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

NTPC REL, a 100% subsidiary of NTPC and its green energy arm, will set up a 4,750 MW renewable energy park at Rann of Kutch in Khavada, Gujarat. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has greenlit the project, which is slated to be the country’s largest solar park. The project received a go-ahead under Mode 8 (Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Power Park) of the solar park program. NTPC REL aims to generate green hydrogen on a commercial scale at the facility.

Danish manufacturer and seller of wind turbines Vestas has been selected as the pre-selected tenderer at EnBW’s 900 MW He Dreiht project to supply the offshore wind turbines. Vestas was pre-selected through a European Union tender process to provide V236-15.0 MW turbines to be installed for the project located in the German North Sea in 2025. Based on the order eventually being signed, the deal is expected to be the world’s first commercial deployment of the new V236-15.0 MW offshore turbine. The V236-15.0 MW turbine will deliver industry-leading park performance for EnBW. The swept area of the turbine spans 43,742 square meters, and depending on site-specific conditions, a single V236-15.0 MW turbine could produce 80 GWh per year.

Virginia-headquartered AES Corporation has signed an agreement with the Government of Chile to retire over 1 GW of coal capacity in Chile by 2025. The announced capacity includes roughly 20% of the country’s installed coal volume. The retirement of these conventional assets will cut down around 6 million tons of CO₂, the equivalent of taking over 2.4 million cars off the streets of Chile. As part of the initiative, AES plans to invest $3 billion to build 2.3 GW of renewables and energy storage through 2024 in Chile and Colombia.

Air Liquide, Borealis, Esso, TotalEnergies, and Yara have come together to decarbonize the industrial basin of Normandy in France. The collaborators have signed a pact to assess developing a CO₂ infrastructure, including capture and storage, for the purpose. The first phase aims to reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 3 million tons per year by 2030, which is equivalent to the emissions of more than 1 million passenger cars. In the first phase, the partners will study the technical and economical feasibility of the project. The initiative will seek funding from European, French, and regional programs. The project is open to other industrial parties.

Renewable energy firm Convalt Energy, a subsidiary of ACO Investment Group, is set to open a 700 MW solar panel assembly facility in Watertown, New York, in 2022. The company aims to tap into the manufacturing employment pool of the industrial town for its production unit, with access to clean energy from hydropower. The firm hopes the recently introduced manufacturing tax credits, incentives, and grants would help in materializing its growth plans. Convalt Energy acquired SunPower’s production lines at the Watertown facility in April 2021, and the company expects to start production with no major technology upgrades at the plant.