The Chilean government has once again shown it’s growing support for renewable energy development in the country with its recent announcement of backing for 51 new renewable energy projects, as per recent reports.
The new projects — which will together comprise 740 MW of power capacity if/when completed — are of varied type, with 12 being solar projects, 15 being wind projects, 15 being “small hydro”, and 7 being biomass.
While certainly welcome, the support isn’t exactly a surprise, the country possesses some of the best solar resources in the world — not developing them would probably be more of a surprise than substantial government-backing is.
Sustainnovate explains and provides more:
Solar power is competitive with other energy options there even without any government support. However, the Chilean government has just announced that it would support 51 renewable energy projects that combine to provide 740 MW of power capacity.
It is awarding CLP780 million (US$1.3 million) for early-stage development of these projects. For example, the funding is to support co-financing and pre-investment studies regarding the projects. While the 740 MW total is huge, the individual projects are each supposed to be under 50 MW.
This recent move is in keeping with the government’s stated aim to develop local sources of renewable power capacity as opposed to relying completely on (increasingly) expensive oil and other fossil fuel imports. Expect to see such moves (by the Chilean government, and others around the world) become increasingly common in the near-future as economically recoverable fossil fuels become increasingly scarce, and the market prices for them increasingly volatile.
Image Credit: Flag via Flickr CC
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