Over the past 12 months, 29% of Chile’s electricity generation came from solar and wind energy, surpassing coal for the first time in our country’s history.
The milestone was announced by Energy Minister Diego Pardow. Using data complied by the National Electricity Coordinator (CEN) and the National Energy Commission (CNE), he reported that it was possible to establish that renewable energies surpassed coal for the first time.
The information shows that 20,014 GWh of the 62,429.8 GWh annually generated in Chile were produced by renewable energies. This represents 29% of the annual generation, while 27% was produced by coal.
The energy minister highlighted the importance of continuity in state policies that will contribute to decarbonizing the energy matrix in the long term. “This is great news, and it shows the success of public policies that have been in place for more than a decade in Chile, which have become part of state policy,” Minister Pardow stated.
He also valued the work of his predecessors in the ministry: “I want to recognize both the work of my immediate predecessor Claudio Huepe, as well as that of ministers Jobet, Jiménez, Rebolledo and Pacheco, whose policies have made this possible.”
In emphasizing the importance of this milestone, Minister Pardow stressed that it is fundamental “because it shows exactly how successful these policies have been in encouraging investment in renewable energies. This type of investment takes several years, and therefore those decisions made five or ten years ago are now bearing fruit.”