IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2015 - 72

stretches more than 4,000 km from north to south, crossing
the world's driest desert, a Mediterranean central valley, and
extensive temperate forests before morphing into a rugged,
glacier-studded archipelago in the extreme south. Such geographic variation has created a rich variety in Chile's culture
and natural resources. In the two centuries since its independence from Spain, its economy has been closely tied to
the land, especially through agriculture and the extraction of
nitrates and copper.
Chile presents unique conditions in terms of solar energy
potential. According to several studies, northern Chile is one
of very few regions in the world with annual global irradiance values exceeding 2,500 kWh/m2 (Tucson, Arizona,
exhibits a value of 2,080 kWh/m2). Its skies are also exceptionally clear, with an annual average clearness index that at
0.72 is close to the world's maximum of 0.8.
An overview of Chile's solar energy potential is shown in
Figure 1. Figure 1(a) compares the energy potential of South
America and Europe, demonstrating the high solar energy
potential of the Atacama Desert. Figure 1(b) presents three

maps associated with the Chilean solar energy potential, in
which the following situations are highlighted:
✔✔ The map on the left shows the annual plant factor distribution in accordance with a color code (red = high,
blue = low).
✔✔ The central map uses the same color code but incorporates land-use constraints, such as minimum distances
to urban areas, rivers, coastlines, railways, and so on;
maximum distances to the electricity network and
access roads; and a maximum terrain slope of 5%.
✔✔ The map on the right incorporates an additional constraint:
those locations with a plant factor greater than 0.24.
In this way, for each region in the country the number
of hectares of well-suited locations can be identified. For
example, in the case of the Arica and Parinacota Region (the
first one, going from north to south), they reach a total area
of 450,864 hectares. Thus, the estimated solar potential for
electricity generation in the Atacama Desert (situated within
the first four regions from north to south) is nearly 1,000 GW,
or five times the present peak load of all South America.

0.08-0.1
0.1-0.11
0.11-0.12
0.12-0.13
0.13-0.14
0.14-0.15
0.15-0.16
0.16-0.17
0.17-0.18
0.18-0.19
0.19-0.20
0.20-0.21
0.21-0.22
0.22-0.23
0.23-0.24
0.24-0.25
0.25-0.26
0.26-0.27
0.27-0.28
0.28-0.299

(a)

(b)

figure 1. Chile's solar energy potential: (a) compared with that of Europe and (b) annual plant factor distribution, with
various constraints added moving from left to right (source: Chilean Energy Ministry).
72

ieee power & energy magazine

march/april 2015



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2015

IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2015 - Cover1
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2015 - Cover2
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2015 - 1
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IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2015 - Cover3
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