Chile’s new goal to have 20% of power capacity come from renewable resources by 2020 would require 500MW/y of clean energy over the next decade, according to José Ignacio Escobar, vice president of Chile’s renewable energy association Acera.

The new goal, while not official policy, has been often reiterated by Chile’s new energy minister Ricardo Raineri and his deputy Jimena Bronfman. The figure far outstrips legislation passed by the former government of Michelle Bachelet that mandates 10% of power capacity come from renewable resources by 2024.

“This new target is more than double what the old government wanted and in fewer years,” Escobar told BNamericas. “The goal is tremendous, and the goal is clear. To do this would involve 500MW/y of installed renewable energy over 10 years.”

The task would be monumental given the current state of renewable capacity in the country. Though Chile has recently approved numerous renewable projects, especially wind capacity, the renewable industry remains marginal.

“Right now, it is not yet an industry. It would be premature to call it an industry,” Escobar said. “We have a series of renewable projects in development and online. To even begin to call it an industry, we would need a critical mass of projects approved, in development, and in construction. With that, we would attract investment, technology, expertise, suppliers, equipment and knowhow, and we would begin to develop a renewables industry.”

Chile has the potential, and the projects are there, according to Escobar. The difficulty is developing public policy to support the industry, and current legislation that will penalize utilities that do not provide 5% of all power from renewable capacity will not be enough.

“If we decide that we do want an industry, and I think that is the signal we are getting with the new government, then we need a complete revision of regulation,” Escobar said. “But we need more than that. We need a complete commitment from all the numerous ministries and public bodies, from all sectors of the industry. And then what needs to happen is that the public sector needs to sit down with the private sector and ask them what they need.”

The full interview with Escobar will appear in this week’s Perspectives, for subscribers only.

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