Chile's renewables share climbs to 45.5% in Sept

Andes Solar IV solar-plus-storage complex in the Atacama Desert. Image source: AES Andes (www.aesandes.com)

Non-conventional renewables produced 45.5% of Chile’s electricity in September amid a decline in output from conventional energy sources, Chilean national energy commission CNE said in its latest report.

A month prior, the renewables share in the country's total power production was 38.6%.

Renewable energy sources, excluding large hydro, generated 3,049 GWh of electricity in September, marking a 10.4% increase compared to August and a 22.3% jump from the year-ago period.

Conventional energy sources, on the other hand, generated 3,647 GWh, which meant a 17.1% drop month-on-month and a 16.0% decline year-on-year, the CNE said.

The total gross power generation of 6,696 GWh represented a 6.5% decrease compared to August and a 2.0% reduction compared to September of 2023.

The CNE’s figures for non-conventional renewables and their performance in September are presented in the table below:

Technology:	Gross generation in September:	month-on-month change:	year-on-year change:	Share in September:
Biomass	196	-1.6%	9.1%	6.4%
Wind	1,090	11.7%	20.8%	35.8%
Solar PV	1,564	12.0%	31.8%	51.3%
Solar CSP	0	0%	0%	--
Small run-of-river hydro	180	8.4%	-4.5%	5.9%
Geothermal	18	-19.2%	-49.6%	0.6%