Energy transition expert talks hydrogen investment, project permitting, Trump fallout
Energy transition expert talks hydrogen investment, project permitting, Trump fallout
April 1st, 2025 Like Chile, Canada is aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. One target of both countries is the power generation sector. Canada gets around 85% of its electricity from renewable and non-emitting sources. Chile is not too far behind, following heavy investment, at about 65%. To achieve targets in the electric power sector and beyond, both countries have some distance to travel. Along…
Three pillars to help industry advance in building circular economy strategies
March 25, 2025 Pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss form the triple planetary crisis, threatening humanity’s chances of a sustainable future. In this context, manufacturing industries urgently need to transform their production processes, abandoning the linear approach of extracting resources to make products that typically end up as waste. Unfortunately, this ideal is far from reality: according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),…
Energy security: How is Chile preparing for blackouts?
March 24, 2025 Regarding the massive blackout that left 95% of the population without power for several hours on Tuesday, February 25, Rodrigo Barraza, an expert in microgrid systems and energy management, spoke about the causes and possible solutions to a phenomenon of such magnitude. See interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHqX0YyI_hI
The boom in energy storage projects in the area
March 17, 2025 Chile is experiencing remarkable growth in energy storage projects, mainly through BESS (lithium-ion battery) systems, both in operation and at various stages of development. As of the end of January 2025, according to data from the Ministry of Energy, the total net installed capacity reached 886 MW/3,318 MWh, distributed across 21 projects, mainly concentrated in the Antofagasta Region. These projects include…
New Cycle of Transdisciplinary Dialogues on Sustainability – UAI
March 17, 2025 ? Climate change demands a sustainable transformation of energy systems. In this talk, we will discuss the role of green hydrogen, the social acceptance of new infrastructure, and the geopolitical impacts and constraints of the transition, using examples from Canada and around the world. Link to presentation: Ian Rowlands: Enfoque sistémico para las transiciones energéticas
Electrical system reliability: expert analysis of the February 25th blackout was discussed at the UAI 2025 panel discussion.
March 17, 2025 The discussion panel organized by the Faculty of Engineering and Sciences at UAI, in collaboration with the Faculty of Law, focused on a detailed analysis of the reliability and resilience of the national electrical system, using the February 25 blackout as a starting point. During the event, various experts conducted an in-depth examination of the causes of the failure and the challenges…
Are we going fast enough?
March 17, 2025 Chile has made a clear commitment to transport decarbonization: by 2035, 100% of sales of light and medium-duty vehicles, as well as public transportation, must correspond to zero-emission models. However, despite political momentum and a regulatory framework, progress has been uneven, and significant challenges remain. One of Chile’s greatest achievements in electromobility has been the incorporation of electric buses into public transportation….
Claudio Seebach, Dean of the UAI: “What I have seen most is a lack of leadership and communication”
March 3, 2025 For the academic and expert, the shortcomings became evident during “the first moment of the emergency, as well as later in the search for learning and solutions.” The dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Sciences of the UAI, was surprised by the historic blackout that affected a large part of the country this Tuesday when he returned from vacation with his…
A more reliable and resilient electrical system – Opinion column: Claudio Seebach
March 3, 2025 MR. DIRECTOR: The recent blackout that affected almost the entire country reveals the need to recover in Chile the capacity for public-private collaboration for the benefit of the population. This requires leadership clear communication, both in the immediate response and in the search for shared diagnoses, learning and development of proposals to strengthen the resilience of the electrical system. It is not…
Resilience for critical infrastructure
February 27, 2025 We were lucky. If this blackout had occurred on June 25, for example, the already slow commute home we saw last Tuesday would have been compounded by students and many other problems. “We need more resilient networks.” This phrase has been repeatedly heard in the media since yesterday. The February 25 blackout, which affected eight million households for more than six…