Pioneering project outlines how much distributed generation capacity Chile could incorporate

Chile’s electricity distribution network could incorporate roughly 6GW of distributed generation assets as things stand today – a figure that could climb to about 12GW if infrastructure work is carried out.

That is among the initial findings of a project conducted by Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez’s energy transition research hub Centra in collaboration with – and funded by – members of local solar power chamber Acesol.

A central objective of the work, executed under a knowledge-transfer program established to address specific energy sector questions, was identifying potential barriers to the efficient development of distributed generation in Chile.

Engineers focused on the netbilling segment, which comprises 192MW of capacity spread across some 18,600 installations, according to an Acesol report, which is based on data from local fuels and electricity watchdog SEC.

Researchers, who studied systems in the country’s south and extrapolated data, found that investment, including transformer work, could roughly double capacity to absorb new distributed assets.

“The study, as well as establishing this collaborative university-company relationship, provided clarity, with hard technical and scientific information, on the capacity of our feeders to host distributed generation,” Darío Morales, Acesol’s executive director, told BNamericas on the sidelines of a report launch event in capital Santiago. 

“This has previously been said to be a barrier, and today we see that, with just a few actions, we could clear it.”

Morales cited the importance of establishing a national distributed generation capacity goal, citing as a potential target 1GW within the next 4-5 years.

Factors behind the current 6GW limit are principally voltage problems at certain hours as well as transformer saturation, Centra project director Daniel Olivares told BNamericas.

Among the next steps is determining optimum capacity-usage levels, data that would support policymaking.

“With this answer, you can advance in the design of public policy, to incentivize the efficient development of these resources,” said Olivares, also an academic in the university’s engineering and science faculty. 

Next phase work also includes developing an online data platform that distributed generation developers and other ecosystem stakeholders could consult. Research project members are liaising with SEC so that the proposed platform complements a data solution that the watchdog is working on.

Distribution is often overlooked in energy transition discussions but is vital to Chile’s aspirations to become carbon neutral by 2050, a goal that will require boosting distributed generation and energy storage capacity and adoption of electric vehicles. 

Modernizing distribution legislation is seen necessary to support energy transition work. Acesol is also seeking regulatory changes to spur distributed solar thermal generation. 

Just over 20% of energy consumption in Chile corresponds to electricity, indicating the space for growth in electrification and the need for the requisite regulations and investment to support this.   

Companies including Enlight, Grenergy, Huawei, Rising Sun, Sungrow, D’E Capital, Enel X, SMA, GascoLuz, IM2 and Orion Power financially backed the project, the first of its kind in Chile.