In the last two decades, Peru has experienced a process of transformation in the sources of its energy matrix, increasing the participation of clean energy such as solar photovoltaic (PV), on-shore wind, biomass, and small hydro. However, hydropower and natural gas remain the main sources of electricity, whereas off-shore wind, biogas, waves, tidal, and geothermal sources are currently underdeveloped. This article presents the enormous potential of Peru for the generation of electrical energy from a solar source equivalent to 25 GW, as it has in one of the areas of the world with the highest solar radiation throughout the year. In addition, this article presents the main advantages, benefits, and considerations of the implementation of solar photovoltaic technology, with emphasis on (i) the potential of solar energy, showing the available potential and an installed capacity by the year 2024 equivalent to 398 MW, (ii) current solar energy sources, characterizing existing industrial solar photovoltaic (PV) energy plants, and (iii) future solar energy facilities projections, stating the portfolio of solar renewable energy plant projects to be implemented in the future considering an installed capacity of 7.2 GW by 2028. Additionally, lessons learned, challenges, and directions for the future development of solar energy in the country are presented. Finally, the article concludes that if Peru takes advantage of solar potential by considering a sustainable future perspective and implementing strategic land-use planning, the southern region will be transformed into a world-class territory for renewable energy development considering the hybridization of concentrated solar power (CSP) systems with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and solar energy storage systems.

Peru is one of the most diverse countries in the world, and its climatic characteristics, biodiversity, cultural heritage, and location on the planet give it a vast potential for wind energy, both on its coast and within the 200 miles which comprise the Peruvian coastline on the Pacific Ocean. Likewise, the northern and central areas of the country represent the regions with the greatest potential for wind energy use. In this context, wind energy is a viable alternative to mitigate the effects of climate change in local territories and, thus, meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined in the 2030 United Nations (UN) Agenda. This article presents the potential for generating wind-type electrical energy both on-shore with 20.5 GW and off-shore with 347 GW. In addition, the main advantages, benefits, and restrictions in the implementation of this type of energy plants in Peru are presented, considering the following: (i) the mitigation of climate change considering the insertion of renewable energies in the energy matrix; (ii) the potential of the available wind resource; (iii) the characterization of seven existing wind power plants, considering a total installed capacity of 668 MW; and (iv) the implementation of future wind power plants considering a portfolio of 31 projects for 7429 MW of total installed capacity projected. Finally, recent advances, challenges linked to territorial implementation, and future perspectives in developing the renewable energy sector from wind resources to address climate change are discussed.

The use of solar energy is considered a potential strategy for the production of electrical energy through thermal heat sources. This article portrays a study framed to be energetic, economic, and environmental fields. This study was carried out in two thermal configurations: the Regenerative Rankine Cycle (RORC) and the Simple Organic Rankine Cycle (SORC), which use solar energy to supply electrical power to a building. The thermodynamic and economic models were proposed for each subsystem of the thermal process, allowing hourly simulations to know the economic indicators such as the payback period (PBP), the levelized cost of energy (LCOE), the specific investment cost (SIC), and the initial investment cost ( C I n v ). The effect of operational variables such as the pressure ratio (rp), the evaporator pinch point temperature (Ap), the condensation pinch point temperature (Tcond), and the solar collector area (Ac) on the Relative Annual Benefit (RAB) were studied. Finally, the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm was implemented to optimize the economic indicators and the environmental impact of the thermal configurations. Results showed that the RORC configuration presented a better performance in terms of generation, purchase, and hourly sale of energy. However, in terms of RAB, the SORC (39,833 USD/year) showed better results in contrast to the RORC (39,604 USD/year) for an evaporator pinch point temperature of 35 °C. Finally, the application of the PSO optimization algorithm allowed the reduction of the LCOE (11.64%), SIC (11.67%), and PBP (11.81%) thermo-economic indicators from the base condition for the SORC, and the reductions obtained in the RORC were LCOE (18.11%), SIC (10.67%), and PBP (11.11%). However, the decrease in environmental Impact for both systems was less than 1% as a consequence of the high contribution of thermal oil in the construction phase of the system.