DOCSLIB.ORG

Environmental Impaccts of Fossil Fuel Electricity in Chile

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Environmental Impaccts of Fossil Fuel Electricity in Chile The University of Manchester Research Life cycle environmental impacts of electricity from fossil fuels in Chile over a ten-year period DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.05.374 Document Version Accepted author manuscript Link to publication record in Manchester Research Explorer Citation for published version (APA): Gaete Morales, C., Gallego Schmid, A., Stamford, L., & Azapagic, A. (2019). Life cycle environmental impacts of electricity from fossil fuels in Chile over a ten-year period. Journal of Cleaner Production. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.05.374 Published in: Journal of Cleaner Production Citing this paper Please note that where the full-text provided on Manchester Research Explorer is the Author Accepted Manuscript or Proof version this may differ from the final Published version. If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the Research Explorer are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Takedown policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please refer to the University of Manchester’s Takedown Procedures [http://man.ac.uk/04Y6Bo] or contact [email protected] providing relevant details, so we can investigate your claim. Download date:04. Oct. 2021 Life cycle environmental impacts of electricity from fossil fuels in Chile over a ten-year period Carlos Gaete-Morales1,2, Alejandro Gallego-Schmid1,3, Laurence Stamford1 and Adisa Azapagic1* 1 Sustainable Industrial Systems, School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, University of Manchester, The Mill, Sackville Street, Manchester M13 9PL, UK. 2 Department of Energy, Transportation and Environment, German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Mohrenstraße 58, Berlin 10117, Germany. 3 Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Manchester, HG1, Pariser Building, Sackville Street, Manchester M13 9PL, UK. * Corresponding author: [email protected] ABSTRACT This study uses life cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental impacts of electricity generated from fossil fuels in Chile over a ten–year period, from 2004-2014. The focus on fossil fuels is highly relevant for Chile because around 60% of electricity currently comes from natural gas, coal and oil. The impacts are first considered at the level of individual technologies, followed by the evaluation of the fossil-fuel electricity mix over the period. The study has been carried out using detailed primary data for 94 operating plants. Considering individual technologies, coal power has the worst performance for eight out of 11 impacts, with eutrophication, freshwater and marine ecotoxicity being between ten and 240 times greater than for gas. However, oil is worse than coal for photochemical oxidants (31%) and depletion of elements and ozone layer (four and eight times, respectively). Between 2004 and 2014, the annual environmental impacts doubled, while electricity generation rose only by 55%. The only exception to this is ozone depletion which fell by around 4%. The highest impacts occurred in 2014 mainly because of the high contribution of coal power. Therefore, the environmental performance of fossil-based electricity in Chile has worsened over time due to the growing share of coal power, coupled with the increasing electricity demand. Consequently, policy should aim to increase the efficiency of power plants, avoid the use of petroleum coke, improve emissions control and replace coal and oil with gas power as soon as possible. Keywords: Climate change; power generation; coal; oil; gas; life cycle assessment. 1. INTRODUCTION Historically, the electricity in Chile was mainly supplied by hydropower (International Energy Agency, 2009). However, since the 90s, steady economic growth has led to an increase in electricity consumption, which has been growing by 7% annually (Corbo and Hurtado, 2014). Consequently, electricity demand could no longer be covered only by new hydropower installations, but had to be supplemented by coal, natural gas and oil power (International Energy Agency, 2009, 2014; Raineri, 2006). As can be seen in Figure 1, this trend has continued over the years and nowadays the majority of electricity is generated from fossil fuels (60%) (Bartos and Robertson, 2014; CNE, 2015a; Ministry of Energy of Chile, 2014a). In total, 94 power plants are in operation in Chile: 19 coal, four gas, 60 oil and 11 dual-fuel (oil and gas) installations. Their total installed capacity is 10.4 GW, comprising the following technologies (Figure 2): circulating fluidised bed (4%), pulverised coal (36%), combined cycle (32%), open cycle (20%) and diesel engine (8%). In terms of electricity generation from fossil fuels, coal contributes 69%, natural gas 24% and oil 7% (CNE, 2015a). As Chile has low reserves of fossil fuels, the majority of fuels are imported (Bartos and Robertson, 2014; Ministry of Energy of Chile, 2014a). A growing number of studies are reporting a significant potential of renewable energies (PRIEN- 1 UTFSM, 2008; Santana et al., 2014; Sims, 2011) which could gradually substitute fossil fuels. However, in the case of hydropower, which is still a significant contributor to power generation in Chile (34%), the major difficulty in continuing its development is the social opposition (Bronfman et al., 2012). Therefore, the government is implementing measures for the deployment of other renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind and geothermal (Ministry of Energy of Chile, 2013, 2014b). However, the contribution of these technologies