Engineering workforce challenges for PV manufacturing and market expansion in Argentina

The PV market in Argentina is far from its potential and can be greatly developed if the barriers to adoption of PV technology can be lowered. National and local governments in Argentina are addressing the market side of this challenge. Market development and the establishment of a local manufacturing industry as a link in the worldwide supply chain must be based on a suitable engineering resource pool. To meet this need, the Universidad Tecnologica Nacional in Argentina (UTN) (www.utn.edu.ar) is offering since 2010 a Master's Program in Renewable Energy Sciences (MRES), covering Solar Power, Wind Power and Biomass [1]. In this paper we analyze the requirements of the local industry and report on the results of the 2010 Master's Program and the new UTN Master's course under way.