Solar Power Industry Growth In Latin America | NAPS
March 19, 2015
Solar Power Industry Growth Presents Vast Opportunities For Manufacturing
Record-Breaking Solar Growth in Latin America Presents Massive Opportunities
When it comes to the potential for solar power, few areas are more inviting than Mexico. That’s because the ample year-round availability of sunlight within the country is something needing no additional funding and is guaranteed to stay that way forever.
A Gaping Marketplace Available
Incentives like that are rarely available to the business community at large. Yet the overall market remains largely untapped, since other Latin American countries like Chile have been the prime focus of international solar manufacturers.
Surging Solar Power Growth
Still, even with limited attention. the Mexican solar market is currently growing by leaps and bounds. For example, the amount of installations was estimated to have quadrupled in 2014 from 2013, numbers that usually get the attention of even the most casual business observer.
Reasons for the Popularity
The impetus for such rapid increases is the Small Power Producers Program (SPPP) as well as the isolations levels involved. To explain more fully, the SPPP is a government-backed incentive program that looks to make the idea of solar installation more inviting for small-scale projects.
Meanwhile, the isolation level is much higher in Mexico as opposed to the United States due to the wide expanses of land that have no shade or other sun-blocking considerations to factor into the equation. The less isolation, the greater the impact of each solar panel.
Manufacturing Considerations
The reduced cost of Mexico manufacturing means that lower wages for the solar company employees will help keep prices at a manageable level. That allows the possibility of greater marketing options for potential clients that will be able to benefit from those lower outlays.
Other Available Options
Even if the residential segment of the market, which has already enthusiastically bought into the concept, starts to see reductions, there are other areas to be tapped. These include the commercial, industrial and even agricultural markets, which will be able to take advantage of the boundless sunshine to reduce their overall energy costs and polish up their bottom line.
The so-called self-supply market, which is generally large plants needing ample amounts of power, benefit most when they can buy their energy from a project that’s not on-site, which offsets energy usage,
The cost for some residential areas could be seen as one of the drawbacks when it comes to broadening the overall appeal of solar in Mexico. However, having Mexico manufacturing plants handling the production of solar panels and other integral components will help alleviate some of that cost. That in turn reduces the shipping costs involved, which can be used to reduce the installation prices.
The Potential Exists
That snowball effect (an ironic term given the warm climate of Mexico) can lead to even more manufacturing possibilities for those looking to venture south of the border. The likely winners are those companies that look to strike while the iron is hot, an apt adage when it comes to broadening the idea of solar in Mexico.