Argentina’s first solar highway, inaugurated in San Juan province, is a pilot infrastructure project that uses distributed photovoltaic generation to power all of the road’s nighttime lighting and showcases the region’s strong solar resource.
Project overview
The highway installation is located along National Route A014 (Circunvalación Avenue) in San Juan, making it the first roadway in Argentina whose public lighting is supplied entirely by solar energy through a dedicated on-site system. The initiative was promoted by the provincial government through the state-owned Provincial Energy Authority and implemented by local engineering firm Sergio Chiconi, highlighting a partnership between public planning and domestic technical capacity.
Technical configuration
The system consists of 36 solar panel arrays, each rated at 5 kW, mounted on monopoles distributed along different sections of the corridor, for a total installed capacity of about 180 kW dedicated to lighting. Each monopole integrates photovoltaic modules, a metal support structure, inverters for DC–AC conversion and high‑efficiency LED luminaires, allowing the lighting network to operate autonomously from the conventional grid each night.
Operating model and adaptation
The project applies a distributed generation model similar to solar corridors already operating in the Netherlands, South Korea and California, in which numerous small systems are placed along the road rather than relying on a single centralized plant. In San Juan, the design was specifically adapted to the province’s very high solar radiation levels, which are among the highest in Argentina, to maximize the capacity factor and energy yield of the installed PV equipment.
Economic and social impact
Construction of the solar highway created over 80 jobs, including roles for engineers, electrical technicians, welders and specialists in photovoltaic installation, illustrating the project’s contribution to local employment and skills development. By substituting grid electricity with on-site solar generation for public lighting, the project is expected to lower operating costs and reduce dependence on conventional energy sources, though the article focuses mainly on qualitative rather than quantified savings.
Strategic significance for San Juan
The highway strengthens San Juan’s profile as Argentina’s leading solar province; the region already hosts more than half of all operating solar farms in the country, underlining its central role in the national energy transition. Provincial authorities frame the project as both an environmental milestone and a technological showcase that could be replicated on other routes, using San Juan’s solar resource to decarbonize infrastructure and expand the local clean‑energy value chain.
More information is available here.
Image above credit: Sergio Chiconi SRL.
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