A study by the German Society for International Cooperation (IZ) and Chile’s Energy Ministry shows how the price of infrastructure for solar energy has dropped in Chile.
In 2017, the installation of photovoltaic (PV) panels of between 1 kWp and 5 kWp in Chile cost an average of US$2,326 per kWp; today, that same infrastructure costs around US$1,639 per kWp, a drop of 29.5%. The decrease varies depending on the scale of the project and, in the case of a project of between 500 kWp and 1,500 kWp is 26.8%.
These are some of the results of the 2020 version of the Photovoltaic Price Index, prepared by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ)) and the Energy Ministry. It takes into account different components used in the installation of solar panels.
The study, which surveyed 58 companies that had implemented at least one project of this type in the previous 12 months, was conducted in the framework of support for the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) on Renewable Energies for Self-consumption in Chile, one of the country’s commitments under the Paris Agreement.
The Index is designed for use by suppliers of the solar PV market “and potential clients and interested citizens with the intention of providing the market with transparency about the prices of this technology,” states the document.
“Distributed generation enables us all to be protagonists of the transition to renewable energies and a better quality of life. The study clearly shows the positive impact on residential projects. Almost 7,500 households are already using this system,” says Energy Minister Juan Carlos Jobet.
The analysis found that, out of the components required for the installation of photovoltaic systems, the panels account for an average 33% of the total cost of projects of less than 300 kWp, followed by 26% for the installation, 23% for the electrical and assembly materials and 18% for the inverters.
David Fuchs, head of the NAMA Renewable Energies for Self-Consumption in Chile project, implemented by GIZ’s Renewable Energies Program, explained that “this is the sixth index we have published and there has clearly been a consistent year-on-year decrease in prices, which suggests that the Chilean market is reaching a level of maturity similar to that of more mature markets like Germany.” In fact, the study includes a comparison of the prices of projects in the two countries.
The document also calculates the average cost of turnkey projects by power range (CPL/kWp) in 2020, showing that, as scale increases, the cost of photovoltaic systems falls by almost half between the largest (500 to 1,500 kWp) and the smallest (1 to 5 kWp).
To find out more about opportunities for investment in energy in Chile, see this article.
Source: Pulso