- SERC Chile led an important international seminar where technical, political, and economic challenges were debated and analyzed to advance the path toward the region's energy transition.
- Energy Minister Diego Pardow explained the current stages of the interconnection projects between Chile and Peru and Chile and Bolivia. “Together with the Inter-American Development Bank, in the case of Peru, we are updating the costs of the project that makes the most sense from the very first step of the interconnection, and in the case of Bolivia, we are still in the pre-feasibility stage of the initiative.”
What progress is being made toward energy interconnection in Latin America? At the “International Seminar on Energy Interconnection in Latin America: Technical, Political, and Economic Challenges,” organized by the Solar Energy Research Center (SERC Chile), industry representatives gathered with the goal of reducing variability and uncertainty to begin providing bilateral security and stability.
The event took place in the auditorium of the University of Concepción in Santiago, Chile, a setting that facilitated the formation of key partnerships among academia, industry, and the public sector to optimize the use of abundant renewable energy resources, strengthen resilience in the face of fluctuations in supply and demand, and enable the export of green hydrogen and its derivatives.
Photo: Energy Minister Diego Pardow participated in the seminar
The Minister of Energy, Diego Pardow, delivered the opening remarks at the meeting, emphasizing the need to establish an interconnection among Latin American countries to advance the energy transition: “Energy interconnection has always been a priority for Chile. (…) As a cabinet, it fell to us to build on previous work and strengthen those efforts by actively participating in the initiatives of CESUR and CINEA, which are the regional and subregional organizations that facilitate this discussion.”
In that regard, following the meeting, the secretary of state explained the current stages of the interconnection projects between Chile and Peru and Bolivia. “Together with the Inter-American Development Bank, in the case of Peru, we are updating the costs of the project that makes the most sense from the very first step of the interconnection, and in the case of Bolivia, we are still in the pre-feasibility phase of the initiative.”
For his part, the director of SERC Chile, Rodrigo Palma, noted that the seminar sought to “generate evidence and update this discussion with the findings that SERC Chile has produced on the topic, and to share this evidence with decision-makers so that more information is available.”
Technical, Political, and Economic Challenges of Interconnection
Dr. Claudia Rahmann Zúñiga, director of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Chile’s School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and former director of SERC Chile, who served as a speaker, explained the potential for solar energy development during her talk titled “Technical Challenges of a Regional Interconnection in Latin America.”
Photo: Dr. Claudia Rahmann, a researcher at SERC Chile–UCH (former director), was a speaker.
“At the regional level, by the end of 2023 we had 49 gigawatts installed, mainly from solar power, but our potential in South America is 33,000 gigawatts. This means that, while we have seen tremendous growth in renewable energy, we must harness our full potential to advance that renewable energy strategy across the region,” explained Rahmann Zúñiga.
The event was attended by Diego Pardow, Minister of Energy; Iván Morán, Regional Minister for Energy (SEREMI); Dr. Marcela Angulo González, Director of the University of Concepción-Santiago Unit; Dr. Marcelo Pérez Leiva, associate professor at the Federico Santa María Technical University and researcher at SERC Chile; Andrés Rebolledo Smitmans, M.A., Executive Secretary of the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE); Dr. Gerardo Blanco Bogado, Associate Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso; Javier Moreno Jorquera, M.A., economist at the Central Bank of Chile; and Dr. Claudio Agostini González, Associate Professor at Adolfo Ibáñez University and Principal Researcher at SERC Chile.
