Solar plant. Credit: Acciona

Spanish energy firm Acciona Energía and the Solar Energy Institute of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (IES-UPM) have claimed a world record for the amount of electricity generated from solar PV modules scientifically measured at one of Latin America’s largest solar plants.

The 246MW El Romero project, at the municipality of Vallenar in Chile’s Atacama desert, which has some of the highest irradiance in the world, includes multicrystalline modules from both JA Solar and Hareon, with single-axis trackers provided by STI Norland. The project includes 776,230 PV modules of 315/320W each.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Power tests involved measuring I-V curves, which show the relationship between current and voltage in PV modules that are combined either in a series on in parallel.

Describing the tests carried out last May and June, an Acciona release said: “I-V curves in PV generators were measured, showing a total capacity of more than 1MW corresponding to the input power to the inverters installed in the plant. The measurement of power of this magnitude is a world record for this kind of analysis, in which commercially-available devices to measure I-V curves are limited to 150kW, i.e. seven times less.”

I-V curve recorded in El Romero Solar on 25 May 2017 at 12:33 hours (local time). Credit: Acciona

Explaining the conditions that led to the record, Acciona stated: “The peak power curve was obtained with an irradiance of 853 W/m2 and a cell temperature of 40.1oC. The peak power point in the measured curve was 1001 kW (1535 A and 652 V, and that of the curve corrected to Standard Test Conditions (STC) was 1324 kW (1817 A and 729 V). The corresponding short-circuit currents were 1663 and 1947 A, and open-circuit voltages of 819 and 873 V.”

Part of El Romero’s production, which can supply the equivalent of 240,000 Chilean homes, will feed Google’s data centre in Chile. The project came online last November.

In February, independent laboratory service specialist Enertis was chosen to carry out tests on the degradation of the modules on site with its PV Mobile Lab

El Romero: Credit: Acciona

Read Next

July 1, 2025
French private equity firm Ardian Clean Energy Evergreen Fund (ACEEF) has bought 117 solar PV plants, worth 116MW of total capacity in several locations in Italy.
July 1, 2025
A five-year research initiative is underway in Australia to test the viability of floating solar systems on irrigation dams.
June 30, 2025
Australian module manufacturer Tindo Solar has secured a 30MW solar module supply agreement to power Australia's first "net zero pipeline”.
June 27, 2025
Indian solar manufacturer Premier Energies has commissioned its 1.2GW TOPCon solar cell manufacturing line at Fab City, Hyderabad, Telangana.
June 27, 2025
Renewables investment platform Nexwell Power has signed a round of power purchase agreements (PPAs) with “one of the largest” US tech companies for solar PV capacity to be built in Spain.
June 27, 2025
Statkraft has signed PPAs with Better Energy to purchase energy from two solar power plants in Poland with a total capacity of 64GWh.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA