Recently, Wood Mackenzie released a new report on the solar photovoltaic (PV) market in South America, forecasting that the region will add 160GW of solar PV installed capacity by 2034.
According to the “South America Solar PV Market Outlook 2025” report, Chile and Brazil are expected to account for 78% of all PV installed capacity in South America in the coming years. However, increasingly severe power curtailment issues and lagging transmission infrastructure construction will have an impact on the pace of new solar PV additions.
Chile experienced a record 6 TWh of solar and wind power curtailment in 2024, more than doubling from the previous year. The Chilean Renewable Energy and Storage Association (ACERA) stated that nationwide blackouts highlight the need to enhance the security and resilience of the national power system. Similarly, Brazil faces similar transmission and power curtailment issues, which have fueled demand for solar-plus-storage projects. Chile currently hosts one of the world’s largest solar-plus-storage projects, the Oasis de Atacama project built by Spanish independent power producer (IPP) Grenergy.
In the long term, the growing demand for green hydrogen will drive the growth of solar PV in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia. Felix Delgado, Senior Analyst for Americas Power & Renewables at Wood Mackenzie, said, “As mature markets stabilize, the PV market in South America is expected to slow down, but emerging markets are poised for growth.”
The report also points out that power curtailment and grid bottlenecks in Chile are prompting the joint deployment of solar PV projects with battery energy storage systems (BESS). Alejandro McDonough, Managing Director of Wärtsilä in Chile, said that installing BESS in solar PV plants has become an “absolutely necessary” measure in this South American country. Delgado added, “The transition to solar-plus-storage projects in markets like Brazil and Chile is a crucial development. Chile is paving the way for storage adoption in the region and serving as a testing ground, highlighting the challenges and viable solutions faced by countries where renewable energy generation already accounts for a high proportion.”
