Chile just activated Cerro Dominador II — a 3,500-megawatt solar installation on the Atacama Desert plateau at 2,400 meters elevation, generating electricity at 1.9 US cents per kilowatt-hour — the cheapest clean electricity price ever recorded for any generating technology anywhere on Earth.
The Atacama receives the highest solar irradiance measured on the planet's surface at 3,500 kilowatt-hours per square meter annually — nearly three times northern Europe's resource. At this elevation, thinner atmosphere reduces light scattering and near-zero humidity eliminates panel soiling losses entirely. The facility combines photovoltaics with 24-hour molten salt thermal storage, delivering firm baseload power continuously.
Chile exports surplus generation to Argentina, Peru, and Bolivia through cross-border interconnectors, positioning itself as South America's primary clean energy exporter. The 1.9-cent generation cost makes Chilean solar competitive with natural gas at any price level.
Source: Cerro Dominador Chile, Chilean National Energy Commission, Inter-American Development Bank, 2025
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