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Article

Linkages between the Promotion of Renewable Energy Policies and Low-Carbon Transition Trends in South America’s Electricity Sector

by
Drielli Peyerl
1,
Mariana Oliveira Barbosa
1,*,
Mariana Ciotta
1,
Maria Rogieri Pelissari
1 and
Evandro Mateus Moretto
2
1
Institute of Energy and Environment, University of São Paulo, Av. Professor Luciano Gualberto, São Paulo 1289, Brazil
2
School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities-EACH, University of São Paulo, Av. Arlindo Béttio, São Paulo 1000, Brazil
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Energies 2022, 15(12), 4293; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15124293
Submission received: 13 April 2022 / Revised: 20 May 2022 / Accepted: 9 June 2022 / Published: 11 June 2022
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Abstract

:
The decarbonization of the energy sector is among the leading global goals, and the electricity sector plays a crucial role in this low-carbon transition. However, South American countries have been underrepresented in this discussion. Understanding the particularities and the shifts in the electricity sector landscape of these countries over time and how natural resource availability, technology, and energy policies are decisive to a low-carbon transition summarizes the proposed matters in this research. This work aims to fill this gap by investigating past renewability trends in the electricity sector of five South American countries from 1990 to 2020 through five indicators. As a result, we observed a trend of low-carbon reverse transition in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, despite the efforts and the success of renewable energy auctions, making short-term energy policy measures necessary. In Venezuela, there is a decrease in consumption and an increase in electricity generation using fossil fuels. Uruguay showed a rise in consumption and continued high use of renewables. Finally, energy policies focusing on quantifiable emission reduction should be a target of the electricity sector to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

1. Introduction

The decarbonization of the global electricity sector is among the main pillars in the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [1,2]. The average global prices for renewable energy decreased by approximately 80% in the last decade [3] and, in 2020, the support and expansion of renewable sources occasioned a decrease of 3.3% in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions due to policy support, a reduction in costs and the maturity of these technologies [2]. Accelerating the energy transition—from fossil fuels to renewable energy in the electricity sector—is among the main actions for limiting global warming [4,5]. However, in some power sectors, the growth of renewable sources has been an energy addition and not a replacement of fossil fuels [6]. Energy security and increased consumption have characterized this slow replacement [6].
Governmental policies and international agreements relating to climate change mitigation have influenced the addition of new sources, mainly solar and wind, and supported a global energy transformation [2,7]. In contrast, renewable sources still face challenges associated with overcoming intermittency and limitations in the power grid to achieve their full potential, requiring, for example, technological transfer between the Global North and South and innovation such as green hydrogen production [8,9]. Policy instruments for renewable energy sources also face technical, market, environmental, social and geographic barriers [10,11]. It is important to highlight that government policies have had a central role in reducing CO2 emissions in the electricity sector. In the case of China, for example, it is clear that the reduction in CO2 emissions in the electricity sector depends on government policies [12]. In the case of Portugal, the increased taxation of CO2 prices occasioned a slight impact on reducing CO2 emissions; however, other policy measures need to be developed to complement the use of CO2 taxes [13]. In California, the policy has had an essential role in leading to significant “reshuffling” of emissions and limit the impact of the electricity sector emissions cap [14]. Therefore, addressing the government policies and the low-carbon transition shifts in the electricity sector in developing countries currently brings complex dimensions and delicate balances between real possibilities, economic availability, lack of electricity access, energy security, regulatory and market inconsistencies, and structural inequalities [15,16,17].
The energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources in the electricity sector has been accelerated mainly in developed countries since most of them have a significant percentage of fossil fuels in their energy mix, mainly in the electricity sector [1,2]. It is of note that the role of developing countries in decarbonizing the electricity sector has been overlooked in current models and studies [18,19]. Among the reasons is that parts of the developing countries, such as Brazil and Uruguay, have an electrical matrix mainly based on hydroelectric plants [20,21]. However, the potential to produce electricity from renewable energy sources in some developing countries has been explored to produce new sources, such as hydrogen, aimed at the international market and not for domestic use [8]. In addition, developing countries have faced some severe power crises in recent decades, mainly due to droughts [22], electricity prices [23], increased demand for electricity and the effectiveness of energy policies [24]. These historical and current problems have increased the use of mainly natural gas as an element of energy security in these countries.
In the case of South American countries, the electricity sector has been present in some studies connected to economic growth and renewable and non-renewable energy [25]; and related to income tax, value-added or sales tax and tariffs to promote renewable energy [26]. Government actions for introducing renewables in South America have varied from country to country, mainly according to the availability of energy resources and technology [27,28]. Further, in most countries, the installed share of thermal capacity rises as energy demand grows, and despite government incentives for renewable sources, their relative participation decreases [27]. Different indicators have been applied to analyze the introduction and/or development of renewable energy sources in South America, mainly from four perspectives: regulatory, educational, voluntary (agreement) and economic [29,30], not directly addressing the issue of CO2 emissions.
This paper examines the shifts to renewability in the electricity sector of five South American countries between 1990 and 2020, evaluating five aspects: historical context, deployment of the renewable energy policies, electricity consumption per source, the lifecycle of greenhouse gas emissions, and the renewable/non-renewable ratio. The five studies cases investigated are Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Venezuela. Understanding the particularities and the shifts in the electricity sector landscape of these countries over time and how natural resource availability, technology, and energy policies are decisive to a low-carbon transition summarizes the proposed matters in this research. As part of this research, the guiding questions are: what possible low-carbon transition trends are we dealing with in the electricity sector in South America? How do the historical context and natural resource availability directly influence the structuring of the electricity sector in these countries?
The novelty of this work is to analyze aspects that influence the low-carbon transition trends through the indicators mentioned above over time. In addition, the linkage between renewable energy policies and the emission of CO2eq is developed in this work. This work also demonstrates the need for studies on domestic energy transitions in developing countries and their particularities. In addition, greater integration between the countries of South America may be a solution for a large-scale energy transition [31]. Thus, the research suggests that countries with a historical dominance of renewable and clean sources in the electricity sector should focus on energy policies to ensure an efficient structuring of the sector, promoting a path to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

