Investors, authorities and OEMs see significant potential to develop the country’s huge wind resources, particularly in the northern deserts and wastes of Patagonia.
Owners of the giant copper mines, which consume a third of Chile’s electricity, have become major supporters of the technology too, as they seek to reduce their environmental impact.
Tweaks a decade ago to the way electricity for regulated clients is contracted have triggered huge investments in clean energy, including several GWs of wind power. Chile’s installed capacity stands at about 5GW, while its pipeline extends to nearly 30GW, according to “uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç Intelligence.
Some 2GW of wind farms are under construction, including some very large projects. Chile’s considerable onshore potential, as well as tough marine conditions, mean authorities have not even begun to consider an offshore wind industry.
Western OEMs dominate the market, with Siemens and Vestas accounting for around half of the turbines installed.
Chile will need to further boost wind power to meet challenging targets to wean its electricity grid off coal by 2040 and achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century. Wind energy is also central to the country’s ambition to become a major producer and exporter of green hydrogen over the coming decades.
But achieving these goals is threatened by burdensome environmental regulation and the lack of transmission capacity. Unable to sell their power due to inadequate power lines, many developers have been left in financial straits.
A new transmission line linking the Atacama Desert to Santiago will not be ready until at least the end of the decade and will almost certainly be insufficient to serve the wave of renewable projects in the pipeline. Instead, facilitated by new legislation, businesses are investing in battery storage to better manage intermittent supplies.
Meanwhile, President Gabriel Boric has sent legislation to Congress that could significantly reduce permitting times by streamlining Chile’s environmental approvals system and slashing red tape. But, given the huge interests involved, it could take several years for the bill to become law.
For our current estimate of individual countries' installed capacity and the latest tender information, click on the links below.