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If you read my blog for the fun travel photos (you know who you are 
) please feel free to skip this rather nerdy post and go straight to My 7 Links.
If you’re interested in the laws that regulate and incentivize renewable and non-conventional energy in Chile, read on!
I’ve recently landed in Chile to work on a solar energy project, and one of my tasks is to learn about the legislation that guides this emerging industry. On March 20, 2008, President Michelle Bachelet signed Law 20.257 to encourage the development of renewable energy in Chile.
Photo of wind turbines in Coyhaique by Amanda Maxwell, Latin America Advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Amanda's blog ( http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/amaxwell/ ) is an incredible resource for anyone researching renewable energy in Latin America.
I translated the first page of the law from Spanish to English. The full text (in Spanish) is here: Ley_ERNC_LEY-20257.
Quick disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, and it’s been almost six years since I took a Spanish class, and the following translation is based on my initial read of the law. However, I think that translating it has been a useful exercise, and I’d like to share it with anyone that’s interested. The indented boxes below are notes to explain some technical terms in the text.
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Introduction of Modifications to the General Law of Electrical Services, with Respect to the Generation of Electrical Energy from Sources of Energy that are Renewable and Non-Conventional
April 1, 2008
This law obligates the companies that generate electricity, with a capacity of more than 200 MW, to make sure that 10% of the energy sold comes from renewable and unconventional sources or from hydroelectric plants with less than 40,000 KW. This energy must be produced or procured, starting from January 1, 2010.
This law will apply to the generators that supply energy to the Sistema Interconectado Central (SIC) and the Sistema Interconectado del Norte Grande (SING).
“Power generation in Chile is organized around four grid systems: 1) Sistema Interconectado del Norte Grande (SING), the northern grid, which accounts for about 19% of national generation; 2) the Central Interconnected System (SIC), the central region’s grid, which accounts for 68.5% of national generation and serves 93% of Chile’s population; 3) the Aysén Grid in southern Chile (0.3% of total generation); and 4) the Magallanes Grid, also in southern Chile (0.8% of total generation).” (Source: Global Energy Network Institute)
Chile's SIC Electrical Grid. The SING is in Chile's northernmost regions, which are not shown on this map. Source: GENI
This law signals that the percentage required of the electricity companies will increase gradually: 5% from 2010-2014, then +0.5% each year stating in 2015, until it reaches 10% in 2024.
The generators that fail to comply with this obligation will have to pay a charge of 0.4 UTM per megawatt hour (MWh) that does not meet the standard, and this will increase to 0.6 UTM in the cases of companies that continually fail to comply with the requirement.
UTM stands for Unidad Tributaria Mensual. According to Wikipedia it is a unit used in Chile for taxes and fines, which is updated based on inflation. It was created on December 31, 1944. Initially it was used by the Chilean tax authorities for fines and payscales, but since then its use has been extended to the payment of fines, debts, customs duties, and more. A chart showing its value every month for every year on record is here.
It is further provided that such charges arising from the breach of a distribution intended to end users (of the distributors whose suppliers have complied with the requirement) will help to establish a system of incentives that encourages competition in the electricity market.
The law indicates that the label “renewable and non-conventional energy (ERNC)” will correspond to small hydroelectric centers (with a capacity of less than 20 MW), and to projects that utilize energy from biomass, hydraulics, geothermal, solar, wind, tidal, and others.
The law goes on to describe modifications to specific articles, and I decided against translating that part. The full text (in Spanish) is here: Ley_ERNC_LEY-20257.
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President Sebastian Piñera just nominated a new Minister of Energy, Fernando Echeverría. In his new role. Echeverría plans to double the production of energy in the next ten years to meet Chile’s skyrocketing energy demand, lower the costs of energy, and strongly increase the participation of ERNC in the electrical grid. Read more here in La Tercera.
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Excerpt from Obama to Piñera: Make Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency the Base Case Scenario for Building Chile’s Energy Future. By Doug Sims, NRDC. March 17, 2011.
