The first "Latin American Photovoltaic Forum" held on September 20^th in parallel to Intersolar South America trade fair, brought together representatives of governments and industry associations from Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay and Ecuador to report success stories and exchange experiences on the political opportunities for cooperation and prospects for the solar market in the region.

Christoph Urbschat, Managing Partner of eclareon, Board Member of Berlin Brandenburg Energy Network (BEN) and Chairman Work Group Export Photovoltaics of German Solar Industry Association was chairing the forum.

Regarding the development of photovoltaic energy in Latin America, although it is a market of great potential, the region will still have to face challenges such as the limited number of qualified professionals; misinformation by governments and society, which are not used to this technology yet, and limited demand.

To overcome this scenario, one of the ideas is this knowledge exchange with the more experienced countries in the segment. Sharing studies like “PV Legal (www.pvlegal.eu) and “PV Grid” (www.pvgrid.eu) on regulatory barriers, legislation and the capacity of the distribution network to accommodate larger amounts of distributed generation, as presented by the German Solar Industry Association at the forum, would be an important tool that, produced in Latin American countries, can contribute to the diffusion and adoption of photovoltaic technology in the region.

The forum also included a round of presentations with German companies seeking local partners for business development in the South American continent.