Solar Now Accounts For 57% Of Chile’s Renewable Energy Pipeline


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Originally published on Solar Love.

Solar now accounts for over half (57%) of Chile’s renewable energy pipeline, according to a recent report from Chile’s Centre of Renewable Energy (CER). To date, though, only a fraction of the approved projects have been built — about 6.7 MW worth.

The most recent additions to the pipeline are two solar power plants totaling 165 MW. Chile’s total renewable energy portfolio is now 13.352 GW — about 68% of which has been CER approved, with the other 32% or so is awaiting qualification.

Image Credit: Flag via Flickr CC
Image Credit: Flag via Flickr CC


PV Tech provides more:

So far, there is a gap of 7,667 MW between projects that have been approved and those that have been completed across all renewable types. The gap has widened with recent applications; since September 722 MW of renewable proposals have entered the process for a CER environmental impact assessment, 714 MW of which is accounted for by four solar plants. The remaining 7.7 MW is mini-hydro.

Just 6.7 MW of solar, 0.5% of all renewables energy generation, is currently in operation, including isolated, off-grid solar. As of this month, on- and off-grid solar under construction stands at 126 MW. As of September 2013, renewables accounted for 6.06% of total energy generation in Chile or 1.069 GW – mainly in the central interconnected system (SIC) grid.

SIC now has 96% renewable energy generation – 4% of which is distributed to Northern Interconnected Electricity system (known as SING) and Aysén and Magallanes Lakes. Overall renewables project approval increased by 15% between July and August after changes to the renewable energy law.

Total energy applications — of any type (including non-renewable) — decreased by about 7.5% in September, but that decrease was experienced primarily by non-renewables — renewable applications fell by only 0.5%.


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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

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