The conventional thinking about energy in Chile is that new coal, gigantic dams and nuclear are the only possible base case scenario given expected increasing demand requirements over the next 20 years. This way of thinking pushes renewables, or “non-conventional renewable energy” (defined under Chilean law to include wind, solar, geothermal and other renewables but to exclude large dams over 20MW) to the margins – right now the goal for renewables is a pretty anemic 10% of annual generation by 2024.
But this is exactly the wrong way to think about Chile’s energy future given its world class renewable resources, its potential to reduce energy demand and intensity through efficiency measures and the declining cost curves and improving performance of renewable technologies, solar in particular. In addition to a solar resource that exceeds that of the American Southwest, Chile is particularly fortunate to have excellent geothermal and sustainable biomass resources. These non-conventional renewable energy technologies are mature and can provide cost effective power at reliability levels (known as “capacity factors”) comparable to coal, gas, hydro and nuclear.
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Useful resources for further research on Renewable Energy in Chile:
- Amanda Maxwell’s blog
- Chile Renovables
- Comisíon Nacional de Energía
- Energía en Chile
- Global Energy Network Institute
Hola! Saludos desde Chile!
Yesterday, our plane descended through the clouds…
… over the Andes…
… and we landed in Chile!
One of my stated purposes in Chile is to learn about cleantech here. This is the first evidence of cleantech I found, in the ladies’ room in the airport.
Not quite what I was expecting in terms of cleantech discussions. More on that later….
Rafael, our company’s Chilean partner, picked us up at the airport and delivered us to the home of Roberto Edwards, who is generously hosting us. Roberto Edwards is a famous art photographer and publisher, who recently has presented this Painted Bodies exhibit.
After a nap, Brent and I set out for a late lunch (Chile’s famous sandwiches) then joined a Start-Up Chile meetup at a bar called…
As if we already missed California! The Portuguese entrepreneurs behind schooooooooooools.com presented their platform to connect schools around the world, and we met some Chilean entrepreneurs.
Then, this morning, we strolled past the Universidad de Chile, where students are on strike…
… to Startup Chile orientation, where we joined entrepreneurs from all these countries…
… for an enthusiastic, clear, and energetic introduction to the program. This incredibly committed group of professionals is working so hard to empower entrepreneurs to change the world, and in the process build the entrepreneurial hub of Latin America, and an example for the rest of the world.
Compared with the last time I was in Chile (as a student for all of 2005) I’m absolutely amazed that almost everyone we’ve met has spoken English. I know this is not a representative sample of the Chilean population, but it’s definitely striking.
Words I’ve heard more times today than ever before in my life:
- “bootstrap”
- “platform”
- “… so we called the Minister of ____ and, basically, changed the law…”
So far, so good. We’ve truly been treated like royalty. Gracias por todo, Chile!
Now I’m back in San Francisco, staying with my parents in their beautiful townhouse in an up-and-coming neighborhood. I think they are reliving their 20s: impromptu cocktail parties with the neighbors, nights out at Giants games, standing room at the opera, walks to the local wine bar with Max (the favorite child, the furry one with four legs!)
My impressions of life in America, after 1.5 years on foreign soil: Public bathrooms are so clean! Baby carrots are so convenient! People in the financial district at noon on Monday are almost all in jeans! (These are not nearly as entertaining as 9 Notes on Re-Entering Canada After Quite a Long Time Away.)
Thanks for all your kind words about my letter to China. It’s fun to hear how other people characterize their own relationships with China:
A lot of people have been asking me about my next step. I’m going to Chile to work with Charlotte Thornton, the founder and chairman of the CHEBEL Companies. Here is a description:
CHEBEL, a vertically integrated energy provider of 21st Century refinery science and fuels, is headquartered in Calgary, Canada with an office in Silicon Valley. A proprietary reconfiguration of ‘solar concentrated power tower’ technology affords us our business model unique to cleantech. CHEBEL will incorporate and base its key subsidiary, U-LINC ENERGY + SOLAR UTILITY, in Santiago with field offices in Calama and Copiapo for administering project(s) slated for Regions XV, II & III. CHEBEL believes strongly in giving back. A non-profit ‘WorldARC-CHILE’ will be set up with its program that promotes entrepreneurialism in zero emissions and waste recycling industries.
