In Chile, Solar, Wind Energy Competes with Natural Gas
2022-05-23
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1The South American country of Chile likes to present itself as a worldwide leader on climate change.
2Nearly 22 percent of Chile's electricity comes from solar and wind energy production centers.
3That is a higher percentage than the United States with 13 percent. The world average is 10 percent.
4In 2008, Chile was also one of the first countries to declare a target for renewable energy.
5However, imported natural gas, a fossil fuel like coal and oil, has continued because of a favorable supply deal won from the government.
6Marcelo Mena is a former environment minister for Chile.
7He leads Global Methane Hub.
8The nonprofit group aims to reduce methane emissions around the world.
9Mena said natural gas is basically methane.
10"They're actually hindering the power that we can deliver from renewable energy," Mena told the Associated Press.
11"It's been more of an opposition towards 100 percent renewable target."
12Mena said renewable energy is being pushed out by fossil fuels in northern Chile.
13"At the same time, in the south of Chile, there is a big lack of natural gas for heating and people are heating themselves with wood and choking on it," said Mena.
14The shock that led to the development of renewable energy in Chile came in the mid-2000s.
15At that time, Argentina greatly reduced gas exports to Chile to serve its own market.
16Chileans had limited electricity and power outages happened a lot.
17Chile receives some of them most consistent sunshine in the world, especially in the northern Atacama Desert.
18So, the country sought investment in solar and wind projects.
19Chile requires electricity companies to offer a minimum amount of renewable energy.
20Developers built hundreds of solar and wind plants.
21They also built systems that get energy from the Earth's heat, called geothermal plants.
22These energy centers were placed throughout the country, which stretches 4,300 kilometers from north to south.
23The government also invested in fossil fuel plants.
24Natural gas importers and owners of gas plants successfully argued that the power grid must take their electricity.
25The importers must pay for gas under international contracts whether they need it or not.
26Under government regulations, they can declare electricity from gas imports "forced gas."
27That means electricity produced from gas is favored in the power market which also supports renewables.
28Ana Lía Rojas leads the Chilean Association of Renewable Energies and Storage.
29She said the rule "is a loss for the environment and for the energy transition."
30Another result of forcing electricity produced from gas into the market is that it lowers electricity prices for all providers.
31Alfredo Solar is a solar plant supervisor.
32He said, "I have worked in solar plants that, for example, were in default because the market price was much lower than what was projected."
33The term default means that they could not pay their debts.
34Solar providers, he said, operate without contracts and depend on market prices.
35Last year, the Chilean government changed the rules for natural gas providers.
36Their electricity still enters the power grid at a reduced price.
37But it is not supposed to displace renewable energy.
38Supporters of renewables in Chile say the changes are not enough.
39Large electricity storage systems are too costly to be widely used in Chile, said Daniel Salazar.
40He is a former executive director of Chile's northern power grid who is now with the business advice firm EnergiE.
41He said gas remains a low-cost way to deal with the nation's energy problems.
42By 2030, solar producers could provide 30 percent of all electricity in Chile.
43The Association of Power Generators says that will make it the nation's largest source of power.
44I'm Mario Ritter Jr.
1The South American country of Chile likes to present itself as a worldwide leader on climate change. 2Nearly 22 percent of Chile's electricity comes from solar and wind energy production centers. That is a higher percentage than the United States with 13 percent. The world average is 10 percent. In 2008, Chile was also one of the first countries to declare a target for renewable energy. 3However, imported natural gas, a fossil fuel like coal and oil, has continued because of a favorable supply deal won from the government. 4Marcelo Mena is a former environment minister for Chile. He leads Global Methane Hub. The nonprofit group aims to reduce methane emissions around the world. 5Mena said natural gas is basically methane. "They're actually hindering the power that we can deliver from renewable energy," Mena told the Associated Press. "It's been more of an opposition towards 100 percent renewable target." 6Mena said renewable energy is being pushed out by fossil fuels in northern Chile. "At the same time, in the south of Chile, there is a big lack of natural gas for heating and people are heating themselves with wood and choking on it," said Mena. 7Transition to renewable energy 8The shock that led to the development of renewable energy in Chile came in the mid-2000s. At that time, Argentina greatly reduced gas exports to Chile to serve its own market. Chileans had limited electricity and power outages happened a lot. 9Chile receives some of them most consistent sunshine in the world, especially in the northern Atacama Desert. So, the country sought investment in solar and wind projects. Chile requires electricity companies to offer a minimum amount of renewable energy. 10Developers built hundreds of solar and wind plants. They also built systems that get energy from the Earth's heat, called geothermal plants. These energy centers were placed throughout the country, which stretches 4,300 kilometers from north to south. 11The government also invested in fossil fuel plants. Natural gas importers and owners of gas plants successfully argued that the power grid must take their electricity. 12The importers must pay for gas under international contracts whether they need it or not. Under government regulations, they can declare electricity from gas imports "forced gas." That means electricity produced from gas is favored in the power market which also supports renewables. 13Ana Lía Rojas leads the Chilean Association of Renewable Energies and Storage. She said the rule "is a loss for the environment and for the energy transition." 14Another result of forcing electricity produced from gas into the market is that it lowers electricity prices for all providers. 15Alfredo Solar is a solar plant supervisor. He said, "I have worked in solar plants that, for example, were in default because the market price was much lower than what was projected." The term default means that they could not pay their debts. Solar providers, he said, operate without contracts and depend on market prices. 16Last year, the Chilean government changed the rules for natural gas providers. Their electricity still enters the power grid at a reduced price. But it is not supposed to displace renewable energy. Supporters of renewables in Chile say the changes are not enough. 17Large electricity storage systems are too costly to be widely used in Chile, said Daniel Salazar. He is a former executive director of Chile's northern power grid who is now with the business advice firm EnergiE. He said gas remains a low-cost way to deal with the nation's energy problems. 18By 2030, solar producers could provide 30 percent of all electricity in Chile. The Association of Power Generators says that will make it the nation's largest source of power. 19I'm Mario Ritter Jr. 20Diane Jeantet reported this story for the Associated Press. Hai Do adapted it for VOA Learning English. 21_____________________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23hinder -v. to make an action slow or difficult 24deliver -v. to provide 25choke -v. to be unable to breathe 26consistent -adj. to continue to happen or develop in the same way 27minimum -adj. to least or lowest amount possible 28power grid -n. a network of lines, structures and equipment that carry electricity from where it is produced to the places that use it 29transition -n. a change from one condition to another 30We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.