Sunny Perspectives for Solar Energy in Latin America

Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, El Salvador, Panama, Ecuador and Colombia – all those are sunny countries with a rich photovoltaics potential that remains mainly untapped. This is going to change: From November 26 – 30, SMA was hosting wholesalers from these countries at the Solar Academy. Through seminars, they became familiar with SMA’s product line and learnt about new PV markets.

César Villalta, a technical trainer at the Solar Academy, provided the guests with important facts about PV plant monitoring technology, explained communications products such as Sunny Design, and shared information about plant planning for island systems using the Off-Grid Configurator – and that in the native language of the visitors, Spanish. The Latin American participants, some 20 in all, were being very well prepared to meet the challenges of new PV markets – such as those in their respective countries – and to pass on what they’ve learned to local plant planners and installers.

“Given that the amount of solar energy generated in Mexico is expected to grow from its current 44 megawatts to as much as 2,000 megawatts over the next eight years, it is crucial to strengthen photovoltaics in Central America,” states Jorge Luis Torres Carrillo, sales engineer in Sales New Markets. With colleagues he worked to organize the event and was looking after the guests during their five-day stay.

We have interviewed some of the visitors about the potential and the challenges of their PV markets.

In decembre, we have expanded our global presence with a new sales and service company in Chile.