is still low (~5%) (Ministry of Energy of Chile, 2015). Therefore, in the medium term, fossil fuels will continue to contribute significantly to the electricity generation profile of Chile. Coal Gas Oil Others Fossil fuels (%) 70 70% 60 60% 50 50% 40 40% 30 30% 20 20% Fossil fuel contribution (% ) Electricity Electricity generation (TWh) 10 10% 0 0% 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 2004 2005 2006 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2003 2007 2011 1999 Figure 1. Electricity generation in Chile by source and contribution of fossil fuel in the period 1996-2014. [Vertical black lines denote the years chosen for the assessment in this study (2004, 2009 and 2014) (CISEN, 2016; CNE, 2015a)]. Coal Gas Oil Gas and Oil 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 Installed capacity capacity (GW) Installed 0.0 Diesel Open cycle Combined Circulating Pulverized engine cycle fluidised coal bed Figure 2. Current installed capacity in Chile by technology and fuel (CNE, 2015b). Globally, electricity has been by far the most important source of anthropogenic CO2 emissions since the 1970s (UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007) contributing to climate change, and Chile is no exception (International Energy Agency, 2009). As a result of a high contribution of fossil fuels to the electricity generation, the electricity sector emitted 30% of the total national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2010, equating to 27 Mt of CO2 eq. (Ministry of Environment of Chile, 2014). This is equivalent to 2 0.09% of global GHG emissions. The Chilean government has committed to reducing GHG emissions per unit of GDP by 30% by 2030, relative to 2007 (Ministry of Environment of Chile, 2015). However, at present there is scant information on the contribution of fossil-fuel electricity to the GHG emissions on a life cycle basis, with other life cycle impacts being also largely unknown. Although two recent studies estimated life cycle impacts of electricity in Chile (Gaete-Morales et al., 2018; Vega-Coloma and Zaror, 2018), they both considered the whole electricity sector rather than focusing on the fossil-fuel sources. A similar situation is found for other countries, in which life cycle assessment studies (LCA) have been carried out for the whole sector (Garcia et al., 2014; Santoyo-Castelazo et al., 2011; Stamford and Azapagic, 2012). Therefore, this paper focuses of fossil-fuel power in Chile in an attempt to provide comprehensive information on its environmental impacts and inform policy. The impacts are estimated through LCA for each technology as well as for the fossil-fuel electricity mix. A temporal evolution of the impacts over a ten-year period (2004-2014) is also considered to determine how the impacts may have changed and why. The study relies on real data from the 94 plants currently operating in Chile. These are detailed in the next section, together with methods and assumptions used in the study. 2. METHODS The LCA study has been carried out following the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards (International Organization for Standardization, 2006a, 2006b), with the goal and scope defined next, followed by the inventory data and impacts considered in this work. 2.1. Goal and scope definition The main goal of the study is to estimate the life cycle environmental impacts of fossil-fuel electricity generation in Chile in the period from 2004 to 2014. Two functional units are considered: - 1 kWh of electricity generated by coal, natural gas and oil power plants; and - annual generation of electricity from these plants over the ten-year period. As illustrated in Figure 3, the scope of the study is from ‘cradle to grave’. The following stages are included: extraction, transport and processing of fossil fuels,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Perspectives on Solar Energy, Mining and Agro-Food in Chile
    Chapter 3 Transforming industries: Perspectives on solar energy, mining and agro-food in Chile The shifting global geopolitical and technological landscape coupled with changes in consumers’ preferences is opening up a window of opportunity for Chile. The country could transform its economy, enlarge its knowledge base and increase productivity by leveraging on its natural assets in new, more innovative ways. However, the world is moving fast and opportunities will not be permanently available. To tap into them, a strategic approach and a shared vision between government, business and society is needed. Chile has started to do so through strategic initiatives that identify future opportunities and clarify gaps to be addressed. This chapter presents the Chilean experience in solar energy, mining and agro-food; in each case it presents a snapshot of key trends and future scenarios, developed through multi-stakeholder consultations, it describes the current policy approach and it identifies reforms to move forward. PRODUCTION TRANSFORMATION POLICY REVIEW OF CHILE: REAPING THE BENEFITS OF NEW FRONTIERS © OECD AND UNITED NATIONS 2018 103 3. Transforming industries: Perspectives on solar energy, mining and agrO-food in Chile Unleashing the potential of solar energy in Chile This section presents a snapshot of the rise of solar energy in the country and summarises the results of public-private consultations on the opportunities presented by solar for Chile. It describes the current policy approach and it identifies reforms to move forward. Solar energy is gaining ground in Chile Solar energy is becoming globally competitive thanks to falling prices. Investment in the development of renewable energies globally is surpassing investment in fossil fuel technologies (OECD, 2018; IEA, 2016).
