ESPECIAL AMÉRICA LATINA / LATAM SPECIAL EDITION: MARKET OVERVIEW LATAM SOLAR MARKETS ROUNDUP: CHILE, MEXICO, AND COLOMBIA Chile and Mexico are the largest solar markets in Latin America, offering two very different approaches to renewable energy development. Colombia, on the other hand, is just getting started. This article compiles some of the lessons shared by experts during a series of webinars organized by ATA Insights on Latin American solar markets. CARLOS MÁRQUEZ ATA INSIGHTS Chile: building up a solar market without subsidies Between 2013 and 2017, Chile went from 5 MW of PV to 1800 MW installed plus another 200 MW in commissioning. How did they do it? “High costs of energy, a wealth of solar resources contrasting with an almost complete lack of fossil fuels, changes in the bidding process, and falling solar prices have all played a part”, said Rodrigo Mancilla, Executive Director of the Chilean Solar Committee at CORFO (Chile’s Economic Development Agency). Remarkably, this has been achieved without subsidies. Chile has the best solar resources in the world at the Atacama Desert, which also happens to host one of the largest mining clusters. Copper and Lithium mining operations in this region require a huge amount of energy, which had traditionally been met by fossil fuels. However, these are expensive because Chile lacks significant indigenous sources of hydrocarbons, so almost all fossil fuels consumed there are imported. This means that solar energy is often the most cost-effective source of power. This is not to say that there are no challenges. Should market forces lead to lower fossil fuel prices, solar might find itself on the wrong side of the cost-competitiveness equation. Additionally, the distributed energy market represents only 14 MW of installations, although it is growing fast. RESUMEN DE MERCADOS DE ENERGÍA SOLAR EN AMÉRICA LATINA: CHILE, MÉXICO Y COLOMBIA Chile y México son los mercados solares más grandes de América Latina y ofrecen dos enfoques muy diferentes para el desarrollo de energías renovables. Colombia, por otro lado, apenas está empezando. Este artículo recopila algunas de las lecciones compartidas por los expertos durante una serie de webinars organizados por ATA Insights sobre los mercados solares de América Latina. CARLOS MÁRQUEZ ATA INSIGHTS Chile: construyendo un mercado solar sin subsidios Entre 2013 y 2017, Chile pasó de 5 MW de PV a 1.800 MW instalados más otros 200 MW en pruebas. ¿Cómo lo hicieron? “Los altos costos de la energía, una riqueza de recursos solares que contrasta con una falta casi completa de combustibles fósiles, cambios en el proceso de licitación y la caída de los precios del solar han jugado un papel”, dijo Rodrigo Mancilla, director ejecutivo del Comité Solar en CORFO (Agencia de Desarrollo Económico de Chile). Además, cabe destacar que esto se ha logrado sin subsi- Figure 1. La matriz energética en Chile en diciembre de 2017 Capacidad total 22,8 GW, PV: 1,8 GW (fuente: Corfo) / Figure 1. Chile’s energy mix as of Dec 2017 Total capacity: 22.8 GW; PV capacity: 1,8 GW (Source: Corfo) 26 energética XXI · 175 · ABR/APR18
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