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The primary goal of this work is to provide an understanding of the state of the art and future prospects for solar PV technology in Chile. Chile is leading the incorporation of this type of energy in Latin America, with a solar PV market that has experienced a dramatic growth in the last years, mainly due to the high solar resource and the favorable conditions of the market to new investors. Main findings of this study are based on the influence of geographical and climate conditions on the Chilean solar resource, the current status of solar PV industry, electric market and further insights to future deployment of PV technology in this country. A literature review about the effect of desert conditions on the performance of PV systems is also presented, including main results of different studies carried out in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the United States and Chile, as they represent areas where emerging markets of solar PV are growing. Based on the literature review, this work provides some directions to future research in Chile highlighting the main scientific areas which need more extensive R&D efforts to analyze and improve the reliability of PV installations in Chile.