ACERA working to increase Chile power producers targets to 20% by 2020

As solar companies seek to get financing for PV plants in order to take advantage of the high DNI/GHI rates, the opportunity for solar seems endless. So much so that Chile’s central renewable energy association has argued that the current green energy target of 10% by 2020 is just the tip of the iceberg for renewable energy, particularly solar-PV.

In a recent interview with PV Insider, Carlos Finat, executive director of the Chilean Renewable Energy Association (ACERA) said his association’s long-term priority is to increase Chile’s target for non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE) from power producers from 10% to 20% by 2020. Originally, the government had targeted 20% by 2020, however, the infrastructural challenges facing the grid system resulted in this target being halved. Whilst 10% is realistic, as Carlos Finat mentions, serious challenges still pose a threat to achieving this goal.

At the moment there are several key issues relating to integrating utility scale projects to the grid. The first is that permitting can take over a year and relies on several authorities which can make the process confusing.  Secondly due to on-going proposals to extend the transmission networks developers have faced difficulty in accurately estimating project costs. There are also concerns over the clustering of solar projects creating grid congestion in certain areas.

From a macro perspective the grid authorities are still modifying processes, guidelines and rules to properly accommodate and regulate solar power. The effect of large utility-scale plants on the working of the grid is relatively unknown, and consequently it is also beset by rumours and predictions rather than clear scientific information and testing.

As Carlos acknowledges, these issues are themselves solvable and  the recent announcement that the IDB will give US$ 41.4 million to Solarpack’s PV projects shows a strong vote of confidence in Chile for PV, for profitable production and partnerships with the mining community. That being said, investment from other banks has not yet been as forthcoming.

To ensure companies realise and profit from the potential of the Chilean solar Market, PV Insider LATAM 2013 (10-11 September, Santiago) will be addressing the key technical, permitting and financial challenges responsible for the current bottleneck of projects in Chile. Carlos Finat- Executive Director of ACERA , Pablo Burgos -CEO of Solarpack and Ana Maria Orellana- Principal investment officer at the Inter- American Development Bank  will be joined by 25 other speakers at the event. To download PV Insider’s Interview with Carlos Finat click on the link here:  http://www.pv-insider.com/latam/en-content2.php

Letty Thomas
Global Events Director
PV Insider
lthomas@pv-insider.com