    [Show full text]
  • Paying for Green Energy: the Case of the Chilean Patagonia
    Available online at www.sciencedirect.com View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE ScienceDirect provided by Elsevier - Publisher Connector Journal of Policy Modeling 38 (2016) 397–414 Paying for green energy: The case of the ଝ Chilean Patagonia a,∗ b Juan-Pedro Garces-Voisenat , Zinnia Mukherjee a Department of Economics, Siena College, USA b Department of Economics, Simmons College, USA Received 2 February 2016; received in revised form 22 February 2016; accepted 10 March 2016 Available online 26 March 2016 Abstract We survey and assess the willingness to pay (WTP) for environmentally-friendly sources of energy, in the context of the proposed construction of five hydroelectric dams in the Chilean Patagonia. We then compare the estimated WTP to the real costs of generating electricity with different currently available technologies for renewable sources of energy. Overall, we find that the WTP of Chilean citizens would be more than enough to pay for greener sources of energy. We also find that the WTP is affected by age and gender of the respondents, but surprisingly not by income. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The Society for Policy Modeling. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). JEL classification: O1; Q2; Q4 Keywords: Green economy; Sustainable development; Energy; Environment; Chilean Patagonia 1. Introduction Many emerging economies that are at a crossroads of their development processes face the critical question of choosing the energy sources needed to promote economic growth.
    [Show full text]
  • Colbún and the Future of Chile's Power
    9-713-047 REV: APRIL 16, 2013 FOREST L. REINHARDT SHON R. HIATT Colbún and the Future of Chile’s Power In August 2012, four months after scoring a major victory in the Chilean courts, Bernardo Larraín Matte, the 46-year-old former CEO and recently appointed Chairman of Colbún S.A., gazed out of his office window, thinking about the challenges facing his firm in light of Chile’s growing energy demand, the worldwide volatility in oil and natural gas prices, and the company’s recent decision to put its largest generation project on hold. As the second-largest generator in the country, Colbún had an installed capacity of 2,970 megawatts (MW), accounting for 20% of the central electricity grid (Sistema Interconectado Central, or SIC) that served 90% of the Chilean population. With between 40% and 70% of Colbún’s electricity coming from hydropower (depending on meteorological conditions), and the rest from fossil fuels (gas, diesel and coal),1 the company faced a challenging future. Six years earlier, Chile’s primary supplier of natural gas, Argentina, had created a serious shortage by restricting gas exports and increasing taxes on them. Compounding the problem, in 2007, Chile experienced a severe drought that limited hydroelectric generation. As a result, Colbún had to boost its production from thermal power plants. Given the scarcity of gas, the company resorted to diesel. However, the global rise of oil prices caused a strain on the company’s finances. A record positive net income of $275 million in 2006 had turned into a net loss of $88 million in 2007, and earnings since had been volatile.
