Empowering Energy Cooperatives for a Sustainable Energy Transition in Chile

Chile's Energy Transition and Challenges

In Chile, a remarkable energy transition towards renewable energies is taking place and in ten years more than 7,000 megawatt of solar power projects have been installed. The success of this transition can be attributed to the relatively high prices of the Chilean electricity market and favorable weather conditions for solar power generation. The highest level of foreign investment today is in the energy projects sector. However, access to affordable energy remains a pressing need for a significant portion of the Chilean population, leading to socio-environmental conflicts and high indicators of Energy Poverty because the change of the matrix has so far not resulted in a significant participation of the population in the generation of their own energy.

DGRV Project: Empowering Associative Energy Generation

In response to the challenges of energy access and sustainability, the DGRV project in Chile, sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), is working to promote energy generation through associative forms. The goal is to make citizens active participants in the Energy Transition and reduce energy costs for communities. The project has already trained over 200 individuals in associative energy generation models, and it is now entering the phase of supporting the implementation of pilot projects.

Learning from Energy Cooperatives in Germany

In June, eight Chilean organizations, including municipalities, ministries, cooperatives, federations, and NGOs, had a valuable opportunity to learn from the experience of Energy Cooperatives in Germany. They participated in an Exposure Visit in the region of Bavaria, gaining insights into the institutional context and successful business models employed by over 220,000 cooperative members to generate and consume energy from their cooperatives, thus being protagonists in the energy transition.

Creating a Platform for Collaboration and Advocacy

The program served as a catalyst for the establishment of a roundtable that will convene throughout the rest of 2023. The purpose of this roundtable is to propose enhancements to the regulatory framework and public policies, forms of financing and to devise projects that can foster development. It also aims to serve as platform for the visibility and promotion of Energy Cooperatives in Chile.