Chile's renewables increase output by 27% y/y in June

The Cerro Dominador CSP plant in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Image by Cerro Dominador (www.cerrodominador.com)

Chile’s non-conventional renewables increased production output by 26.8% year-on-year to 1,480 GWh in gross terms in June, according to the latest figures released by Chilean energy commission CNE.

Renewables took a share of 21.8% in the total gross production, compared to 21.7% registered in May. Between May and June, gross power generation from renewables declined by 0.8%.

Production from conventional sources and the overall gross power production dropped by 1.6% and 1.4% month-on-month, respectively, CNE’s report states.

More details on renewables are given in the table:

Technology:	Gross generation in GWh:	Month-on-month change:	Year-on-year change:	Share in June:
Biomass	158	-21.6%	0.3%	10.7%
Wind	528	5.5%	14.6%	35.7%
Solar PV	576	-8.1%	53.4%	38.9%
Solar CSP	16	84.8%	N.A.	1.1%
Small run-of-river hydro	173	37.0%	13.8%	11.7%
Geothermal	29	1.3%	34.5%	1.9%

The total installed non-conventional renewable energy capacity in the country was reduced to 7,308 MW in June from some 7,315 MW in commercial operation a month prior. The difference of around 7 MW to 8 MW between the two reports came as the SEN grid connected some 45 MW of solar PV but lost about 53 MW of biomass-fired capacity, according to the available figures.

Of Chile’s total renewables capacity, the SEN system now houses around 7,280 MW. The capacity in the Aysen electricity system (SEA) and the Magallanes grid (SEM) remained unchanged from May, and stands at 26 MW and 3 MW, respectively.

A total of 5,010 MW of projects are currently listed as under construction across Chile. These are expected to start operation by February 2023 at the latest, CNE said.

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