    [Show full text]
  • The Future of Energy in Chile
    Special bUSiness CHILE Issue THE VOICE OF THE CHILEAN-AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE N°274, AUGUST 2011 The Future of Energy in Chile RENEWABLE ENERGY REGULATIONS ENERGY MATRIX Harnessing New Challenges for Towards a Sustainable Nature’s Power Electricity Regulation Energy Mix Hablo sin 15.990 preocuparme de la cuenta Conexión Directa (PTT) ilimitada Nacional e Internacional. 1000 minutos en llamadas entre celulares Nextel. 100 minutos de llamadas a red móvil y fija. 800 646 415 CONTENTS 6 LIFE IS ON THE WIRE The US multinational 3M has developed an innovative heat- LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE resistant wire that could help 38 Chilean companies transport electricity more efficiently. Energize Now After returning from the 8 HARNESSING NAture’S 32 SEEKING IEA peace of Mongolia to find POWER MEMBERSHIP Chile in chaos, Santiago Special Issue Chile’s geography offers huge Chile is on track to join Eneldo says Chileans The Future of Energy potential for non-conventional the International Energy need to channel their in Chile renewable energy, but additional Agency but first it needs energy constructively. Chile is rich in natural incentives are needed for more to nearly quadruple its resources that can be projects to be developed. oil stocks. harnessed to diversify energy sources, but TOWARDS A what price are 14 SUSTAINABLE ENERGY THE CHILE PARADOX Chileans willing to pay MIX 34 for cleaner, more Chile’s future growth will secure energy Chile needs low-cost, reliable depend on its ability to energy supplies to improve its supplies? balance strong government competitiveness, but opinions policies with liberalized differ on which energy markets, writes guest © 2011 AMCHAM CHILE sources should be used.
    [Show full text]
  • Latin American Power Overview Outlook, Financial Performance, Regulatory Risk and Investments September 2019 Corporates Compendium Power / Latin America
    Latin American Power Overview Outlook, Financial Performance, Regulatory Risk and Investments September 2019 Corporates Compendium Power / Latin America Table of Contents Latin American Power Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 2 Regulatory Risk Assessment .............................................................................................................................................. 3 Generation .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Installed Capacity ......................................................................................................................................................... 3 Growth and Expansion ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Power Generated ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Distribution .......................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Corporates .........................................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Solar Energy in Chile by Claudio A
    www.flacsoandes.edu.ec FALL 2015 HARVARD REVIEW OF LATIN AMERICA ENERGY OIL, GAS AND BEYOND ENERGY EDITOR’S LETTER BY JUNE CAROLYN ERLICK Zocalo Hed 26 pt Zocalo deck 14 point one line BY HARVARD REVIEW OF LATIN AMERICA FALL 2015 VOLUME XV NO. 1 Oil, Gas and Beyond Published by the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies I was waiting for the ship to come in. In fact, so was everyone else in Nicaragua. Gas lines VOLUME XV NO. 1 Harvard University stretched around the block. The supermarket shelves were nearly bare. Lights went out again David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies and again, plunging the country into frequent darkness. Telex machines couldn’t work, and we reporters had to depend on the few places with generators to file our stories (for younger Director Brian Farrell readers, this was pre-computer and smart phones). U.S. President Ronald Reagan had imposed a trade blockade on Nicaragua in May 1985. The Soviets were sending oil, dodging Executive Director ENERGY Ned Strong the blockade. ReVista OIL, GAS AND BEYOND We reporters did what we always do: we reported on the ship’s arrival. But we also Editor-in-Chief breathed a collective sigh of relief. The arrival of the Soviet ship meant hot showers and light June Carolyn Erlick to read by. Copy Editor Energy is intensely political. It shapes nations and trade and fuels wars and blockades. FIRST TAKE Anita Safran Energy, I discovered then, is also intensely personal. It shapes our lives on a daily basis.
