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The world is increasingly turning to energy production from renewable sources such as the sun, water, wind, waste or the heat of the Earth itself. In this line, There are already seven countries that are generating 100% of their electricity through these sources.
And last year was quite positive for the incorporation of this type of clean technologies, as several records were broken. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), lRenewables came to represent 43% of global installed energy capacity, achieving a record increase of 473 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity added globally.
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Countries
To date, some nations already supply their entire electricity demand from renewable sources. According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), these are Albania, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Iceland, Nepal, Paraguay and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose energy is geothermal, hydraulic, solar or wind.
Norway is behind, with 98.38% of its energy generated through wind, water or the sun.
Likewise, 40 other countries obtained at least half of their electricity from renewables in 2021 and 2022. And others, such as Germany, Portugal and Costa Rica can supply themselves 100% from these sources but only for short periods.
Related: Global installed capacity of renewable energy grew 50% in 2023, but the pace is insufficient: IEA
Something that is striking is that in the previous list Only one Latin American country appears. This is Paraguay, which has three large hydroelectric reservoirs: Acaray, Yacyretá and Itaipú.
There also the 38% of energy consumption comes from biomass and there are several solar park projects.
“Many already see our country as the jewel that it is, due to its 100% renewable energy production. We have focused on photovoltaic generation. We are going to add a lot of biomass thanks to paper mills that are being installed in our geography. In the case of hydraulics, we will focus on small plants. “As far as bioenergy is concerned, we have a large consumption of biomass and we are going to ensure that it comes entirely from reforestation,” commented Mauricio Bejarano, Minister of Mines and Energy of Paraguay, to the media in that country.
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However, even if they are not within that top, other Latin countries such as Brazil, Chile and Colombia also lead the development of renewable energies in the region.
In fact, it is expected that in Colombia solar and wind energy will no longer have a participation in the matrix from just 3% in 2023 to 26% in 2027.
The impacts
Some experts remember when Germany, focused on completely reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, established ambitious goals to reduce CO2 by 80% by 2050, and the closure of 20 nuclear power plants that supported its network.
Given this, they had to back up their electricity supply with gas from Russia, so the war with Ukraine seriously affected them. and they were forced to import liquefied natural gas from the United States and Qatar, as well as reactivate old coal plants.
These measures, for analysts, previously generated a setback with greater emissions of greenhouse gases.
The World Economic Forum frames situations like this within what it calls the “trilemma” between sustainability, affordability and security that the energy transition must face.
Carlos Vasco, professor at the National University, explained to this newspaper that Although renewable energy sources generate very little environmental impact, they have a problem in terms of their strength.
“You need to have a large amount of generation installed to meet demand, because it is subject to variations. For example, in the case of solar, if a cloud passes and reduces radiation, the power that the panel is capable of delivering changes. So, Even if a single megawatt is needed, two or even three more must be installed, so that if the radiation falls there will still be the necessary generation to supply the demand.”said Vasco.
He added that, in addition, Relying 100% on renewables implies the robust installation of storage systems such as lithium batteries to store surpluses.
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And he highlighted the importance of having other sources such as thermal and natural gas up your sleeve, since The wind does not blow all day and service must be guaranteed during peak hours, such as at night.
From the perspective of Natalia Gutiérrez, president of the Colombian Association of Electric Energy Generators (Acolgen), the problem is that Decarbonization has become an issue of competition between countries and mistakes can be made there.
“Not all of us have the same desire to incorporate more renewable energy, since, for example, lThe Colombian electricity generation matrix is mostly clean (70% comes from hydroelectric plants) and is a global benchmark. Furthermore, they make us choose between energy transition and energy security is a mistake that could be very expensive,” he argued.
