First Solar is helping to boost Chile’s solar potential.
The Arizona thin-film manufacturer put in a bid recently for the 162 MW Luz del Norte project, according to Greentech Media.
Image Credit: Chile Flag via Shutterstock
Worth $370 million, construction of the Luz del Norte plant is scheduled to begin June, 2014 and use more than 1.7 million panels.
In order to put a foot in the Chilean solar industry, First Solar purchased earlier in 2013 Santiago-based developer Solar Chile, which had numerous projects in the early stages of development totaling 1.5 GW.
First Solar’s plans to go unsubsidized with its projects could help Chile reach its aim of 2.2 GW of solar energy within 15 years.
This gives it an advantage over other countries whose unsustainable subsidy programs had created boom bust solar markets, pointed out by Greentech Media:
Less-than-optimally-managed subsidy programs in Spain, Italy, and the Czech Republic have led to booms followed by busts. First Solar has declared its intent to supply sustainable markets, move away from subsidized markets, and to grow its construction projects relative to module sales. This move into Chile is an example of First Solar making good on that promise.
With Latin American & Caribbean solar markets expected to expand by an annual compound growth rate of 45%, Chile is ready as a leader in sustainable energy within the region. Brazil, Mexico, and Chile are expected to have 70% of all the solar energy market in the Latin American and Caribbean area by 2017.
I don't like paywalls. You don't like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we implemented a limited paywall for a while, but it always felt wrong — and it was always tough to decide what we should put behind there. In theory, your most exclusive and best content goes behind a paywall. But then fewer people read it! We just don't like paywalls, and so we've decided to ditch ours. Unfortunately, the media business is still a tough, cut-throat business with tiny margins. It's a never-ending Olympic challenge to stay above water or even perhaps — gasp — grow. So ...
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
