Chile may go 100% renewable by 2050 - Acera

Chile may go 100% renewable by 2050 – Acera

SeeNews Renewables — Chilean renewable energy association Acera estimates that the country has the capacity to meet its entire electricity demand with renewable energy sources by 2050, based on current market conditions and data. The mid-21st century guidance by the advisory committee set up by the Ministry of Energy envisages a green share of as much as 70% in the country’s power mix. Acera’s more ambitious projection takes into account the increasing competitiveness and falling costs of green technologies such as wind and photovoltaics (PV). This was most evident in the last Chilean competitive auction, in which non-conventional renewable energy […]

By Derick Lila January 28, 20160

SeeNews Renewables — Chilean renewable energy association Acera estimates that the country has the capacity to meet its entire electricity demand with renewable energy sources by 2050, based on current market conditions and data.

The mid-21st century guidance by the advisory committee set up by the Ministry of Energy envisages a green share of as much as 70% in the country’s power mix.

Acera’s more ambitious projection takes into account the increasing competitiveness and falling costs of green technologies such as wind and photovoltaics (PV). This was most evident in the last Chilean competitive auction, in which non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE) managed to outbid fossil fuels in terms of price and won 100% of the tendered contracts.

The forecast is also based on the prospect of shutting down thermoelectric power plants countrywide as part of global climate change mitigation schemes and environmental requirements, according to the statement. Strong developments in storage technologies will also help Chile’s transition to 100% green electricity, Acera executive director, Carlos Finat, noted.

Finat hopes that NCRE will once again take a major portion of the capacity to be offered in the upcoming governmental tender in April. As for the full 2016, Finat expects the domestic green sector to register a growth rate similar to that of the previous year.

Clean energy investment in Chile in 2015 reached USD 3.5 billion (EUR 3.2bn), marking a jump of 157% year-on-year, according to a report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

SeeNews Renewables
SeeNews Renewables goes beyond the familiar renewable markets of Western Europe and the US to encompass the potential of BRIC counties and emerging investment destinations in North Africa, the Asia Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe. SeeNews Renewables is covering all renewable energy sources: wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, geothermal and marine energy.