IEE   25093
INSTITUTO DE ENERGIA ELECTRICA
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Latin American Energy Markets: Investment Opportunities in Nonconventional Renewables
Autor/es:
SAAVEDRA, OSVALDO; RODRIGUEZ, RODRIGO; SAMPER, MAURICIO; SAMPER, MAURICIO; VARGAS, ALBERTO; RIVERA, SERGIO; VARGAS, ALBERTO; RIVERA, SERGIO; SAAVEDRA, OSVALDO; RODRIGUEZ, RODRIGO
Revista:
IEEE POWER & ENERGY MAGAZINE
Editorial:
IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC
Referencias:
Lugar: New York; Año: 2016 vol. 14 p. 38 - 47
ISSN:
1540-7977
Resumen:
Latin America is very rich from the point of view of its several energy resources, with an abundance of hydroelectric generation and large reserves of fossil fuels. At present, although there is a general awareness of climate change issues associated with the use of fossil fuels, the facts show that economic needs of short and medium term are the engine of technology change. It is logical to think that Latin American countries with low fossil fuel resources such as Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Honduras and Panama among others have become pioneers in implementing non-conventional renewable energy sources (NCRES). Additionally, if it is considered the sustained low costs of NCRES, it is possible to get the optimal formula for these countries adopt wind or photovoltaic generation as a fundamental part of the solution to their energy problems. Latin America has traveled in the last three decades by major changes in the electrical industry both from the regulatory viewpoint and the energy matrix viewpoint. In the 80s Chile was the first to start with electricity market deregulation followed by Argentina in the 90s. While there are relative differences between the various Latin American countries in the introduction of new generation technologies, changes are taking place very rapidly in the last two years. It can be inferred without equivocation, that wind and solar energy, is a reality in there. It will have a very significant growth in the next five years. Today, there is a penetration level very important in some countries and their projection is large, for instance Chile in photovoltaic, and Uruguay in wind energy. In both countries were energy deficits due to the supply interruption of natural gas in Chile or power in Uruguay from Argentina. Additionally, Argentina has suffered an important deficit in its energy matrix since 2007. Other example is Brazil, the largest country in Latin America. Brazil opted for an auction mechanism, where it is possible to buy power and/or energy through long-term contracts. With this mechanism today Brazil has installed more than 7,000 wind MW, representing 5% of its energy matrix. Using similar auction mechanisms, Chile established a mandatory percentage of marketing for energy distribution companies. As a result, it had more than 2,500 MW of photovoltaic and wind energy, having covered 10% of its energy matrix in 2015. The incorporation of NCRES is growing rapidly under the farms scheme connected to transmission and sub-transmission networks and in a lesser extent to distribution networks in medium voltage. Most of the analyzed countries in this paper have experience in renewable energy auctions. In this way, the auctions are the regulatory instrument used for the deployment of NCRES in Latin America.