Sunset or sunrise? Understanding the barriers and options for the massive deployment of solar technologies in Chile

The use of solar technologies should proliferate in Chile as half of the country has a solar irradiance (GHI) above 5 kWh/(m2d). Moreover, the Atacama Desert exhibits further advantageous conditions with 7 kWh/(m2d), clear skies and a large energy-consuming mining industry. Since 2012 the solar sector takes off, totalizing over 1600 MWe of solar power and about 100 MWt of solar heat installed by the end of 2016. However, only about 10% of the filed projects are operative; many barriers are slowing down the further development of solar technologies. While several barrier studies for solar technologies exist in the literature, they are often country-specific and there is no publication found regarding the Chilean solar sector. In the present paper, the barriers obstructing the way of Chile becoming a solar power country are found through interviews and then analyzed and classified into six groups (economic, market, system integration, technical, regulatory and information barriers). For these barriers, an overview of emerging mitigation options are provided and future solutions, including opportunities for research, are proposed.