ABSTRACT A Quality Function Deployment (QFD) analysis [1] has been performed to select four solar energy applications for the medium and large size mining industry in Chile. The northern Chilean economy revolves around the mining...
moreABSTRACT A Quality Function Deployment (QFD) analysis [1] has been performed to select four solar energy applications for the medium and large size mining industry in Chile. The northern Chilean economy revolves around the mining industry, which demands large volumes of electricity, heat and water to carry out their processes. The selection was made among eleven applications of solar energy intended to cover the aforementioned demands. Production simulations financial and economic analyses were performed using solar resource data of three different locations. Then, all the combinations were evaluated using indicators grouped in the following categories: Technology, Social, Risk, Resource, Market, Economy, and Environment. QFD methodology allowed to transform technical evaluation into customer oriented results. By setting the Chilean society as the customer, the projects were consequently ranked regarding their potential attractiveness to the country.
