Chile Has So Much Solar Energy It’s Giving It Away for Free

Chile’s solar industry has expanded so quickly that it’s giving electricity away for free.
Spot prices reached zero in parts of the country on 113 days through April, a number that’s on track to beat last year’s total of 192 days, according to Chile’s central grid operator. While that may be good for consumers, it’s bad news for companies that own power plants struggling to generate revenue and developers seeking financing for new facilities.

Chile’s increasing energy demand, pushed by booming mining production and economic growth, has helped spur development of 29 solar farms supplying the central grid, with another 15 planned. Further north, in the heart of the mining district, even more have been built. Now, economic growth is slowing as copper output stagnates amid a global glut, energy prices are slumping and those power plants are oversupplying regions that lack transmission lines to distribute the electricity elsewhere.

“Investors are losing money,” said Rafael Mateo, chief executive officer of Acciona SA’s energy unit, which is investing $343 million in a 247-megawatt project in the region that will be one of Latin America’s largest. “Growth was disordered. You can’t have so many developers in the same place.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-01/chile-has-so-much-solar-energy-it-s-giving-it-away-for-free

While this isn't ideal for Chile, it does show the massive potential for solar technology and how quickly it can be deployed. Overall a win in my book.

Many areas of the world are converting to it, I think it's the sustainable energy source that is going to become the most dominant.

investors are losing money ..... umm so
the profit is from the potential risk of losing your money.
that is like saying the poker player lost money at the casino...
it happens and it is supposed to happen far more often than it actually does.

The problem, for capitalism, is it reduces a massive public legal monopoly down to battery recharger. There's no gate to squeeze a profit out.

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      Some so-called "investors" are actually investment-marketing companies and various investment 'funds' (e.g hedge funds, pension funds, management 'buy-out' funds..), rather than individual investors...

IF too slow to react to market forces and swings, maybe not doing their due diligence, concentrating on quick short term profits rather than actual substance, they can easily get burned --  and the concentration of those 'managed funds' in one sector can often skewer the results (as has been seen in mining (now in recession..), home construction (too many unaffordable houses out there..), and now this "solar energy" boom in recent decades..).      

I RECKON if a more savvy investor had a few lazy millions kicking around burning a hole in his pocket, he/they/it might be better served by building some spanking new modern factories over there -- to effectively cash in on the cheap power, moderately priced workforce, and friendly government, along with ready access to markets in both the Americas and around the Pacific Rim --  rather than throwing it away on some "me too !" over-subscribed sector like mining, or power stations..