2. Materials and Methods

South America comprises twelve countries and three overseas territories (including French Guiana). In order to collect a detailed sample of all these South American countries for an in-depth analysis, some indicators were established to assist in selecting some countries. This selection considered the sum of values from three high-impact indicators: gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (for Venezuela, we considered the 2014 data, the most current database found) [32], electricity consumption per capita [33], and the percentage of fossil fuels in the electricity sector [33]. The GDP per capita indicator refers to the flow of products and service goods, representing the welfare of a society [34,35,36]. The electricity consumption indicator provides measures of the maturity of the electrical system [37]. The percentage of fossil fuels in the electricity sector indicates the countries that need to make the most efforts to face the challenges of reducing GHG emissions in power generation. The associated values correspond to the quartile to which each gross value belongs. Accordingly, the selection of the countries concentrated on the sum of the highest average values (4–8), resulting in five countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and Venezuela (see Table 1). Further, the production of these five selected countries corresponds to almost 80% of all electricity generation in South America [33].
After the five South American countries were selected (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Venezuela), the analysis of low-carbon transition shifts in the electricity sector was summarized in the following steps:
  • Data collection of electricity generation by source (GWh), the historical background of the government actions (laws, plans, decrees, and auctions) focusing on renewable sources, and the lifecycle of GHG emissions (including infrastructure and supply chain emissions, biogenic CO2 emissions and albedo effect methane emissions) of the electricity supply technologies (gCO2eq/kWh).
  • Data analysis concentrated on evaluating the effectiveness of government actions according to the increase in energy generation from renewable sources for each selected country between 1990 and 2020 (Venezuela only until 2019) following the available data [38,39,40].
  • Calculation of renewable/non-renewable ratio to assess the low-carbon transition shifts for the five South American countries.
  • Figure 1 summarizes the methodological procedures of this work.

