Solar thermal energy for domestic applications is a mature technology that has been successfully developed in many countries for over 30 years.

It is not well understood why its underdeveloped compared with photovoltaics while almost double its performance.

It is a relatively simple technology that already has small and medium manufacturers in countries of the region such as Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. However, there is still no certification at regional level as in Europe.

In the Caribbean nation of Barbados 80% – 90% of households have solar energy equipment on their roofs. This country ranks in the top 5 global installed capacity per capita.

There are no reliable data concerning the installed capacity in Latin America.

The most recent global estimate dating from 2012 and informs an installed capacity of 234 GWth. Brazil is among the top 7 countries with about 4 GWth (2%).

The Latin American regional market is slowly developing.

In parallel, there is an emerging incipient regulatory framework for certifications that are mainly based on regulatory frameworks of Europe and the US. COPANT is working on the unification of the regional framework of standards and certifications.

One of the main barriers to the development of solar thermal energy are important subsidies that some countries in the region granted to conventional energy.

Professionals and companies in the solar energy industry of Latin America and the Caribbean met recently in San Jose, Costa Rica, to promote the development of this technology in the region.

The meeting was made by IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency), OLADE (Latin American Energy Organization), ICE (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad) and the German Metrology Institute (PTB).

According to the Innovation and Technology Department of IRENA, currently the region only takes advantage of 3% of its solar thermal potential.

The most important conclusión we arrived is that the region has great potential for development of solar energy in residential and commercial areas, but experience shows that to achieve this, we must build confidence in this technology.

How is this achieved ?

Proposals were:

1) Develop mechanisms to ensure the quality of the facilities (standards and inspections)

2) Encourage best practices among professionals and companies (testing and certification)

3) Implement government policies that promote genuine development of this technology

The global analysis of the development programs of solar thermal energy estimates a worldwide installed capacity of 1,600 GWth in 2030 and 3,500 in 2050 GWth.

Will be Latin America an important player in this global installed capacity growing ?

To know that, in next deliveries we will discuss solar thermal sector of each country in the region.