Solar energy storage system classification in South America

In South America, regulation on the connection of small-scale photovoltaic systems is recent, given that this type of generation has been integrated into the energy matrix for a few years.

It will also be a key enabler of mass decarbonization and climate change mitigation, facilitating the expansion of variable renewable energy sources such as wind and solar while ensuring grid security. However, energy storage deployment in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is still nascent.

As of 2023, there is only one tower concentrated solar power (CSP) facility in operation in the South American region, located in the Atacama Desert region in Chile, with a total installed capacity of 110 MW and a time of stored energy in the form of heat equivalent to 17.5 h.

In that sense, it is possible to implement large solar PV facilities in the region. Figure 29 shows a mapping of the future installed capacity for each of the nations in the Latin American region. Figure 29. Mapping of future facilities considering installed capacity in Latin America.

5. Discussion South America has privileged solar irradiation, with emphasis on the northeast region of Brazil and especially the Atacama Desert region, in northern Chile. Regarding the energy matrices of each country, listed in Table 4, a large percentage of renewable energies is observed in the analyzed countries.

In this way, the implementation of facilities for the generation of electrical energy through clean energy sources has been developed, with solar energy being one of the most attractive alternatives in the region. Table 9 shows a ranking of the countries in South America according to the criterion of installed capacity (MW).