3. Results

3.1. Argentina

Several transformations have dominated the Argentinian energy landscape’s historical and current background [41]. Historically, the organization of the electricity sector was closely linked to Argentina’s political background and the several economic crises [42]. At the same time, the energy market has been specially marked by privatization policies alternated with renationalization prevalence [43]. In addition, the country has conducted several electricity reforms since the 1990s, resulting in liberalization and deregulation of the sector [42]. Recently, Argentina has replaced coal and petroleum with natural gas and promoted renewable energy (see Table 2) [44,45].
According to Figure 2, the increase in fossil fuels is linked to the availability of natural gas on-site, commitments to investments in efficiency in central thermoelectric plants, and the understanding of it as a transition fuel for emitting less CO2 than other fossils fuels. Regarding renewables sources, Law No. 25.019 represented the beginning of the participation of these sources as small subsidies and tax benefits, mainly for wind projects in the country’s electrical matrix. The 2004 energy crisis resulted in a diplomatic conflict with Chile (a major importer of natural gas from Argentina) and the restriction of the use of natural gas for domestic consumption. Subsequently, discoveries of natural gas fields, such as Vaca Muerta, contributed to the increased use of this fuel. However, Law No. 27.191 changed the sector’s landscape and determined a framework for renewable energy auctions. The RenovAr Program post-2016 (disregarding hydro use) demonstrated success through the three auctions, the last one happening in 2018. The decrease in CO2eq emissions from 2016 to 2019 is due to the sector’s increase in natural gas and renewables. Wind and solar auctions were delayed by issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, and economic aspects impacted the expansion of these sources [56], which explains the steep increase in CO2eq emissions in 2020 through oil use.

3.2. Brazil

Fossil fuel non-availability and water resource availability boosted the construction of hydroelectric plants over time to respond to Brazil’s energy demand, reaching 93% of electricity generation in 1990 [21,57]. Historically, this dependence became adverse to the Brazilian electricity system due to periods of drought, even causing power shortages and increases in energy prices [22,58]. Since the 2000s, the government has been promoting renewable energy sources, mainly wind and solar, through public policies and auctions to ensure the supply of electricity [59]. In addition, the Brazilian government has prioritized the expansion and acceleration of renewable energy sources and invested in more efficient thermoelectric plants to increase the security of the energy supply versus energy demand (see Table 3) [60,61].
Figure 3 shows that the energy auctions can be considered the key to successfully implementing new renewable sources in Brazil, such as wind and solar. However, the introduction of these sources and the governmental support for them have not succeeded in replacing fossil sources yet. They are considered additional sources mainly due to increased national electrical consumption, backup of non-conventional renewables, droughts, and energy crises. The water crises of the last two decades also have shown that energy security is primarily supported by natural gas thermoelectric plants, increasing CO2 emissions. The growth in the use of natural gas is also due to its availability in the country. However, Brazil is among the greatest global potentials for renewable energy generation and has increasingly invested in renewables in past years (e.g., Decree No. 10.946).

3.3. Chile

Historically, Chile has depended on imported fossil fuels, energy insecurity, and homegrown weather-dependent hydropower [69,70]. Since the 1990s, Chile has invested in importing natural gas to supply the growing energy demand and reduce the cost of electricity [71]. Despite the increase in the use of this source, the country’s electric matrix is still strongly driven by the use of coal and hydroelectric plants [27,72]. However, in the last decade, wind and solar have become more competitive, and the government has provided technology-specific support and regulations with an emphasis mainly on geothermal and solar [73,74]. Thus, the Chilean energy scenario has been characterized by the entry of alternative energies as the primary strategy in the electricity sector (see Table 4).
Figure 4 shows that despite the high dependence on fossil fuels, mainly coal and natural gas, Chile has invested heavily in renewable sources—primarily wind and solar. The response to this substantial investment focuses on the history of dependence on imported energy resources and energy insecurity. Innovation processes and agreements for the decarbonization of the matrix have allowed Chile to achieve an increasingly cleaner electrical matrix through investments in renewable energies and new technologies. The aim of producing green hydrogen has also joined the country’s potential to generate solar power. Although the country already has laws for carbon taxation, these still need to be fully implemented; however, this already represents one more of the government’s actions to mitigate CO2. In sum, the energy transition process from fossil fuels to renewables has fluctuated significantly over the years in the country. Still, the vertiginous growth of the insertion of renewables is an example to be followed.

