SolarPower Europe maps solar investment potential across Latin America

SolarPower Europe has issued a new market brief spotlighting Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru as prime solar destinations, thanks to strong irradiation, rising power demand, and supportive policies. The study also flags shared headwinds—grid bottlenecks, uneven regulatory execution, and limited access to finance and risk-mitigation tools—and proposes tailored fixes for each market.

Argentina (1.93 GW as of May 2025) is scaling both utility and distributed solar. Priorities include streamlined permitting, upgraded transmission and distribution, and more storage—with momentum already visible after an oversubscribed BESS tender. Forecasts: 3.5 GW by 2028 and 4.3 GW by 2029.

Brazil leads the region with >60 GW installed and is on track for 100 GW by 2029. Despite robust policies and booming DG, the report urges clearer large-scale grid connection procedures and standardized environmental licensing across states to ease access.

Colombia reached 2.3 GW in 2024 (about 90% utility-scale) and could exceed 2 GW of annual additions by 2029. Recommendations include financing for small/medium projects, more bankable PPAs, and accelerated storage deployment, as transmission delays persist—even with 13 plants connected this year.

Mexico is driven by distributed (rooftop) solar, while utility-scale faces grid and policy hurdles. Installed DG could hit 8 GW by 2030 (≈10% average annual growth in 2026–2030). The brief calls for regulatory certainty, faster transmission build-out, and clear national targets; new self-consumption rules took effect last month.

Peru operates >730 MW today but has large untapped potential. To unlock it, the report recommends developing ancillary services, strengthening transmission planning, and adopting a comprehensive energy strategy to 2050. Peru aims for 3 GW cumulative by end-2028.

With Latin America targeting 70% renewable electricity by 2030, finance will be decisive. As Global Solar Council CEO Sonia Dunlop notes, mobilizing blended finance, risk-mitigation tools, and clear market structures can translate the region’s solar promise into real progress.