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

Union Power Minister R K Singh launched the green energy open access portal allowing consumers to access green power easily through transparent, simplified, uniform, and streamlined procedures. Any consumer with a connected load of 100 kW or above can get renewable energy through open access from any renewable energy generating project set up by themselves or by any developer. The open access has to be granted within 15 days. The application for open access can be made on this portal.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $12 million funding opportunity to advance the science of safe, cost-efficient lithium extraction and refining from geothermal brines. Geothermal brine is a hot, saline fluid that flows within the earth’s crust. Producing geothermal energy involves pumping this brine to the earth’s surface to rotate turbines and generate electricity using natural heat. In rare cases, when geologic conditions are optimal, lithium can be extracted from brines with minimal waste and carbon pollution.

Sungrow signed a solar inverter supply contract with SOLA Group for a 256 MW solar project in South Africa. This project will power five facilities of titanium dioxide pigment manufacturer Tronox through the wheeling agreements with Eskom. Sungrow will supply its 1+X modular inverter with intelligent string-level diagnosis to improve the power yield and real-time parallel arc detection to further protect system safety.  Once the project is implemented by 2023, it will generate 540 GWh of clean electricity annually and greatly reduce Tronox’s carbon footprint across its production chain.

Mosaic, a financing platform for U.S. residential solar and energy-efficient home improvements, announced it surpassed $10 billion in loans funded through its platform. The new milestone comes just seven weeks after announcing $9 billion in loans funded, showing accelerated growth for the clean energy fintech company. According to Billy Parish, the founder and CEO of Mosaic, The Inflation Reduction Act is rich with consumer incentives and tax breaks that will drive the adoption of clean energy products.

CrossBoundary Energy will explore financing solutions with Bank of America to rapidly scale its investments in renewable energy solutions for commercial and industrial businesses across Africa.  The collaboration is an example of a blended finance transaction driving capital flow into emerging markets and will support CrossBoundary’s delivery of approximately 255 MW of solar and wind generation and 50 MWh of storage projects. CrossBoundary is currently delivering a portfolio of $230 million in projects for more than 30 corporate customers across 14 African countries.

San Diego Gas & Electric and General Motors to explore the feasibility of integrating bidirectional EVs into the electric grid as a local energy resource. Under the new agreement, GM and SDG&E will study three vehicle-to-grid capabilities− vehicle-to-home, vehicle-to-grid, and a virtual power plant, which can leverage distributed energy resources such as EVs, batteries, and chargers to help the grid meet demand. GM Energy will examine the hardware, software, processes, and construction considerations necessary to accelerate the wider adoption of vehicle-to-grid integration capabilities.