Chile mulls ways to increase energy generation flexibility
Chile's energy ministry, German international development agency GIZ and Germany's environment ministry employed the services of a consultancy firm to study ways of allowing mass power generation from renewable sources to be integrated into the national grid.
Engie Lab Laborelec Chile was charged with studying European regulatory frameworks and the technical characteristics of thermoelectric power stations and their Chilean counterparts to draw up a model of comparison to allow for greater energy generation flexibility in Chile and avoid the intermittent power supply that can result from the use of non-conventional renewables.
The study was carried out between December and March and focused primarily on Belgium and Italy.
According to Chile's national energy commission (CNE), non-conventional renewables represent 15% of the country's installed generation capacity, a figure that will increase as a result of the recent power auction.
"In Chile, a significant number of studies have demonstrated that the limitations for efficient generation in the face of the mass integration of renewable energy depend largely on the degree of flexibility with which conventional power stations can operate, particularly thermal power stations, given their higher operating costs," GIZ technical advisor Felipe Salinas said.
Thermoelectric power stations were designed to operate in a constant way, as baseload, both in Chile and Europe.
"The difference is that in Europe they evolved to become flexible power plants in a context of over capacity of generation in a very competitive market. This shows that, if there exist sufficient incentives, it is possible to create significant improvements to the system," Salinas said.
The study's results show that in Chile minimum power levels must be established to improve flexibility, as well as minimum times for operation and stoppage, both of which lack formal definition.
It also showed great potential for increasing flexibility in Chile's combined cycle plants, while the South American country also lacks restrictions on CO2 emission for such plants. In Europe, in contrast, local authorities determine such limits, allowing for greater or lesser flexibility in their power generation according to local conditions.
CNE said earlier this month it is aiming to submit a new power distribution bill to legislators by year-end, after a group of energy experts and academics concluded the diagnostic phase of a collaborative process to draft a new power distribution law, identifying the country's current regulatory model for distribution as "incompatible with the development of energy efficiency and cogeneration," and which has impeded both.
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