Chile among the countries with best conditions for solar PV energy

In the region, Argentina, Mexico and Peru are also in this category, according to the report “Solar Photovoltaic Power Potential by Country” prepared by the World Bank.

The World Bank report “Solar Photovoltaic Power Potential by Country” reveals that around 20% of the world’s population lives in 70 countries with excellent conditions for solar photovoltaic energy. The Latin American countries mentioned are Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Peru. The organization has drawn up a global map showing practical solar energy potential after excluding for physical, environmental and other factors.

The report indicates that, “until now, a global and harmonized assessment of country-level PV potential has not existed” so the new study “attempts to fill this gap by evaluating the theoretical potential (the general solar resource), the practical potential (accounting for additional factors affecting PV conversion efficiency and basic land use constraints), and the economic potential of PV power generation (considering a simplified evaluation of electricity production costs).”

In addition to the Latin American countries indicated, the report mentions as countries with high potential those of the Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa as well as Afghanistan, Australia, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan and many countries of the Pacific and Atlantic islands.

The report is based on data provided by the World Bank through the Global Solar Atlas, a free online tool with the latest information about potential of solar resources around the world. It comes with by country factsheets, which can be downloaded from the Atlas, providing a summary of the country’s potential resources and how it compares with other countries.

The data serves to evaluate or compare almost any site, region or country. In total, 93% of the global population lives in countries with an average daily solar photovoltaic potential of between 3.0 and 5.0 kilowatt hours per kilowatt of installed capacity (kWh/kWp) while some 70 countries have excellent conditions for solar photovoltaic energy and an average daily output of more than 4.5 kWh/kWp.

To find out more about investment opportunities in the energy sector in Chile, see this article.

Source: Energías Renovables