Energy transition in Chile. Progress and next steps

The Institute of the Americas’ Energy

2017

050/E5694/2017

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Long one of the highest performing economies in Latin America, Chile often sets precedent for the region. When it comes to the energy sector, Chile’s adoption of non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE) is no exception, and rightly so, as the country possesses vast solar potential in the Atacama Desert as well as large geothermal resources and the political will to utilize them. As of December 2015, Chile incorporated NCREs into 11.4% of its energy matrix, up from 6.3% two years prior, and is on track to meet its goal of 20% NCRE generation by 2025. Chile’s potential in this regard has not gone unnoticed: The country has attracted $9.2 billion in foreign investment in its energy sector between 2012 and 2016. But while the trend towards renewables is promising for a country with a large dependence on imported fossil fuels, the concentration of NCRE remains in the commercial sector, with micro-grids and distributed generation only more recently becoming commercially viable and still very much in their infancy.

Recursos Energéticos Renovables; Desarrollo Energético; Chile;