Message-ID: <199508292226.PAA17474@cdp.igc.apc.org> Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 15:26:49 -0700 From: Tom Gray <mailto:tomgray@IGC.APC.ORG> Subject: --Remote Renewables in Chile To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
/* Written 3:24 PM Aug 29, 1995 by tomgray in igc:energy.news */ U.S.-CHILE AGREEMENT WILL TEST RENEWABLES IN REMOTE AREAAn agreement between the United States and Chile (see Wind Energy Weekly #628, December 27, 1994) will bring wind, solar photovoltaics, and hydropower pilot projects to two remote areas near the Chilean communities of Talca and Temuco, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Electricity from renewables will provide residents with lighting, communications and other basic services, such as water pumping, refrigeration for vaccines, ice-making and energy for small cottage industries, and even electricity for television and radio.
There are approximately 150,000 homes in the two regions, of which 90,000 are without electricity, NREL said in a news release. Fifty-three percent of Chile's rural households are currently not electrified, although many rural people travel to the urban centers on a weekly basis to get 12-volt batteries recharged and replenish their bottled gas. Chile's goal is to get electrical service to 80 percent of its rural regions by 2000.
As previously reported here, the Chilean National Energy Commission (CNE) will provide $1 million for equipment and DOE will provide $500,000 under the agreement this year. These funds will be used for planning, resource assessment, pilot projects and infrastructure capability development. Chile estimates that a total of $300 million will be required to meet its rural electrification goal.
The amount allocated to renewables will be, to a large degree, based on the outcome of the collaborative CNE/Department of Energy pilot program. Future financing for renewables will come from Chile's public sector (67%) and from the private sector (33%). Chile's interest in renewable energy technologies and a favorable business climate are expected to open up a new international market for U.S. businesses.
This month representatives from NREL met with representatives of CNE and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, South America (NRECA/SA), to discuss the pilot projects and their implementation.
NREL also will develop renewable energy resource maps to show where renewable installations are most feasible. NRECA/SA will work with the private sector and electric cooperatives to develop infrastructure to ensure the success of renewable energy installations. If the pilots are successful, they will be replicated in additional parts of Chile in 1996 and other regions in subsequent years.
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