3.4. Uruguay

The historical energy background of Uruguay is based on the use of hydropower with complementary generation from thermoelectric, mainly in periods of droughts [82,83]. Since the 2000s, the government’s roadmap of investments has focused on renewable energy to reverse dependence on fossil fuel imports and search for solutions for periods of drought, guaranteeing a safe energy supply [82,83]. Based on this scenario, renewable power capacity has significantly increased in the last decade, primarily through wind energy and solid biomass [84]. In addition, hybrid instruments with elements of auctions and feed-in tariffs helped expand solar energy, surpassing its high costs [20,84]. This increased participation in renewable energy is related to the government policies and implementation of regulations through decrees, auctions, and private sector involvement (see Table 5).
According to Figure 5, the changes in Uruguay’s electrical matrix have been visible due to the growth and expansion of renewable sources, especially wind, solar and biomass. A decrease in the use of non-renewable sources and a substantial drop in emissions follow this. The energy generation growth is related to the increasing internal demand and the international exports, which have been a current reality for the electricity sector in Uruguay. This scenario reveals the success and effectiveness of the National Energy Policy and subsequent decrees and auctions that the country implemented over the past decades. It is possible to identify a transition between renewable sources in this case. Due to constant droughts and water crises, hydroelectric generation has been replaced by other renewable sources.

3.5. Venezuela

Venezuela has invested heavily in the hydroelectric potential to supply the demand of the electricity sector since 1940 [95]. In the 1960s, the construction of the Guri Dam resulted in among the largest and most successful projects in the world’s electricity sector, representing more than half of the hydroelectric capacity in the country [38,95]. In addition, despite the large fossil fuel reserves, part of the fuel production is destined for exportation [96]. In 2019, the oil reserves of Venezuela corresponded to 17.5% of the world’s total share and ranked seventh in natural gas reserves [97]. Several studies have recognized the great potential for solar and wind in the country in the last decade [98,99]. However, the government actions have not reinforced the use of renewable sources on a wide scale (see Table 6).
Figure 6 shows that despite some government initiatives to insert alternative energies in the country, these have not been implemented or achieved. In addition, the Venezuelan National Interconnected System has faced severe problems with lack of investments in infrastructure, technology, workforce, and maintenance, as well as periods of drought, and the geographic distribution of their power plants, leading to a drop in electricity consumption followed by rolling blackouts. In periods of drought, in long periods of hydropower plant maintenance, and due to the geographic distribution of power plants, thermal power plants have become an essential source of electricity generation, even though the sector has used outdated technologies and inefficient gridlines. Thus, the country is going through a forced reduction in consumption without evident strategic measures, including the lack of investment in renewable sources and electricity sector infrastructure.

4. Discussion

According to Figure 7, there is a reverse low-carbon trend through the increasing share of fossil fuels in the electrical matrix for Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Venezuela. The analyses through the data can be confirmed mainly for Brazil, Chile and Argentina, despite the success of the renewable energy auctions. Meanwhile, in Venezuela, it is observed that there is a decrease in consumption and an increase in electricity generation from fossil fuels. In the case of Uruguay, the country showed a rise in consumption and continued high use of renewables. However, the trend has been reversed in recent years: in Argentina (2016), Brazil (2014), and Chile (2013)—when renewable sources have increased their share in the electrical matrix, supplying the surplus and even replacing a portion of the generation with fossil fuels. The case of Venezuela becomes peculiar in South America because even with the decrease in generation, hydroelectric plants have reduced their percentage of participation due to technical problems. In contrast, thermal power plants have increasingly supplied electricity consumption.
It is highlighted that even though the time is short between the proposed renewable energy policy measures and their effectiveness analysis, it is possible to observe shifts with greater or lesser impact. The results from Argentina are peculiar due to the ambiguity of dealing with the entry of shale gas as a relevant energy resource while seeking the reduction of emissions. This situation reveals the difficulty of the renewable sources’ entrance into the electricity sector while fossil resources are present with easy access and smaller costs. In Brazil, the investment in governmental policies is essential and dependent on renewable sources insertion. In the Chilean case, incorporating non-conventional renewable energies into the matrix seems to result in a relevant drop in emissions. Still, there is a long way to go to replace fossil fuels. Despite Venezuela’s presenting goals in national plans dedicated to inserting renewable sources in the electricity sector, public policies are not direct actions. Therefore, there is minimal advancement in newly installed capacities from renewables and a growing trend in CO2eq emissions from the electricity sector in the country.
Historically, the five countries have invested in hydropower, particularly Brazil, Venezuela, and Uruguay, allowing them to continue with high rates of renewables in the electricity sector, even with the increasing trend of fossil fuels in the first two examples. The data from Argentina presented a propensity to continue using fossil fuels, mainly natural gas and oil, following the country’s historical background. In Venezuela, the abundance of natural resources such as natural gas is still a determining factor for the country’s energy supply and energy security. All the analyzed countries also have a high potential for non-conventional renewables to be explored. Finally, the countries have local barriers and historical lessons for decarbonizing the electricity sector that should be considered cautiously.
Moreover, we can separate the countries analyzed into three groups:
-
Argentina and Brazil showed opposite trends in terms of consumption growth rate and ratio; that is, with the increase in consumption, there is a tendency for fossil fuels to increase. This correlation can be proven according to Table 7. It is noteworthy that natural gas, whether through national reserves or imports, contributed to this reverse low-carbon transition trend in both countries. However, there has been a more significant influx of non-conventional renewable sources in both countries in recent years through public policies instituted in the country.
-
Chile and Venezuela showed an increase in consumption (except in the recent years in Venezuela), at a ratio that remained in the same range during the years analyzed.
-
Uruguay, differently from other countries, presented a growth rate of renewables higher than the consumption of electricity.

