Chile Joins a Long List of Countries Transitioning to Renewable Energy
As shown in this short video, Chile has taken aim at eliminating its coal consumption. They’re installing solar in their vast deserts, and, adding in wind and geothermal, they’ll be at 60% renewables by 2035.
Like everything else in life, this all happens according to a plan. One makes a decision to go in a certain direction, and one follows that plan. The issue with the United States is that we have no plan, other than to prop up the fossil fuel industry as long as possible, as that’s where the dollars are.
Craig,
“Chile will be 60% renewable by 2035” !
Celebrations!
The trouble with such hyper optimistic statements, is they are unlikely to occur, but they are made and celebrated as is already a reality.
The reality is very different, Chile a nation with few viable reserves of coal, but which during the Pinocet years achieved an astonishing economic transformation to become the only ‘First World’ economy in South America is now experiencing economic problems.
With the national economy declining by 6% of GDP and unemployment rising, Chile is on the brink of a crisis.
In October 2019, the capital Santiago, with a population of six million, was shut for a period as riots and looting closed streets, central squares, and many small businesses, hotels, and restaurants. The riots left 26 dead and caused billions of dollars in losses for private businesses and public infrastructure.
Chile’s energy needs are currently being met by an expansion in Hydro power, natural gas plants and 4 new Hi tech Coal power stations nearing completion.
Chile is open to investment in wind power and solar, but neither have yet proved economically viable.
I’m afraid, like Bernie Saunders himself, your happy little Facebook post is both out of date and lacks reality.
The history of Solar power projects in Chile has been one of endless bankruptcies, disasters and failure.
The Cerro Dominador plant in the Chilean desert is an excellent example.
At its launch in 2014, the then-chief executive of the company building the project, Spain’s Abengoa (ABG.MC), told his audience that Cerro Dominador would cut CO2 emissions by 643,000 tonnes each year and bolster the Chilean government’s bid to depend on “clean, competitive and sustainable” energy.
By 2016 Abengoa was bankrupt construction of the plant was deemed no longer competitive, or sustainable.
Nevertheless, the project was resurrected last year with funding from banks, U.S. private equity firm EIG Global Energy Partners, under a lucrative deal where the Chilean State underwrote all losses and guaranteed profits.
Of the other five plants planned three have been scrapped, one abandoned half -finished and one has been revived by EIG, (underwriter by the government) but has yet to proceed.
But Solar isn’t the only renewable technology to have stalled in Chile. The Espejo de Tarapacá, pumped storage hydroelectric energy plan was hailed with great excitement when it was announced, was due to come into operation this year.
The project has since been halted due to an escalation in costs and a revision in capacity.
Chile’s electricity generation matrix still remains primarily on largely imported fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil (55%), and its own hydroelectric plants (30%).
Renewable energy is optimistically estimated at being nearly 13%, but probably more like 7% and declining.
This is despite more than $7 billion of mostly borrowed investment in renewable projects. Of the $11 billion, 80% has been wasted in abandoned, under-performing or failed projects.
Chile doesn’t possess the vast Coal and natural gas reserves of the US, but what it doesn;t need is the sort of impractical, wasteful, idealistic “planning” so typical of the likes of Bernie Saunders!