Energy with a Vision for the Future
While in the developed world, it is evident that energy companies must evolve towards disruptive schemes that are environmentally friendly, it seems that in our country, there are sectors interested in diverting the trajectory of renewables that has characterized us as the example to follow in decarbonized economies.
There is no such prosperity, as some would like to portray it, in the exploitation of hydrocarbons. The environmental cost is enormous, and above all, it serves as a smokescreen to delay the reinvention that the energy system requires to achieve a carbon-free future.
The sector is moving towards the creation of prosumers (energy producers and consumers simultaneously), the use of electric vehicles, and the consequent reduction of individual generation and storage costs (by citizens or groups of citizens) that would free them from dependence on electric companies.
It seems that in the distant future, fossil fuels could be set aside to generate energy, but renewable energies (excluding hydropower) are taking the lead in the market. The installed capacity in the Latin American solar matrix has increased in the region by 0.9% of the total regional electrical installation capacity, with Chile leading the way with 55.8% in solar generation, resulting in a decrease in electricity prices between 2009 and 2017. On the other hand, in wind power generation, the installed capacity in the region produces 19,720 MW, representing 5% of the total system, and Brazil leads as a generator with a wind power share of 58.4% of the installed capacity in Latin America and the Caribbean. In Central America, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama have assumed limits that require rethinking for the promotion of alternative renewable generation and the displacement of generation from fossil fuels.
Traditional transportation networks must prepare to compete for customers who can self-supply and generate their own energy because the cost of storing and generating energy will be reduced, becoming competitive compared to the cost of electricity supplied by conventional distribution and transportation networks.
Renewable sources of solar, wind, and geothermal energy abound in Latin America, and their costs are decreasing rapidly. According to the study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in the next decade, the proportion of energy generated by non-conventional renewable sources will increase, and energy exchange between countries will be more profitable than the expansion plans studied in each country.
It is necessary for the governments of the region to act as a bloc and to make the correct use of resources that have already been invested, such as the Central American Electrical Interconnection System (SIEPAC). The transition to energy should be driven by the consumer (as the main link in the service) and enabled by technology. The actions that countries must take should seek energy complementarity to mitigate the effects of climate change and seasonal variations, thus meeting energy demand using the renewable sources available in different countries. In a scenario of renewable and interconnected energy, achieving an 80% share from these sources by the year 2030 is feasible.
It is the duty of governments to act against the interests of certain groups and relinquish control over their national electrical systems, with a view to the benefit of their citizens and the planet as a whole.
