Emerging Markets
Argentina begins to open the door to CSP
An Argentinean senator is tabling proposals that could lead to legislation supporting the development of a 4GW CSP market within 10 years. Will it be enough, though?
By Jason Deign
Fernando Ezequiel 'Pino' Solanas, an Argentinean filmmaker and politician, has a somewhat unusual dream for CSP. He hopes it will one day help his countrymen to buy and sell their properties in US dollars.
Solanas’ vision is a consequence of an ongoing energy crisis that has seen Argentina racking up a hydrocarbon imports bill which by 2012 had grown to US$9.8 billion and is expected to balloon by a further $6.4 billion in the current year, according to published figures.
The need to keep up energy payments has led the Argentine administration to commandeer hard currencies such as dollars and euros, which were formerly favoured by consumers for big-ticket purchases such as properties.
At the heart of Argentina’s energy problems is an outsize reliance on fossil fuels. “It is sad; 90% of our energy matrix comes from fossil fuels,” said Rubén...
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