5. Conclusions

Observing the relationship between the introduction of renewables and emissions patterns in Latin American countries allows us to comment on the decarbonization of these countries’ electricity sector. Additionally, other countries may follow these lessons. The main conclusion and policy implications present in this paper are summarized below:
  • There is a general trend of low-carbon reverse transition with increased CO2eq emissions, mainly related to a growing share of natural gas in the electricity sector (e.g., Argentina and Brazil), boosted by consecutive water crises in recent decades.
  • All the countries studied show a time trend of increasing renewables in the electricity sector. However, the emission reduction effect resulting from this effort does not occur at the same intensity. It is necessary to better link cause and effect.
  • Even though the countries presented promising similarities (e.g., auctions), each country brought forward its dynamics of response to the introduction of renewables.
  • Historical context and natural resource availability are decisive aspects for a low-carbon energy transition to take place.
  • Argentina, Brazil, Chile (in recent years), and Uruguay showed an increase in the share of renewables in the matrix associated with decreased emissions of GHG. In Venezuela, there is a reduction in emissions disassociated with the insertion of renewables, which is linked to the decrease in electricity generation.
  • The difference in the intensity between the entry of renewables and the decrease in emissions seen in the countries is associated with the different political choices, availability of natural resources, technology, and historical context.
  • It is also observed that some countries have already gone through energy transitions from fossil fuels to renewable ones in the past (e.g., Brazil). In addition, some of them already have their electricity mixed with a higher percentage of renewables (e.g., Uruguay and Brazil). However, it should be noted that some case studies are adding (renewable) energy rather than replacing fossil fuels. This fact is mainly due to energy security issues and increased consumption. However, it is extremely relevant to recognize the domestic energy transition of each country and the opportunities to promote alternative sources for electricity generation.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, D.P., M.O.B., M.C. and M.R.P.; methodology, D.P., M.O.B. and E.M.M.; formal analysis, investigation, data curation and writing—original draft preparation, D.P., M.O.B., M.C. and M.R.P.; writing—review and editing; E.M.M.; funding acquisition and project administration, D.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

The APC was funded by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior-Brasil (CAPES) through Postgraduate program of Energy (PPGE), Institute of Energy and Enviroment, University of São Paulo. The research was funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) Grant No. 2014/50279-4 (D.P.), 2020/15230-5 (D.P.), 2017/18208-8 (D.P. & E.M.M.), 2018/26388-9 (D.P.), 2019/04555-3 (M.O.B.) and 2019/07995-4 (M.R.P.), and CAPES 88887.481390/2020-00 (M.C.).

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Not applicable.

