Tag Archives: solar energy

Solar Thermal Energy

Solar Thermal Latin America

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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.

Solar Energy

Solar Energy in Latin America

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Before evaluating the solar potential of the region, we will expose some macro variables.

Latin America includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela.

It has 22.222.000 km2 (approximately 13.5% of the planet’s land surface) and more than 600 million inhabitants.

The region has a remarkable political and economic diversity and is unstable because of the continued monetary policy focus shift.

Currently, in Latin America 3 types of economic systems are recognized.

The capitalists, with open economies that rely on the free market and free trade agreements. Some of these countries are Peru, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica.

Countries that, even though argue having an open structure to the world, are clearly protectionists, with a social market or mixed economy. Some of these countries are Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay.

Finally there are a few countries that maintain closed economies with little regard for free market and with a clear tendency to Marxist models. This is the case of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

The largest economies by GDP are Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela.

The most developed in terms of GDP per capita are Chile, Argentina and Uruguay’s economies.

Let us analyze the solar resource available in the region.

Solar energy is evenly distributed, since much of the region lies within the so called ‘Sun Belt’ region presenting the highest solar radiation; with the exception of specific sites, it is a predictable and reliable resource.

What is the main advantage of solar energy over other renewable energies?

Solar energy has a higher degree of integration into the urban environment.

Roof facilities take advantage of idle surfaces to generate clean energy. The country that manages to focus its efforts on such facilities’ development will have the key to its own, and its inhabitants’, energy sovereignty.

Another important factor is that solar installations can be performed by local workers, reducing dependency on technology developers and equipment suppliers (mostly manufactured outside the region). This eliminates the link between the equipment’s sale, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance; unlike it happens with other renewables.

With some of the best solar resources in the world, Latin America has great opportunities.

Some reasons to be optimistic:

1. Good levels of solar radiation in the region

2. Sustained downward trend in solar systems components’ prices

3. Technology with high potential for generating local employment

4. Increasing public environmental awareness

5. Convenience for many countries to reduce dependence on oil and its derivatives

6. Political will is evidenced by governments of some countries in the region

And some outstanding issues:

1- Investment in modern interconnected transmission networks infrastructure and bidirectional measurement equipment

2- A larger financial market to support solar technology long-term development with loans

3- Legal uncertainty and economic instability in some countries of the region

In upcoming deliveries we will analyze the thermal and photovoltaic solar energy domestic applications’ situation in the region.