Chile’s Ambitious Renewable Energy Goals

Chile has decided to go all-in on the clean energy transition, and is setting the standard for other Latin American countries.

This is the result of several factors that make Chile a perfect candidate for clean energy adoption, including a very receptive population, ideal conditions for traditional clean energy deployment, and a government that is heavily invested in new forms of renewable energy.

The country has experienced the rapid development of both the wind and solar sectors and has invested heavily in the creation of green hydrogen, which they hope will become a major economic and environmental factor.

A transition takes shape
Up until 2016, Chile was matching the rapid demand for new energy by increasing coal usage.

A report by Ember found that Chile hit its peak coal consumption in 2016. From 2000 to 2016 coal generation grew 258%, while related carbon emissions rose 165%. While the demand for electricity has risen 11% from 2016-2021, power sector emissions have fallen 6%. This is due to the 13 TWh of added wind and solar generation during this period. This emission reduction is expected to continue at an increasing rate, as this study estimated emissions reductions of as high as 27% in 2022.

Perhaps the most telling statistic in the transition to renewable energy in Chile is that for the first time in its history, Chile is generating more of its electricity from solar and wind than from coal.

From October 2021 to October 2022, Chile produced 27.5% of its electricity from solar and wind, whereas coal produced 26.5% of the electricity.

By Otto Gunderson