Success for solar in electricity auctions in Latin America

October 20, 2016
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The costs of solar power continue to drop in Latin American countries, with electricity being sold for as low as US$30 per MWh in some cases. Mexico awarded more than 3.6 GW of solar at auctions this year and in Chile, a new trend was confirmed. Renewable energy providers are winning contracts because they can offer lower prices than conventional energy providers. Chile also set a record for the whole of Latin America, selling solar power for US$29.1 per MWh at one auction in August. Peru has also set records for low price at auction; 185 MW of solar PV awarded in Peru was sold at a median price of US$40 per MWh. The Brazilian market awarded a large volume of solar albeit at a higher price: 1,115 MW of projects sold at BRL 297.4 (US$93) per MWh.

Other countries now see the low price of solar and are moving to develop more quickly. This includes Argentina and El Salvador, the latter of which is still in development for an auction of 150 MW of renewables. Recent market interest can be attributed to the overcapacity of solar module production, which has generated pressure for the development of emerging markets and resulted in a drop in module prices from last year.

Read the full article here:
http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/success-for-solar-in-electricity-auctions-in-latin-america_100026590/#axzz4OJa2a96z