District Energy lights up across Chile, applies for GEF
A Chilean delegation, made up of government officials and local technical experts, traveled to France in 2016, to learn from local experts through the Initiative’s study tours, the first stage in a framework of support to take district energy from awareness to implementation.
Chile was ready for a technology like district energy. Air pollution is responsible for 4,000 annual cases of premature death by cardiovascular diseases in Chile and cost the administration $690 million per year in associated medical expenses and reduction of labor productivity (Ministry of Environment, 2014).
District Energy in Cities supports countries like Chile to accomplish their Paris and Kigali Agreement targets through an approach that creates an ecosystem of innovation where investors can take potential and put projects on the ground. By September 2017, interest for district energy had grown across Chile, starting in Temuco, Renca and Coyhaique, and District Energy in Cities implemented full time staff on the ground. Many cities have rapidly followed: Santiago, Recoleta and Independencia in January of 2018; San Pedro de la Paz, Coronel, Talcahuano and Hualpén in March 2018; and finally Valdivia joins the Inititive in October 2018 to total 10 cities spread across the nation.
These 10 cities in Chile will receive support under the Initiative’s “light touch” method where we assess district energy commercial viability and identify potential business models, through funding provided by the Global Environment Facility, the Ministry of Environment of Chile, and other partnerships facilitated by the Initiative. Temuco, our pilot and “deep dive” city in Chile, will receive additional support through private sector investment, a pre-feasibility study, city-wide energy mapping and planning support, and an international call for tender.
Once the spark was lit, district energy’s multiple benefits traveled all the way to the head of state. Chilean President Sebastian Piñera included district energy in his Presidential Plan, set up a special unit in the Ministry of Energy and the goal of building the first district heating pilot project to serve as a basis for future expansion, in line with clean energy expansion ambition. District energy is facilitated through national policy in Chile such as the National Energy Route 2018-2022, by which technical regulatory framework will be developed to support demonstration projects and develop information tools for the next generation of district heating projects.
District energy is lighting up across the national administration. The Ministry of Environment identified district heating as a key technology to improve air quality, integrating it into some cities’ Atmospheric Decontamination Plans. The Ministry of Energy includes district heating into their public policies like Energy Policy 2050, policy of use of firewood, and Energy Route 2018 - 2022 as a way to improve the energy efficiency in the commercial, public and residential sector.
Chile is on fire for district energy and is ready to engage in the investment market. The District Energy in Cities Initiative is currently supporting the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Environment to attract finance for the implementation of the National Programme on District Energy to address air pollution and scale up renewables in Chilean cities through application to the Global Environment Facility’s 7th round of funding for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects.
