The Program for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency (4E) is an initiative of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) of Germany.
Since 2014, the 4e Program has been working in Chile to increase the sustainability of the energy sector by providing technical assistance, for example, to improve the regulatory framework, to promote new businesses and through project financing.
The Chilean Ministry of Energy is the program’s counterpart in promoting initiatives for the use of renewable energies in companies, the development of a green hydrogen industry, decarbonization of the electricity matrix, cogeneration, energy efficiency and more.
GIZ specializes in technical cooperation for sustainable development worldwide. In Chile, the energy sector is responsible for about 78% of the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
According to a study published in 2014 by the 4e Program, a potential of 1,800 GW in renewable energies was identified for Chile. This potential corresponds to about 75 times the current installed capacity of the country. Also, the Atacama Desert is the best place in the world for solar energy, with a radiation of up to 2,400 kWh/m2, allowing to achieve photovoltaic plant factors of over 45%.
These characteristics make Chile a paradise for renewable energies. Clean energy enables the country to be a regional forerunner in the energy transition. Adding to that, renewables enable Chile to be an energy exporter and develop new green technologies such as green hydrogen, concentrated solar power and pump storage.
Some of the projects developed to date have been the expansion of large and small-scale renewable energies and their integration to the grid, the development of energy efficiency projects in mining sector and the promotion of cogeneration in industry and commerce, in addition to a project initiated in 2019 that aims to promote the decarbonization of the Chilean energy sector.
Until January 2021 the 4e Program has carried out ten projects, five already finalized and five still in execution.
Please find more information about the different projects following this link. (Spanish)
The transition to a green economy is within reach as we experience a boost in the development of new renewable energy sources and green hydrogen.
Chile has enormous potential to generate electricity from renewable sources. According to different studies, the country has more than 1,800 GW of renewable power. If we consider that the current installed capacity of the electrical matrix is 25 GW, there is a lot of space for expansion of a new «green» and carbon-free economy.
In order to outline this potential, the project «Decarbonization of the Chilean energy sector«, financed by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Natural Conservation and Nuclear Safety, implemented by the «Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH» in cooperation with the Chilean Ministry of Energy, prepared a model that visually explains Chile’s path towards carbon neutrality and the great opportunity that Chile has to be a «green» and sustainable country in the future.
This project aims to support the energetic transition of Chile, contributing to the electric system decarbonization through technologies for the reconversion of carbon centrals, promoting strategic themes like green hydrogen, the fair transition and increase the integration of renewables to the network.
The project “Energetic Efficiency in Mining Industry” focus on implementing measures for the increase of efficiency in the energy use in this industry and in the formation of an Energetic Efficiency Network in the mining sector.
This project seeks to support the efforts in the development of carbon pricing instruments to contribute with the fulfilment of the goals committed by the country within the framework of the Paris Agreement.
With the aim of raising energetic efficiency in the industrial and commercial sector, different activities will be carried to promote the cogeneration, focusing on the installation of small and medium plants.
The Energy partnership Chile-Germany promotes the political dialog of high level between booth countries, so as representants of the industry, associations, research and financial institutions , with the purpose of support the national energetic transition in favour of a sustainable energetic supply, safe and achievable.
In 2014 a study of the GIZ unveiled the enormous potential for non-conventional renewable energies in Chile. A conservative estimation states that about 1,800 GW of renewables could be installed, excluding even large hydropower projects. The study does not only consider geographical aspects (like solar radiation or wind speed), but also topographical and territorial restrictions.
In dedicated projects the 4e Program has supported and promoted the scale-up of renewable energy power plants and their integration into the national electricity grids. Besides participating in round-tables on renewables, the GIZ supported the Chilean Ministry of Energy in the establishment of Grid Codes and the elaboration of new regulations. This work was visualized in the Regulatory Map which can be downloaded here. (Spanish)
Renewable energy projects such as wind or solar parks require a certain amount of territory. In the course of the expansion of renewables it is crucial to include local communities when planning or constructing new plants. In order to facilitate the communication between project developers and communities, the 4e Program developed a free software application to measure the level of Social Acceptance. The tool can be accessed through this link.
Although Chile has increased its installed capacity of renewable energy in recent years, it produced still about 37 % of its electricity in coal-fired power plants in 2020. The GIZ participated in the national coal-commission in which the coal phase-out until 2040 was discussed and resolved. In order to secure a smooth transition, multiple topics have to be handled: among these topics are grid-stability when more and more coal-fired power plants are shut down, grid-expansion to transport the electricity from producers to consumers and also a fair treatment of local economies that were built around the existing power plants. The GIZ has published several studies in this context, which be found here. (Spanish)
The energy sector is experimenting severe structural changes. This requieres also the implementation of new technologies. The 4e Program of the GIZ Chile has actively been engaged the development of innovative technologies in the Chilean Market. A few examples are:
