Chile’s recent coal phase-out decision claims first victims

Chile is pushing power companies to phase out coal plants following a government announcement earlier this year that the country wouldn’t build coal-fired power plants unless they were equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS).

The decision, part of a wider national plan to transition to cleaner energy sources, has already claimed some victims, with French power company Engie SA announcing last week it would close its coal-fired power plants in the country as there was “little point” in trying to sell them. Instead, it plans to replace the capacity with renewable energy.

The agreement, signed by Chile’s major utilities, places the country among roughly 20 other nations seeking to curb greenhouse-gas production.

Currently, coal makes up 21% of the nation’s installed capacity. The share of renewable energies in its evolving power mix is 22%, but the goal is to meet 70% of national electricity needs with solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, and ocean energy by 2050, the government said in January.

In the last decade, Power Magazine reports, Chile has tripled its generation capacity in from 6.5 GW to 23 GW to meet soaring power demand bolstered by an economy driven by exports:

Yet, the government expects power demand will more than double through 2050. And because it remains an electricity island, with only one cross-border connection, Chile must produce all its own power needs sustainably.