Chile’s vast potential for clean power was underscored this month at the Third Atacama Solar Race. The unique, 1,400-kilometer (870-mile) auto competition, which this year drew 20 racing teams from around the world, is styled like a Formula 1 rally. But there’s a difference: all cars are powered by electricity derived from the solar rays pouring down on the Atacama desert of Chile’s north, a region now billed by experts as the best place in the world to produce solar power. Increasingly, Chile’s promise is becoming reality. Though heavily dependent for its electricity on imported fossil fuels, Chile has set climate goals, pledging to cut its greenhouse-gas emissions 20% below 2007 levels by 2020. In September, the nation approved a carbon tax... [Log in to read more]