Here are some noteworthy cleantech announcements of the day from around the world:

India’s space agency ISRO would soon give the world a ‘solar power calculator’ that will use satellite data to measure the solar energy potential of any region in the world. This application will help to decide the location of solar energy projects across the globe. This was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. The application will strengthen the One Sun One World One Grid initiative. Modi launched the Green Grids Initiative – One Sun One World One Grid jointly with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the ‘Accelerating Clean Technology, Innovation and Deployment’ leader’s event at COP26.

FTC Solar, a provider of solar tracker systems, technology, software, and engineering services, announced that it had been awarded a solar project in Africa since entering this new market earlier this year. The project will use FTC Solar’s latest Voyager+ tracker solution, which offers all the advantages of FTC’s two-panel-in-portrait design, including industry-leading installation speeds, high slope tolerance, reduced part count, and DC collections advantage, while being optimized for the industry’s large new format solar modules. The 1MW project has been developed by AAAS Energy in conjunction with BUAN, with the last mile development and EPC works being undertaken by Soventix, South Africa. The power produced will be cheaper and support research and data collection with regards to the agrivoltaic concept. The project is expected to begin generating power in early 2022.

IndianOil will install Electric Vehicle (EV) charging facilities at 10,000 fuel stations over the next three years. The proposed EV charging network will facilitate an uninterrupted driving experience for EV users and boost the country’s EV manufacturing ecosystem. IndianOil has been evaluating emerging trends in mobility, focusing on relevant areas in the EV value chain, and exploring potential business opportunities to stay ahead in the transition curve. IndianOil has 448 EV charging stations and 30 battery swapping stations across the country. IndianOil has collaborated with Tata Power, REIL, PGCIL, NTPC, Fortum, Hyundai, Tech Mahindra, BHEL, and Ola for setting up EV chargers at its fuel stations. Initially, a mix of chargers suited for 2W/3W will be provided, which will be further upgraded as per requirement and market conditions.

The United Arab Emirates and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) have announced the Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) Platform – a new global climate finance facility to accelerate the transition to renewable energy in developing countries. The UAE committed $400 million in funding provided by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) toward the platform’s goal of securing a minimum of $1 billion in total funding. The new UAE-IRENA partnership to establish the ETAF platform builds on the long-term collaboration between IRENA and ADFD, including seven cycles of the $350 million IRENA-ADFD Project Facility. Between 2013 and 2020, the facility financed 26 projects in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, notably small island developing states.

Leeward Renewable Energy has commenced construction of the 100 MW Rabbitbrush solar project in California, in the U.S. Leeward had previously signed two 15-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Central Coast Community Energy (CCCE) and Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) to supply electricity from the plant. McCarthy Building Companies is the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor on the project in Kern County, including a 20 MW/50 MWh battery. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of July 2022. The facility is estimated to begin operation by the end of August 2022.