In December 2024, renewable energy in Chile reached a new record: the country generated 42% of its electricity from solar and wind sources. This was reported by the international energy experts at Ember.
This percentage surpasses the previous monthly record of 39.6% achieved in September of the same year.
Renewable energy in Chile: record numbers in December
Throughout the past year, solar and wind resources contributed to a record 33% of the total electricity generated in Chile, compared to 30% recorded in 2023.
Overall, renewable energies accounted for 70% of the electricity produced in the country in 2024, while electricity generation from fossil fuels reached 30%.
This marks a significant change, achieved in just five years, when fossil fuels led electricity generation with 53%. At that time, renewables accounted for 47%.
Back then, wind and solar energy were just beginning their meteoric rise in the neighboring country, providing 14% of the total electricity consumed in Chile in 2019.
![Chile es un paÃs muy atractivo para las inversiones en energÃa solar](https://storage.googleapis.com/media-cloud-na/2024/12/energia-solar-chile.jpg)
“Chile is a world leader in clean electricity,” stated Ember’s energy analyst for Latin America, Wilmar Suárez.
“The country’s environmental goals, such as achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, have provided a key boost for the decarbonization of its electricity matrix,” he added.
Moreover, he detailed that the more than 900 MW of installed energy storage capacity with batteries have made the country a “reference for energy transition in Latin America”.
Wind and solar energy, the keys
The rapid growth of renewable energies in Chile was driven by solar and wind energy, which currently represent 21% and 12% respectively of the electricity generation.
Their participation has more than doubled since 2019, when solar energy contributed 8% of the country’s electricity and wind energy 6%.
The Global Electricity Review by Ember, published last year, highlighted Chile as one of the countries with the highest share of solar energy in the world in 2023.
It also emphasized the alignment at the level of public policies. Towards the end of 2024, the Energy Transition Law for Chile was enacted. Among its priorities is to accelerate the construction and operation of electricity transmission lines.
This allows for their connection with renewable energy projects, and the attraction of significant investments for the electric sector, to strengthen and modernize its infrastructure.
![Proyectos de energÃas renovables](https://noticiasambientales.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Proyectos-de-energias-renovables.jpg)
“The Energy Transition Law will allow Chile to continue its leadership in global energy transition, ensuring a supply of clean, reliable, quality, and affordable energy to all Chileans,” highlighted Suárez.
What’s happening in Argentina? The pillar of Sudoeste Bonaerense
The Sudoeste Bonaerense continues to be a key player in wind energy, hosting 18 of the 69 wind farms in the entire country.
In October 2024, these projects injected 330 GWh of electricity, equivalent to 23.1% of the total renewable energy nationally. Although this figure is significant, it represents a 8.7% setback compared to the same month of the previous year.
Despite the slowdown, a report from the Regional Center for Economic Studies of BahÃa Blanca, Argentina, highlights that the province plays a fundamental role in wind energy in the national landscape.
![La transición energética](https://noticiasambientales.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/energias-renovables.jpg)
Therefore, it is crucial to resume investment growth to consolidate the transformation of the energy matrix and achieve the goals of Law 27,191, the National Promotion Regime for the use of Renewable Energy Sources for the Production of Electric Energy.
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