Acknowledgments

We thank the four anonymous whose comments helped strengthen this work. The authors also kindly acknowledgement the support of Rafael Caio Alvarez Diegues in the process of publication of the article.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Energies 15 04293 g001 550
Figure 1. Methodological procedures.
Figure 1. Methodological procedures.
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Energies 15 04293 g002 550
Figure 2. Argentina’s electricity generation from renewable (colored scale bars) and non-renewable (grayscale bars) sources and the total CO2eq emissions. Source: Elaborated by the authors based on [38,39,40].
Figure 2. Argentina’s electricity generation from renewable (colored scale bars) and non-renewable (grayscale bars) sources and the total CO2eq emissions. Source: Elaborated by the authors based on [38,39,40].
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Figure 3. Brazil’s electricity generation from renewable (colored scale bars) and non-renewable (grayscale bars) sources and the total CO2eq emissions. Source: Elaborated by the authors based on [38,39,40].
Figure 3. Brazil’s electricity generation from renewable (colored scale bars) and non-renewable (grayscale bars) sources and the total CO2eq emissions. Source: Elaborated by the authors based on [38,39,40].
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Energies 15 04293 g004 550
Figure 4. Chile’s electricity generation from renewable (colored scale bars) and non-renewable (grayscale bars) sources and the total CO2eq emissions. Source: Elaborated by the authors based on [38,39,40].
Figure 4. Chile’s electricity generation from renewable (colored scale bars) and non-renewable (grayscale bars) sources and the total CO2eq emissions. Source: Elaborated by the authors based on [38,39,40].
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Figure 5. Uruguay’s electricity generation from renewable (colored scale bars) and non-renewable (grayscale bars) sources and the total CO2eq emissions. Source: Elaborated by the authors based on [38,39,40].
Figure 5. Uruguay’s electricity generation from renewable (colored scale bars) and non-renewable (grayscale bars) sources and the total CO2eq emissions. Source: Elaborated by the authors based on [38,39,40].
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Figure 6. Venezuela’s electricity generation from renewable (colored scale bars) and non-renewable (grayscale bars) and the total CO2eq emissions. Source: Elaborated by the authors based on [38,39,40].
Figure 6. Venezuela’s electricity generation from renewable (colored scale bars) and non-renewable (grayscale bars) and the total CO2eq emissions. Source: Elaborated by the authors based on [38,39,40].
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Figure 7. Analyses of the cumulative variation of renewable/non-renewable ratio and electricity generation of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Source: Elaborated by the authors based on [38,39,40].
Figure 7. Analyses of the cumulative variation of renewable/non-renewable ratio and electricity generation of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Source: Elaborated by the authors based on [38,39,40].
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Table
Table 1. Selection of the South American countries based on three indicators [32,38].
Table 1. Selection of the South American countries based on three indicators [32,38].
South American CountriesGDP per Capita (Current USD)Electricity Consumption per Capita (Megawatt-Hours/Capita)Percentage of Fossil Fuels in the Electricity SectorTotal
Argentina2338
Bolivia0033
Brazil2204
Chile3328
Colombia1012
Ecuador0000
Guyana1--1
Paraguay0101
Peru1113
Suriname2--2
Uruguay3306
Venezuela3227
Table
Table 2. Main government incentives for the entry of renewable energy into Argentina’s electricity sector.
Table 2. Main government incentives for the entry of renewable energy into Argentina’s electricity sector.
NameCategoryDateMain Goal
National Regime of Wind and Solar Energy—No. 25.019Law1998To promote wind and solar energy and establish a feed-in tariff of 0.01 USD/kWh for wind [46].
No. 26.190Law2006To promote the production and use of renewable sources of electric energy, mainly wind, solar PV, and geothermal [47].
Renewable Energy Generation Program (GENREN)Program2009To deploy 1000 MW of renewable electricity capacity distributed among wind energy, liquid biofuel-fired power generation, solid urban waste, biomass, small hydro, geothermal, solar, and biogas [48].
No. 562Decree2009To ask provinces to adhere to Law 25.019 and develop their province-level incentives [49].