I met Charlotte on a sidewalk in Santiago in 2005. It was raining, and I think we shared an umbrella. She is an Oklahoma native, who has been a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Civil & Environmental Engineering Collaboratory for Research on Global Projects. Last year she even sent me a care package of Trader Joe’s treats via a classmate who was traveling to Beijing.
A few months ago, Charlotte asked me to join her team for Startup Chile. Startup Chile is a program of the Chilean government to encourage world-class early-stage entrepreneurs to start their businesses in Chile. Here are two videos introducing the program:
I will be responsible for connecting with the Startup Chile community, English-Spanish translation, marketing, and more. I’m really excited to go back to Chile (where I studied for all of 2005) and actually use my Latin American Studies degree. I will need to brush up on my Spanish, and learn to speak intelligently about renewable power systems. I’m very excited for this opportunity.
I just pitched in to teach China about the importance of conserving coral reefs, through art. I hope you will too!
Joey Ellis is a good friend of mine, a sculptor, TED Fellow, and entrepreneur.
His work has consistently communicated China’s environmental challenges, in a way that inspires rather than preaches, and reaches new audiences.
In August 2009, he and his Chinese collaborators hand-carved 100 ice sculptures of children from blocks of ice. They were then placed in the blazing summer sun of Beijing’s Temple of the Sun (Ditan Park) to represent the fragility of our childrens’ future due to climate change. The ice consisted of water taken from the Ganges, Yellow and Yangtze rivers. The piece was commissioned by Greenpeace and would not have been possible without their support.
Now Joey has started a new project: 
ENDORSED BY THE GLOBAL CORAL REEF ALLIANCE (www.globalcoral.org)
What I and my crew want to do:
We will translate the large international database of coral reef publications into chinese by using graphic design, animation and just plain writing as an instrument for change. Throughout the process we will reconstruct the information into public friendly design and animation that simplifies whats at stake and highlights how to rectify the problem. We will promote awareness but we will focus on the SOLUTIONS!
One might ask “why is it difficult to translate such documents and why is funding needed?
The documents we will be focusing on are the lengthy scientific ones that use science as a way to prove what works and what doesn’t. Remember our goal is to affect the minds of the people in control! To do this we need both community and government support.
YOU: What topics will you actually focus on?
We will highlight the modern techniques of coral restoration (such as the BIOROCK process) and coastal management.
Informing people of such things as…….
1. How coral reefs protect the shorelines from erosion caused by the currents, waves and storms
2. How corals build up land and extend beaches and encourage the bio-diversity of the oceans.
3. How coral reefs dissipate wave and storm energy, which as a result create lagoons and sedimentary environments favorable for the growth of mangroves and sea grasses.
4. How coral reefs help promote tourism, which is the largest industry in the world and sustains 10 percent of all jobs.
YOU: What else?
Highlighting how the economic potential of eco-tourism greatly exceeds that of fishing. In one year it can generate around 25 times more income than all of the world’s fisheries! WOW! In some areas, one square kilometer of coral reef can generate nearly three million Dollars. In comparison, dynamite fishing in the same area would yield a one time only income of US$ 15000. China is one of the worst places for the ongoing use of dynamite fishing!
All in all we need to get the chinese community involved in the international efforts and let them know how it can help the future of China. To do this we first need to make them aware (believe it or not there are no current publications that exist in China!!)
Click here to help contribute to CHANGE!
For more information please email Me@josephfosterellis.com
or Dr. Thomas J. Goreau at Goreau@bestweb.net
Project location: Hainan, China
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UK Prime Minister and Roots & Shoots Beijing meet on the Great Wall! |
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I'm Leslie and I connect entrepreneurs in Chile, China, California, and beyond — especially through translation, training, and trade. More about me.
