Renewable energy in Chile is classified as Conventional and Non Conventional Renewable Energy (NCRE), and includes

biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

, hydro-power, geothermal,

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...

and

solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

among other energy sources. Most of the time, when referring to Renewable Energy in Chile, it will be the Non Conventional kind.

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

has considerable geothermal,

and wind energy resources while

fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels m ...

resources are limited. Chile has been described as "a world leader in renewable energy development." In 2016 Non Conventional Renewable Energy provided 7,794 GWh, or 11.4% of the country's total electricity generation. NCRE accounted for 17.2% of the installed electricity generation capacity by the end of 2016. On 2022, for the first time solar and wind energy generated more power than coal-based energy (27.5% vs. 26.5%).

Timeline of key developments

2013 In 2013, with the promulgation of the law 20,698, the target was increased to 20% by the year 2025, and a new progression for the following years was defined. 2008 In 2008, the Chilean Law set the Non Conventional Renewable Energy Target to 10% by 2024. In 2013 the target was increased to 20% by 2025. The law 20,257 modified the “Electricity Services General Law” by adding the article 150° bis, which stated that every electricity company that has over 200 MW of installed capacity and that makes withdrawals from the grid, 10% of that energy has to come from Non Conventional Renewable Energy sources. This target can be accomplished by either recognizing energy from its own power plants or by purchasing energy from other NCRE power plants. If the electricity company has a surplus of NCRE, that energy can be recognized as part of the target for the next year. The same article states that if an electricity company falls short, it has to pay a fee per MWh of deficit. If the company falls short 3 consecutive years, the fee is increased by 50%. However, the company with the deficit has the option to postpone the obligation for one year only if it gives notice in advance by March of the same calendar year. The collected fee will be distributed between the final customers whose consumed energy complied with the renewable energy target.

Non conventional renewable energy sources

According to Chilean law (N°20,257 of 2008), the Non Conventional Renewable Energy sources are: #

Biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

bio-gas Biogas is a mixture of gases, primarily consisting of methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste and food waste. It is a re ...

and

waste Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste prod ...

. # Hydro-power, with installed capacity below 20 MW. #

Geothermal energy Geothermal energy is the thermal energy in the Earth's crust which originates from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of materials in currently uncertain but possibly roughly equal proportions. The high temperature and pres ...

. #

Solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...

. #

Wind power Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...

. # Sea power, such like

wave In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (res ...

and

tidal energy Tidal power or tidal energy is harnessed by converting energy from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity using various methods. Although not yet widely used, tidal energy has the potential for future electricity generation. Ti ...

. # Others approved by the authority, that help diversify electricity generation sources and have a low environmental impact.

Hydroelectricity

Hydro-power has always been an important resource in the Chilean electric grid. Historically, hydro-power has accounted for around 50% of the total electricity generation of the country. In particular, hydrology is one of the factors for seasonal variations in the electricity prices of one of the main electric grids of the country, the

Sistema Interconectado Central The Sistema Interconectado Central (Spanish for ''Central Interconnected System'') or SIC was the main alternating current power grid in Chile spanning all of Chile from Atacama Region in the north to Los Lagos Region in the south. SIC transmitted ...

, with seasonal droughts causing electricity prices to rise. There are 118 hydro-power plants in the entire country totaling almost 6,460 MW of installed capacity, of which 10 plants are dams (the rest are run-of-the-river). Most of these (65% by September 2015) are classified as non-conventional renewable energy and are considered “mini hydro-power plants”, as they have less than 20 MW of installed capacity.

Geothermal energy

With 15% of the world's volcanoes, Chile has vast geothermal potential, estimated at 16,000 MW. This includes the

El Tatio El Tatio is a geothermal field with many geysers located in the Andes Mountains of northern Chile at above mean sea level. It is the third-largest geyser field in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Various meanings have bee ...

geyser field, with 8% of the world's geysers. Chile's (and South America's) first geothermal power plant is called "Cerro Pabellón". It is located in the Atacama Desert -at around 4,500 meters (14,700 feet) above sea level -, and has a capacity of 48 MW. Cerro Pabellón belongs to Geotérmica del Norte S.A. (“GDN”), which is a joint venture between Enel Green Power Chile Ltda. and

Empresa Nacional del Petróleo Empresa Nacional del Petróleo, or ENAP (English: ''National Petroleum Company'') is a state-owned company in Chile, based in Las Condes. The company is engaged in the exploration, production, refining, and marketing of hydrocarbons and their deri ...

(“ENAP”).

Solar energy

Solar power in Chile has the potential of producing all of the electricity used in

. Northern Chile has the highest solar incidence in the world. 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. 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 Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...

and 29% hydroelectric power. The 246MW El Romero solar photovoltaic plant opened in November 2016 at

Vallenar Vallenar is a city and commune in Atacama Region, Chile. It is the capital of the Huasco Province and is located in the valley of the Huasco River. Vallenar has 52,000 inhabitants. Its main activities are farming and mining. It was founded as San ...

in the Atacama region 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; a record low price.

Wind energy

The 115 MW El Arrayán Wind Farm is the largest in Chile,"Grand opening for Pattern Energy’s El Arrayán Wind facility in Chile"
in ''Renewable Energy Focus'', 30 August 2014 and at the time of its inauguration in 2014 it was the largest in Latin America.
in ''Bloomberg'', 8 October 2014 The 2016 electricity auction for a combined 12.34 TWh was won partly by wind power.

Mainstream Renewable Power Eddie O'Connor is an Irish businessman who is co-founder and chairman of Mainstream Renewable Power, a renewable energy group. O'Connor holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (1970) and a master's in industrial engineering (1976), both from ...

won 7 projects with 985 MW supplying 3.7 TWh/year at between $38.8 and $47.2 per MWh.

Policy

The law 20,257 promulgated in 2008 and the law 20,698 promulgated in 2013 by the Ministry of Energy have been the main framework for the promotion of Non Conventional Renewable Energy in Chile.IRENA, “Renewable Energy Policy Brief: Chile,” 2015. http://www.irena.org/DocumentDownloads/Publications/IRENA_RE_Latin_America_Policies_2015_Country_Chile.pdf The first law determined the renewable energy target for Chile, and defined the concept of “Non-Conventional Renewable Energy”. The target (10% by 2025) was set to start by 2010, and would only be applied to contracts signed or renewed after August 31, 2007. The second law increased the target to 20% by 2025, and modified the tender mechanism for regulated clients. The modifications facilitated the competitiveness of intermittent renewable energy sources. Because of the target, the law 20,698 is also known as "Law 20/25". Both laws were complemented with support mechanisms and investment promotion by the Ministry of Energy.

References

External links

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