EY report awards first place to China followed by the United States and France. Within the region, Chile takes second place after Argentina.
Chile is getting closer to the world’s superpowers in energy matters. In recent years, the country has positioned itself as a relevant player in renewable energy and this is reflected in professional services firm EY’s latest edition of the Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI).
The study puts Chile in 11th place out of 40 markets, the same position as the previous ranking. In comparison with the region, it comes second after Argentina in 10th place.
Among the types of technology analyzed, the country stands out for its potential to develop offshore wind power plants where it holds 6th place, as well as in marine energy. This is despite the fact that neither energy has yet been developed in Chile.
It also stands out in the concentrated solar power (CSP) category, where it ranks 8th. For onshore wind, geothermal and hydroelectric energy, Chile is the 12th most attractive country to invest.
How to improve? From the beginning of 2016 until the end of 2018, Chile was ranked as the 4th most attractive country to invest in renewables.
Why? “To be a leader in our index, the Chilean economy should grow and it is also an alternative that other economic sectors, which today depend on other fuels, become electric,” explained Eduardo Valente, EY partner and energy and mining sector leader.
The executive said that Chile needs to make regulatory changes to improve green energy public policies in the medium term. "The reform of the distribution sector is an excellent opportunity to generate flexible tariffs that allow us to take advantage of solar energy in every way and to make use of unexplored resources in Chile such as residential demand management," he said.
Another analysis is that the index reaffirms Chile as a country that has a stable political environment and supports renewable energy, emphasizing the current government’s work and its interest in developing this technology and the decarbonization of the energy matrix. However, it is noted that the Chilean electricity sector is challenged by how to incorporate more clean energy while maintaining cheap, safe and flexible operations.
The other countries. The report indicates that globally corporate purchases of renewable energy rocketed last year, with a number of new companies entering the market for the first time. The trade war between China and the United States has not prevented them from being RECAI leaders. Meanwhile, France rose from 5th to 3rd place due to it pushing forward plans to increase floating offshore wind capacity and for onshore wind power auctions.
Among countries which are falling in the ranking are Mexico (from 13 to 19) and Taiwan (from 27 to 33), both mainly because of political uncertainty.
To learn more about renewable energy investment opportunities in Chile, see the following article.
Source: Pulso