No. 108Resolution2011To enable the execution of supply contracts between the wholesale electricity market and the offers of generation and associated energy availability from renewable sources [50].
No. 27.191Law2015To promote the development of renewable electricity generation, increasing the share of renewables (including hydro smaller than 50 MW) in total power generation to 20% by 2025 [51].
Argentina NDCInternational Agreement2015/2020To promote clean sources of energy such as wind, solar, hydroelectric, and bioenergy, as well as the development of nuclear power and other energy carriers such as hydrogen. In the medium term, natural gas will be used as a transition fuel [52,53].
Argentina Renewable Energy Auctions—RenovAr Program (No. 136/2016)Resolution/
Auctions		2016To grow renewable sources (wind, solar PV, biogas, biomass, small-hydropower) to 20% of the national energy matrix by 2025 [54].
No. 27.424Law2017To set the policies and establish the legal conditions and contracts for generating renewable electricity [55].
Table
Table 3. Main government incentives for the entry of renewable energy into Brazil’s electricity sector *.
Table 3. Main government incentives for the entry of renewable energy into Brazil’s electricity sector *.
NameCategoryDateMain Goal
Emergency Wind Energy Program (PROEÓLICA)—No. 24/01Resolution2001To enable the implantation of 1050 MW installed wind capacity by December 2003, integrated into the National Interconnected System [62].
Incentive Program for Alternative Sources of Electric Energy (PROINFA)—Law10.438/02, Law 10.762/03, Law 11.075/04 and Decree 5.05/04Law/Decree2002–2004To stimulate electricity generation by wind, biomass sources (such as sugarcane bagasse and landfill gas) and small hydroelectric plants [63]. It also stipulated that the rules of renewable energy sources would supply 10% of the electricity demand by 2025 [64,65].
Energy Auction from Alternative Sources *Auctions2007To promote the insertion of biomass and small hydro [66].
Reserve Energy Auction **Auctions2009To promote wind energy [66].
Reserve and New Energy Auctions **Auctions2014First auction to promote solar energy, in addition to wind and hydroelectric (10,790 MW) [66].
NDCInternational Agreement2015/2020To achieve 10% efficiency gains in the electricity sector by 2030 and raise the electricity sector’s hydropower, wind, biomass, and solar share [67].
No. 10.946Decree2022To allow offshore electricity generation [68].
* Exception of big hydroelectric plants. ** Since the first auctions, several auctions have guaranteed generation and expansion through renewable sources in Brazil.
Table
Table 4. Main government incentives for the entry of renewable energy into Chile’s electricity sector.
Table 4. Main government incentives for the entry of renewable energy into Chile’s electricity sector.
NameCategoryDateMain Goals
No. 19.657Law2000To provide a clear regulatory framework for geothermal exploration and development [75].
Non-Conventional Renewable Energy Law (No. 20.257)Law2008To generate 10% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025, such as geothermal, wind, solar, tidal, biomass and small hydroelectric plant [76].
No. 20.698 (20/25)Law2013To generate 20% of Chiles’s electricity from renewable sources by 2025, not including hydroelectric plants with more than 20 MW [77].
No. 20.780Law2014To introduce a carbon tax on emissions from power plants [78].
2014–2018 Energy ProgramProgram2014/2018To achieve 45% renewable energy share for new electrical capacity installed between 2014 and 2025 [79].
NDCInternational Agreement2015/2020The decarbonization plan of the electrical matrix by 2040, bringing a reduction of 7.5 MtCO2eq by 2050. In addition, the closure of all coal-fired power generation plants should occur no later than 2040 [80].
Chile energy auctionsAuctions2017To run auctions for renewable and non-renewable technologies and long-term power-purchase agreements [81].
Table
Table 5. Main government incentives for the entry of renewable energy into Uruguay’s electricity sector [38,39,40].
Table 5. Main government incentives for the entry of renewable energy into Uruguay’s electricity sector [38,39,40].
NameCategoryDateMain Goals
No. 561/1980Decree1980To plan and accelerate the use of alternative energy sources and reduce energy consumption [85].
No. 16.906Law1998To provide the framework for fiscal incentives to promote renewable energy investments [86].
No. 67/002Resolution2002To determine the exemption of Value Added Tax for wind power equipment [87].
National Energy Policy 2005–2030Energy Plan2005A long-term energy plan with the overall objective to diversify the energy matrix, reduce dependency on fossil fuels, improve energy efficiency, and increase endogenous resources, mostly renewables [88].
