Chile Opens Call For Casa Solar Program

• Chile has launched another tender round of its Casa Solar program for 1 kW or 2 kW rooftop solar PV capacity targeted at residential units
• Beneficiaries can hope to bring down the total cost of a solar array under the scheme by 60% from average market value
• A total of 3,500 homes can benefit under the round that will accept applications from throughout the country

The Chilean Ministry of Energy has opened a new call under its Casa Solar program, offering co-financing to 3,500 home owners in the country for installing solar PV systems. The new call was announced by the country's Energy Minister Francisco Lopez on November 10, 2021.

Executed by the Energy Sustainability Agency of Chile under the Ministry of Energy, Casa Solar encourages adoption of rooftop solar by residential segment. It is aimed at enabling beneficiaries bring down their monthly electricity costs, while expanding the capacity of renewable energies in the country.

Subsidy won under the program can be used to install PV systems of 1 kW (3 solar panels) or 2 kW (6 solar panels) capacity. A 1 kW system can bring the beneficiary family to expect annual savings of $150,000, while a 2 kW system can double it to $300,000 annually. It does not include batteries.

Currently, the average market price of a 1 kW system is $2,200,000 and for a 2 kW system it is $3,300,000, according to government estimates. The beneficiaries could expect to eventually pay '60% less than market value' with $850,000 for a 1 kW and $1,250,000 for a 2 kW system.

Winners can either pay for the system with their own resources, or by accessing a green loan from Banco Estado.

The systems will be connected to the grid so excess energy produced is fed into the grid for which the local discom is to make a payment in the form of discounted monthly electricity bills.

Under Casa Solar, 3,040 new solar roofs have already been realized under the 1^st round in 24 communes, and with this call at the national level, the government is targeting 3,500 more roofs. Before the program was launched, Chile had 5,000 homes with rooftop solar panels.

Details of the application process are available on a dedicated website for Casa Solar program, with December 9, 2021 as the last date to submit the same.

In the space of small scale distributed energy projects, Chile has a popular scheme for projects with up to 9 MW capacity, called Pequeños Medios de Generación Distribuidos (PMGD) program where the power producer can sell power at a fixed tariff for long term.