Solar and climatic high performance factors for the placement of solar power plants in Argentina Andes sites. Comparison with African and Asian sites.

LARA SOFIA, DELLA CECA; MARIA I, MICHELETTI; MARTIN, FREIRE; BEATRIZ, GARCIA; ALEXIS, MANCILLA; GRACIELA M, SALUM; EDGAR, CINÓ; RUBEN D, PIACENTINI

JOURNAL OF SOLAR ENERGY ENGINEERING-TRANSACTIONS OF THE ASME

ASME-AMER SOC MECHANICAL ENG

Lugar: New York; Año: 2018

0199-6231

The installation of solar power plants is currently having a notable expansion. The results presented show that the Argentinean Andes range, from the central to northern latitudes, is an excellent region for the placement of these plants, due to the sum of different positive factors: very high mean annual solar irradiation, low ambient temperature and relative humidity, low precipitable water content, normal wind speeds and extremely low aerosol content of the atmosphere. The proposed regions are nearby San Antonio de los Cobres and El Leoncito, and are compared with two important locations where large solar power plants have been (or will be) built: a site in Africa (Ouarzazate, Morocco) and one in Asia (Dubai, Arab Emirates). We present results of the possible production of electricity, supplying a total of about 23930 GWh, which is 17.8% of the 2015 Argentinean electric consumption and, consequently, could reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in a total mass of 12.8 million tons of CO2eq. The installation of this type of renewable power plants, will contribute significantly to the Argentinean population due to frequent (mainly summer) cutoff of electric power supply and, in particular, to isolated (low income) populations leaving in the Argentinean Andes range.