Renewable energy in Chile

Wind farm near Canela, Chile
Solar radiation map of Chile

Renewable energy in Chile is a fast growing sector that in 2014 provided 9% of the country's electricity.[1] Chile has vast geothermal, solar and wind energy resources while fossil fuel resources are limited.[2] It has a legislated renewable energy target of 20% by 2025.[3] On 31 May 2017, Andres Romero, executive secretary of the Chilean National Energy Commission (CNE), was quoted in the financial daily newspaper Diario Financiero as saying that he thinks that Chile could reach its goal of 20% ​​renewable energy by 2025 as soon as 2020, five years ahead of schedule. He also stated that Chile will most probably analyse over the next two years whether it should lift the current renewable energy target of 70% by 2050 all the way up to 100%, on the back of falling costs and anticipated improvements in storage.[4]

Geothermal

With 15% of the world's volcanoes, Chile has vast geothermal potential, estimated at 16,000 MW. This includes the El Tatio geyser field, with 8% of the world's geysers.[5]

Solar energy

Solar power in Chile has the potential of producing all of the electricity used in Chile. Northern Chile has the highest solar incidence in the world.[6] Chile could generate all of its electricity with about 4 percent of the Atacama desert’s surface area, if there were a way to efficiently store and distribute that energy.[7] In October 2015 Chile's Ministry of Energy announced its "Roadmap to 2050: A Sustainable and Inclusive Strategy", which plans for 19% of the country's electricity to be from solar energy, 23% wind power and 29% hydroelectric power.[8]

The 246MW El Romero solar photovoltaic plant opened in November 2016 at Vallenar in the Atacama region[9] It was the largest solar farm in Latin America when it opened.

In 2016, SolarPack won an electricity auction (held without disclosing bidders' power source) by bidding $29.1/MWh;[10] a record low price.[11]

Wind energy

The 115 MW El Arrayán Wind Farm is the largest in Chile,[12] and at the time of its inauguration in 2014 it was the largest in Latin America.[2]

The 2016 electricity auction for a combined 12.34 TWh was won partly by wind power. Mainstream Renewable Power won 7 projects with 985 MW supplying 3.7 TWh/year at between $38.8 and $47.2 per MWh.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Winds of change ", in The Economist, 3 September 2014
  2. 1 2 "Chile Top Renewables Market on Sunny Desert, Windy Shores", in Bloomberg, 8 October 2014
  3. ↑ "Chile Doubles Renewable-Energy Goal to 20% to Spark New Projects", in Bloomberg, 15 October 2013
  4. ↑ "Chile considers going for 100% renewables by 2050". Renewables Now. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  5. ↑ Hodgson, Susan Fox: "Focus on Chile", in Geothermal Resources Council Bulletin, vol.42, nr.1, 2013
  6. ↑ Inter-American Development Bank (Dec 15, 2011). "Renewable energy to power irrigation in the Atacama desert". Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "A Solar Saudi Arabia". Washington Post. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  8. ↑ Chile sets 70 pct. non-conventional renewable energy target for 2050, Fox News Latino from EFE, September 30, 2015
  9. ↑ Chile connects Latin America's largest solar plant to the national grid, MercoPress, November 14th 2016
  10. ↑ "Licitaciones: piso ofertas es de US$ 29 y Colbún entre las más afectadas".
  11. 1 2 "Wind Energy Scores Big In Chile’s Electricity Auction". CleanTechies. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  12. ↑ "Grand opening for Pattern Energy’s El Arrayán Wind facility in Chile", in Renewable Energy Focus, 30 August 2014

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