Does Argentina have a potential for solar energy utilization?

Conclusions Our work found a large gap between Argentina’s potential for solar energy utilization and the current solar energy deployment, despite advantages such as a high solar and land resources.

Should Argentina invest in solar energy?

If Argentina were able to stabilize its economy and provide better incentives for solar, investors would be more apt to support renewable energy projects. However, the lack of residential distributed generation projects is hindering mainstream solar adoption.

What is the contribution of photovoltaic electricity to Argentina's grid system?

The first contribution of photovoltaic electricity to Argentina´s grid system occurred in 2011, with a participation of 0.0014% to the total electricity demand, which is a modest contribution to the 1% incidence of renewable energy (RE) at the time, which included small, i.e., ≤50 MW, hydroelectric plants .

Is there a gap between photovoltaic installations in Argentina?

This gap is, however, not static: different legal frameworks and governmental promotion programs have led to the deployment of large-scale and distributed off-grid photovoltaic installations, but they are at a volume (in terms of installed capacity) that lags years behind other countries with which Argentina shares relevant characteristics.

Is solar adoption a problem in Argentina?

(Credit: Nestor Barbitta) For a country with the abundant solar resources of Argentina, the lack of PV adoption is cause for concern. The north of Argentina experiences high levels of solar radiation and has the capacity to produce electricity and jobs for rural and underserved communities in the country.

Is PV development a 'window of opportunity' in Argentina?

PV development in Argentina was provided an initial ‘window of opportunity’ in 2006 by Law 26190 ‘National Promotion for the use of renewable sources of energy in the production of electricity’, which promoted the use of renewable energy sources to reach 8% of the Argentinean electric matrix by 2016 .