    [Show full text]
  • Geothermal Regulatory Framework in Chile
    Unlocking Geothermal Investments in Central America: Strengthening Enabling Policy and Regulatory Frameworks San Salvador - August 2017 Geothermal Regulatory Framework in Chile Rubén Muñoz Bustos Head of Geothermal Unity Renewable Energy Division Ministry of Energy Government of Chile Geothermal Energy in Chile – Electric Market Context • Generation sector is conceived open and competitive. • While the market is structured as exchanges marginal cost, there are PPAs to stabilize prices. • The investment is free private initiative: Freedom to decide technology, size, date of entry, etc. • Renewable Portfolio Standard for Non-Conventional Renewable Energy (ERNC, does not include hydro > 20 MW): ​​20% by 2025 goal. 25% 20% Ley 20.698 (2013) 15% Ley 20.257 (2008) 10% 5% 0% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2015 2026 Ley 20.257 Ley 20.698 2 www.energia.gob.cl División Energías Renovables 2 Energy Generation Evolution 80000 250 Wind 70000 Solar 200 Geotermia 60000 Biomass ] 50000 150 Hydro GWh 40000 Natural Gas 100 30000 Energía[ Oil 20000 Coal 50 Cmg 10000 Costo Marginal Promedio [USD/MWh] Promedio Marginal Costo 0 0 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2012 2014 2016 Periodo de sequías Desintegración Acuerdos internacionales del mercado de importación de gas Recortes de gas www.energia.gob.cl División Energías Renovables Expected installed capacity by 2021 Installed capacity [MW] Installed capacity
    [Show full text]
  • Investment in Natural Gas Pipelines in the Southern Cone of Latin America
    Investment in Natural Gas Pipelines in the Southern Cone of Latin America The natural gas pipelines between Argentina and Chile provide an interesting and valuable case study of large-scale investments in competitive environments. Jadresic, a former Minister of Energy in Chile argues that a competitive energy sector and free entry were important policy initiatives to spur the cross-border investments which have had a beneficial impact on the energy sector and the environment in Chile. Alejandro Jadresic INVESTMENT IN NATURAL GAS PIPELINES IN THE SOUTHERN CONE OF LATIN AMERICA Alejandro Jadresic1 1. Introduction Increasing demand for clean sources of energy is expanding investment in natural gas infrastructure around the world. Massive resources are being allocated to extraction and processing plants, pipelines and other transportation means, distribution networks and equipment for end users. This investment process is also taking place in Latin America with major projects being developed in countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Many of these are international projects involving pipelines that interconnect energy markets in two or more countries. 2. The Underlying Forces One of the key features of the investment process that is taking place in Latin America is the convergence of gas and electricity markets. Many of the projects are being developed to supply gas to new power generation plants that are required in order to meet increasing electricity demand. In turn, convergence of gas and electricity markets in Latin America is explained by three basic forces (see Figure 1): (i) technological innovation; in particular, combined cycle generation plants fed with natural gas have become the most efficient and cleanest way of expanding the electricity system; 1 Executive Director Jadresic Consultores Ltda.
    [Show full text]
  • Solar PV Planning Toward Sustainable Development in Chile: Challenges and Recommendations
    Solar PV Planning Toward Sustainable Development in Chile: Challenges and Recommendations Shahriyar Nasirov 1 Carlos Silva 2 Claudio Agostini 3 Abstract In the last decade, the importance of solar energy sources in Chile has increased significantly as energy dependence raises and concerns regarding climate change grow, posing an important threat to its economy. The Chilean government recognises that exploiting its abundant potential of solar energy could be an important opportunity to address stable economic growth, energy security, and fulfil environmental goals. Recent developments toward sustainable solar PV planning have accelerated the growth process and investment opportunities in the field. However, to date, numerous policy challenges still exist. This paper studies solar PV planning in Chile, pointing on recent developments and remaining challenges. It also gives important recommendations for effectively addressing these challenges. Keywords: Solar energy, Sustainability, Planning, Chile 1 Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Chile. Email: [email protected] 2 Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Chile. Email: [email protected] 3 *Corresponding author. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Chile. Email: [email protected]; Tel: +56 (2) 23311130 1 1. Introduction Over the last years, Chile has become one of the leading countries in the region of South America with regard to institutional and political stability, economic growth and market reforms. The Chilean economy has experienced an exceptional performance in terms of economic indicators thanks to its stable economic progress (See table 1). It is certainly worthy of note that Chile has implemented its reforms in such a way that it has reduced its poverty level from 40% down to 13% in two decades, allowing Chile to become the only member of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in South America [1].
