Sustainability assessment of the solar energy supply chain in Colombia

Abstract

Solar-generated energy supply has been applied as a solution to address the increasing global population, global warming challenges, and the search for alternative sources of renewable and clean energy supply. Regions such as Latin America and the Caribbean have a significant rural population that lacks access to electricity, impeding their development, and increasing unemployment rates. This paper presents a system dynamics model (SD) for assessing the implementation of a solar energy supply chain (SESC), combining the analysis with the national industry's development for the manufacture of solar modules used in the implementation of solar farms and individual solution projects, especially in the non-interconnected zones of Colombia. This case study examines three scenarios in Colombia: national government-implemented solar farm projects; development of national supply chain implementation; and development of the solar energy market. These scenarios are evaluated using performance indicators for supply chain variables, including coverage, diversification, emissions, and job creation. The results indicate that implementing a supply chain and developing solar module production in Colombia can positively impact the proposed indicators, resulting in improvements of 5.9% in coverage, 6.3% in diversification, 6.7% in emission reductions, and 13% in job creation.