No. 77/2006 (amended by the No. 397/007)Decrees2006To promote auctions power capacity of 20 MW for wind power, 20 MW for biomass and 20 MW for small hydropower [89].
N0. 354/2009Decree2009To promote renewable energies, provide income tax reductions for renewable electricity generation, renewable energy service providers and equipment manufacturing [90].
No. 18.585Law2009To promote solar thermal energy development through tax incentives [91].
No. 18.597—Efficient Use of EnergyLaw2009To define energy efficiency and the mechanisms for its certification, promotion and financing [92].
No. 403/2009 (continued by N. 159/2011)Decrees/Auctions2009–2011To promote auctions of 150 MW of capacity for wind [93].
No. 424/011, No. 158/012 and No. 433/012Decrees/Auctions2011–2012To regulate wind power for self-consumption for industrial consumers [84].
NDCInternational Agreement2015–2020To invest in wind energy and biomass energy generation by 2025. And the Energy Efficiency Plan should begin in 2024 [94].
Table
Table 6. Main government incentives for the entry of renewable energy into Venezuela’s electricity sector.
Table 6. Main government incentives for the entry of renewable energy into Venezuela’s electricity sector.
NameCategoryDateMain Goals
Gazette 5.568Law2001To authorize independent producers’ power generation [100,101].
Gazette 38.683Decree2007To create the National Renewable Energy Registry that enforced the actions related to solar, hydraulic, wind, biomass, geothermal, tidal and hydrogen energy sources, such as the use and application of projects, equipment, and research [101,102].
I Patria Plan(2007–2013)Government program and laws2007To generate alternatives to exploiting non-renewable resources [103].
Development Plan for the National Electric SystemNational plan2013To integrate renewable energy in Venezuela’s electric system by including it in both the medium-term (2013–2019) and long-term (2014–2033) [104].
II Patria Plan(2013–2019)Government program and laws2013To promote energy-efficient cities through the use of energy-saving technologies, as well as those based on the use of clean energy (wind, gas, among others) and increase the generation of solar energy through the installation of solar panel factories, which primarily serve the energy demand of isolated populations [104].
NDCInternational Agreement2015/2021Progressive reducing GHG emissions by at least 20% for 2030, without any value specified for the electricity sector [105].
III Patria Plan(2019–2025)Government programs and laws2019To promote clean energy generation, increase its participation in the national energy matrix, and promote technological sovereignty [106].
National Plan of Alternatives EnergyPNEA (2021–2025)Bill2021To add alternative sources to serve the National Electric System [105].
Table
Table 7. Correlation between electricity consumption and renewable/non-renewable ratio using Spearman’s coefficient.
Table 7. Correlation between electricity consumption and renewable/non-renewable ratio using Spearman’s coefficient.
Electricity ConsumptionRenewable/Non-Renewable Ratio
EquationR²EquationR²Spearman’s Coefficient
Argentinay = 3562.6x + 47,0380.9743y = −0.0119x + 0.65870.5638−0.810887097
Brazily = 14,608x + 187,8600.9814y = −0.5201x + 17.2030.7577−0.73891129
Chiley = 2297.7x + 15,1430.9947y = −0.0743x + 2.52840.4164−0.671572581
Uruguayy = 257.75x + 5536.20.6694y = −1.2842x + 87.4060.0050.384879032
Venezuelay = 1819.6x + 66,6460.65y = −0.0283x + 2.64910.2598−0.086985539
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Peyerl, D.; Barbosa, M.O.; Ciotta, M.; Pelissari, M.R.; Moretto, E.M. Linkages between the Promotion of Renewable Energy Policies and Low-Carbon Transition Trends in South America’s Electricity Sector. Energies 2022, 15, 4293. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15124293

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Peyerl D, Barbosa MO, Ciotta M, Pelissari MR, Moretto EM. Linkages between the Promotion of Renewable Energy Policies and Low-Carbon Transition Trends in South America’s Electricity Sector. Energies. 2022; 15(12):4293. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15124293

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Peyerl, Drielli, Mariana Oliveira Barbosa, Mariana Ciotta, Maria Rogieri Pelissari, and Evandro Mateus Moretto. 2022. "Linkages between the Promotion of Renewable Energy Policies and Low-Carbon Transition Trends in South America’s Electricity Sector" Energies 15, no. 12: 4293. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15124293

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