    [Show full text]
  • Chile: Paving the Way for Sustainable Energy Planning
    Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy ISSN: 1556-7249 (Print) 1556-7257 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uesb20 Chile: Paving the way for sustainable energy planning Carlos Silva & Shahriyar Nasirov To cite this article: Carlos Silva & Shahriyar Nasirov (2017) Chile: Paving the way for sustainable energy planning, Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy, 12:1, 56-62, DOI: 10.1080/15567249.2014.977464 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/15567249.2014.977464 Published online: 28 Dec 2016. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 142 View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 1 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=uesb20 ENERGY SOURCES, PART B: ECONOMICS, PLANNING, AND POLICY 2017, VOL. 12, NO. 1, 56–62 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15567249.2014.977464 Chile: Paving the way for sustainable energy planning Carlos Silva and Shahriyar Nasirov Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Santiago, Chile ABSTRACT KEYWORDS Over the last 20 years, economy of Chile grew faster than any other country in Chile; energy efficiency; South America, thanks to its rigorous economic and political systems and its energy sources; hydro and integration to the global economy. Nonetheless, Chile faces the continuing renewables challenge of finding additional energy supplies to support its economic growth. The country has almost no fossil fuel resources and depends heavily on external sources that accounts for around 60% of its energy needs. However, this may change in the near future, as Chile has started developing its huge potential of sustainable energy sources.
    [Show full text]
  • The Environmental Impact Assessment………………………………………………………………
    Sustainable Energy Development in Chilean Patagonia: A Comprehensive Critique of the August 2008 HidroAysén Environmental Impact Assessment Graham Scholars Program Winter 2009 CEE 490: Sustainable Energy Development in South America Courtney Doman Shawn Kinkema Aubrey Parker Amy Fingerle Annette Kosin Matthew Raubinger Matthew Gacioch Rachel Lauderdale Sarah Robb Walter Graf Mary Lemmer Eric Sauck Alexander Harris Amy Mikus Jill Schlechtweg Greta Jankoviak John Monaghan Angela Wyse Professors Steven Wright and Sara Adlerstein-Gonzalez 1 Preface This report represents a course project prepared by a group of 17 undergraduate students and 1 graduate student at the University of Michigan enrolled in the course CEE 490 – Sustainable Energy Development in South America during the winter semester of 2009. In addition to studies of relevant documents, the students visited the Aysén region in February 2009 including some of the areas that would be impacted by the proposed projects, and participated in discussions and presentations with a number of stakeholders. The course was sponsored by the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute; the views expressed in this report do not represent an official position of the University of Michigan or the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute. Most of the students participating in the course were not fluent in Spanish and the review of lengthy documents in that language posed significant difficulties in ensuring accurate interpretation of the fundamental information that was analyzed in this report. There have been considerable efforts made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this report but it is possible that relevant information was not located within the documents or was incorrectly translated.
    [Show full text]
  • Chinese Incidence on the Chilean Solar Power Sector
    DISCUSSION PAPER Global Economic Governance Initiative 2015-4 Chinese incidence on the Chilean solar power sector WORKING GROUP ON DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT IN THE AMERICAS By Nicola Borregaard, Annie Dufey, Maria Teresa Ruiz-Tagle and Santiago Sinclair Over the last decade, China has become an important ally in Chile’s goal of diversifying its energy matrix away from fossil fuels. China’s over-production of solar PV panels came at just the right time for Chile, which was looking for new sources of low-emissions electricity after Argentina drastically reduced its gas exports. The resulting relationship between Chile and China is very promising for both parties. Solar power is still nascent in Chile, but growing quickly: as of this writing, over half of new power projects with approved environmental permits are solar. Chile can maximize the local benefit from this new relationship by encouraging linkages, establishing norms, and investing in education. Encouraging linkages can include training local companies to perform related services like equipment maintenance, which only a few Chilean firms currently provide. Establishing quality norms for imported PV panels can protect the grid from defective or unsafe equipment, and would not be prohibitively complicated: Chile could require certification from one of the international bodies or adopt international norms. Finally, the Chilean state should consider investing in education for residential and business consumers of PV panels as well as potential workers in the industry. 1 1. Introduction Chile’s power sector is characterized by mainly relying on large power plants based on hydropower and fossil fuels and by long distribution lines.
    [Show full text]