Abstract
The Chilean energy transition has been internationally recognized as a case of successful public policy in the promotion of renewable energies, even being defined as an “energy revolution”. However, a preliminary analysis of the process allow us to sustain that the incorporation of non-conventional renewable sources to the energy matrix has not modified the technocratic model ofmarket-based management, the ownership structure of the projects, nor has it implied an advance towards democratic and decentralized energy systems that promote local development and the effective participation of communities in energy decision-making. It is concluded that the socio-technical process of the Chilean energy transition has given rise to a post-political energy condition, and that behind the technological success and consensus around the transition there is a perpetuation of power relations and structures of capitalist appropriation and management of energy resources.
Highlights
Chile is characterized by being an energy importer, highly dependent on hydropower and external energy sources, with limited fossil energy sources and a highly centralized and privatized energy system
The promotion of various public policy instruments and energy regulations that have allowed the advance of non-conventional renewable energies (NCRE) in the energy matrix has gone hand in hand with the continuation of depoliticization mechanisms that perpetuate a centralized, privatized, technocratic and non-deliberative energy system
Even though the innovations introduced in the sector have allowed the entry of new actors in energy generation and promoted NCRE, the development of energy infrastructure continues to depend on private will, which is organized in monopolistic and oligopolistic structures
Summary
Chile is characterized by being an energy importer, highly dependent on hydropower and external energy sources, with limited fossil energy sources and a highly centralized and privatized energy system The multiple problems that this has caused in the country, together with the consensus, discourses and international agreements on the effects of climate change, have allowed the energy discussion to be positioned as a central axis of the public policies of recent governments, which has implied an apparent “re-politicization” of energy as an issue area. This has been reflected in the promotion of long-term measures to encourage the incorporation of generation sources based on non-conventional renewable energies (NCRE) in the energy matrix with the intention of exploiting the country’s renewable energy potential (Min. Energy 2014, 2016; Government of Chile 2015; Nasirov et al 2018, 2019; Pacheco 2018; Simsek et al 2019). Preliminary figures show that the regulations and public policies promoted have been successful, since they show a constant and exponential increase in the participation of this type of sources in the electricity matrix (especially solar and wind) in the short and medium
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