Promoting social development in developing countries through solar thermal power plants

Renewable Energy development can generate co-benefits, such as jobs, income, and economic output. Concentrated Solar Power technology is a key technology for the electric power sector decarbonization as it generates dispatchable electricity, while also creates direct, indirect and induced jobs. Using an innovative methodology, this study estimates the socioeconomic co-benefits of Concentrated Solar Power deployment in a developing country, where most of its potential is located in sites with low-income population. First, local content scenarios were defined based on the assessment of the installed and idle capacities of the country’s industry (at the national and local levels) throughout the Concentrated Solar Power value chain. Then, these scenarios are applied to an interregional Input-Output model to estimate direct, indirect and induced jobs, income and economic output generated by the deployment of a 300 MW solar thermal programme. Findings refer to the regional and national levels, emphasizing that the analysis of Concentrated Solar Power impacts should focus on the mesoscale (regional level instead of national levels only). Depending on the local content scenario, findings show that the proposed Concentrated Solar Power development could generate between 45.40 and 61.21 jobs (direct, indirect and induced) per MW installed, and 0.94 to 1.29 million of United States Dollar (income) per MW installed. •Assessment of Brazil’s local industry through the industrial capabilities for developing CSP plants in the semi-arid region.•Estimation of socioeconomic co-benefits using a regionalized Input-Output Model.•24.33–30.77 jobs/MWe, 0.45–0.58 USD/MWe of income and 1.64–2.12 USD/MWe of output generated in Bahia state.•21.07–30.38 jobs/MWe, 0.49–0.71 USD/MWe of income and 1.61–2.37 USD/MWe of output generated in the rest of Brazil.