Chile has aggressively moved forward on an electricity transmission law which benefits solar, as
well as other sources of energy.
Following the Chilean Congress’s passage of a major
electricity transmission law, experts contend this will help the development of
both renewable and non-renewable energy projects in the country.
Under
the adopted policy, a new national interconnected power system will be
established alongside a new independent operator.
Chile has benefitted from a recent boom in renewable energy.
As reported by pv-tech, this nation was the first Latin American country
to surpass 1 GW in solar PV capacity earlier this year.
But there has been a downside to such a boom, as some solar
projects in north central Chile have already experienced significant revenue cutbacks due to a weak
power system and delays in attempts to upgrade and expand the transmission
system.
Carlos Finat, executive director of the Chilean Renewable
Energy Association, has said the modernization of the Electricity Transmission
Act was a long time coming. Expansion of the system is expected to help to distribute
energy and allow clean energy being generated mostly in the north of the
country to reach different regions of Chile. Solar projects tend to be
concentrated in the North of the country near the Atacama Desert, which has
high levels of solar irradiation, but an inefficient transmission
infrastructure for supply the electricity to power-hungry cities.
Before the new law was passed, Finat pointed out investments
in transmission were being delayed due to specific regulations for expanding
the system. Now, with this the new law in effect, it should allow for a more
in-depth analysis of requirements of the power generation systems in order to
infrastructure can be built in advance of rising demand.
Minister of Resources Victor Osorio said the newly enacted
law challenges the country to move towards a more diversified, competitive and
sustainable energy matrix, with an increasingly growing share of renewables.
He added: “The main objective of the bill is to ensure that
the transmission favors the development of a competitive market, to facilitate
the transport of energy from clean sources to consumption centers, and to
contribute to lower energy prices for households and businesses, allowing more
competition and the incorporation of new players.
Construction on a project to connect the Northern
Interconnected System grid (SING) with the Central Interconnected System grid
(SIC) in Chile started in July last year.
Chile’s installed capacity reached 1,217 MW at the end of
May this year. We shall keep a close eye on how renewable electricity
production fares in the coming year.
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