Chile joined the ranks of nearly two dozen countries that have announced a phaseout or a moratorium of coal generation, pledging not to continue building coal-fired power plants unless they are equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS).

The January 29 announcement by the country’s energy ministry and electric power generators’ association, Asociación de Generadoras, is a significant development for the country that relied on coal for about two-fifths of its power generation in 2016. The trade group, whose members comprise some of Chile’s largest generators, including AES Gener, Cerro Dominador, Colbun, EDF, Enel Chile, Engie, Orazul Energy, Pacific Hydro, and Statkraft, noted in a statement that a transformation of Chile’s power mix is already underway, driven in part by a larger goal to procure 70% of national electricity generation from renewables by 2050.

Published in Power Mag, 1st April, 2018

http://www.powermag.com/chile-to-pursue-dramatic-coal-generation-reduction/