Chile

About the project

There are 3,571 registered cooperatives in Chile, of which 1,394 are considered active. In total, Chilean cooperatives have 2 million members, which represents 10% of the total population. The savings and credit sector is the most important, followed by the energy sector with 20 cooperatives dedicated to electricity distribution.

Chile plans to generate 100% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2040. Currently, Chile is one of the few countries in Latin America where the energy generated can be fed into the public grid. Under certain conditions, jointly operated renewable energy generation plants can be installed to feed surplus energy into the public grid (Law 21.118) and thus obtain a discount on one’s electricity bill. For this reason, the generation of electricity from renewable sources is attracting growing interest among the population.

The objective of the Coopsur project in Chile is aimed at the potential of the cooperative sector in the generation of renewable energy with citizen participation and energy efficiency.

The project’s objective is based on the following main areas of the energy sector:

• Encouraging civic engagement and raising awareness of ways to combat climate change
• Promoting the exchange and knowledge of existing initiatives

At meso level, the focus is on raising awareness and creating a space for the exchange of knowledge and experiences on citizen-led renewable energy generation, the target group being a working group to be formed under the Coopsur project, as well as the staff of the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Labor.

Target groups at micro level are initiatives promoting renewable energies with citizen participation, whether cooperatives or other forms of member-based cooperation, as well as individuals interested in initiating such a project.

Sustainable Development Goals

Our project in Chile contributes to several Sustainable Development Goals, especially:

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Activities

DGRV selects its activities according to the main areas and according to the collaboration with cooperative confederations, central institutions of the cooperative sector, federations, networks of cooperatives and individual cooperatives at national and decentralized levels, supervisory authorities, ministries, and others.

These include the following:

• Digital education and training through workshops and seminars
• Regional and international internships
• Formation of working groups

Development of studies, methodologies, guides, and reference manuals

Partners

Cooperativa de Trabajo Red Genera

Red Genera is dedicated to the development of photovoltaic, solar thermal and energy efficiency projects at residential, commercial, and industrial levels.

DGRV in Chile collaborates with Red Genera to carry out renewable energy generation pilots with citizen participation. This process is accompanied by activities such as training, pre-feasibility studies and a working group for those interested in the joint generation of renewable energies.