WRJX 1996

RENJCWARLX ENERGIES: AN ENERGY OPTION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

PedmMaldonadoandMiguelMgcquQ EnergyResearchPmgramme(PRIEN)

Universidad de Chile

ABSTRACT

Renewable enexgy resmuws can contribute to sustainable developmet& but important barriers impede the real&&n of their potential. In this paper we ana&se two significant obstaclea in Latinamerica: technology assessment for discoMected energy systems and organisational structures.

KEYWORDS

Sustabmbie development, renewable energy, technology assessment, organisational schemes

INTRODUCTION

No matter which perspective is adopt* the efforts that developing countries must undertake in order to improve thequalityoflifeoftheirpopulationswi~result,frmnanenergypointofview,inincreasedusefulenergy consumption. Such &teases maybevalidifthe objec!iveaofthesewuntriesaretot%lfillenergyrequireme& related to population grow@ smmount poverty or increase the paw of ewnomic development.

Nevertheless, the challenge will not only be to wmmit enough resources to satisfy enexgy requirements, but also to select options wnsistent with slMaiMble development and cost wmpetitiveness.

This paper summarises our reflections and experience wnwrning energy issues in Chile and Latin America.

RENEWABLE ENERGY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Au energy strategy consistent with sustainable development, entails:

a) Reliable. timelv and wst-et3xtive suuoh. If tbeae requirements are not fulfilled, economic growth, wmpetitiveness, quality of life and equity will be adversely a&ted.

b) m. Even thougb an insufficient availability of energy resources normally can be related to a greater vulnerability, in the context of sustainable development energy dependency should be inte-rpmted as a reduced capability to design and implement an w energy policy capable of answering questions such as: what kind of energy profile is desirable? which conditions am amducive to attaining those options and what envimmnental and economic price are we willing to pay?

C) Minimum ehmmaal imacts. Energy production and use cause important ewironmenta impacts. Air pollution in Santiago and Mexiw City is causing public concern , and the construction and operation of huge power stations is generating strong resistance. In principle, if Latin American wuntries don’t establish a clear regulatory structureloaddresstheseproblems,energyusein~transportationandf~fuelwmbustioninthe it&s&l, residential and commercial sectors, will worsen the above mentioned problems. The severity will depxd upon the technology employed, the fuel quality and the maintenance of the equipment. Fmthexmore, the deficient thexmal quality of dwzllings, as well as appliancea used for woking and heatin& will continue deteriorating quality of life and healtb.

d) l3mitv oriented enera~ stm&y. Lack of adequate supply seriously atlixts the quality of life (both at the domestic and wmmunitary level), reducing the ability of certain services presently wnsidered essential. This situation may reduce productivity of the ewnomic agents, as well as inwme obtained from their labour.

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In the medium and long term, if the technologies become mmpetitive as it is assumed by the specialis&, renewables can be a relevant mmponent of the energy balance. In this case, renewables will mutribute to environmental preserva tion and reduction of tierability (reduction of energy dependency and atom&ion of the system).

BARRlERS TO RENEWABLES’ DEVELOPMENT

There are a number of barriers which impede the development of renewable energy in developing countries, in&ding Latin America, which are extensively treated by the speciali& literatore’. They are, in brief:

- hGrket (low prices of fossil fuels and hydropower mmpared to higher prices of renewables, no mnsidemtion of externalities, economic risks associated with renewables, non-existent or reduced local capacity for equipment manufa&ring insofficient or non-existent sources of renewable project fbmncing etc.) ?? Technological or R&D barriexs (poor scientific, technological and engixering capabilities, technical risks associated with these technologies, quality standa& reqoired to mnnmt the renewable systems to the network, in&icient knowledge of renewable remurms, etc.) ?? Institotional barriers (spczilic policies m nceming renewables are non+xistent, lack of institutions dedicated to renewables’ devel~eni_ enexgy system development ignores renewables, limited access to water resources) ?? Socio-emnomic bar&rs (users’ limitations to finanm renewable projects, osers’ unawareness about renewable potent&, mltoral rejection of known technologies, in&icient cxxxmmic development of isolated areas where renewable projects would be economically feasible, etc.)

TBCHNOI.0GY ASSESSMENT AND ORGANISATIONAL SCHEMES: KEY ISSUES TO RENEWABLES’ DEVELOPMENT

These two barriers are as widesprmd and even more critical as those mentioned in the previous section. However, they are less well-developed by the specialists.

The assessment of programmes for implanting DES reqoires sophisticated methodologicsl instruments that take into acmont the social, economic and environmental context in which these systems are developed, characterised by: diseqoilibrium of the balance of payments, high foreign debts, chronic onemployment and growing social presmre to protect the environment.

Thishasbeenreinforcedbytheneedfeltbyinternationalcooperationagenciestorespondtogovernmentsandto national public opinion regard@ the allocation of large amoonts of resoorces for these purposes.

Thesereasonsledustodevelopamethodology~theoperationalaspectsoftraditionalmethodssuchas cost-benefit (which emphasises the economic variable) is balanmd with the integral (or systemic) aspects that plam projects mntext, but that are not easily used by the evaloator since no practical, systematic holation exists for their application in appraising impacts. In our method we take into account the following conceptual elements: evaloation of the popolation’s energy reqoireraonts, evahmtion of the local energy system and identification of te&nological alternatives, evaltion of economic and cultural acceptance of the technologies, and evaluation of the potential for dissemination of the techaologies. The following figure sommarisestheflowofthedi&entsteps ofthe me%hodology.

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Fieure 1: CoaceDtudisation of the assessment me-tbodol

Energy requirements

1

Inventory of resources Li .

Determination of adequate te&n&gies

Possible technologies Adequate technologies Capacity of d&sion of to the locality the technology

4 Project design

+cz$?pyes NO +l Cancel

Classification of technologies I

1 Sensibility analysis

I &

Selection of technologies I

L

Approval of projects

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Organisational schemes

In general, most dece&a&d systems have failed because no adequate organisational schemes have been imply even in cmntries where political will has been translated into vigorous nml electrification programs.Thishasledtoasituationwhereresourceshavenotbeenwellusedandproj~havebeenabandoned. ln Chile, different schemes have been amceived in order to face d&rent situations normally found in rural sectors’, which are summak& in Table 1. For each scheme, the advantaga, limitations and legal obstacles where analysed.

1. European Cammunities, The European Renewable Energy Study. Prospects for Renewable Energ~ in the European Community and Eastern Eumpe up to 2010. ALTBNER Programme, Brussels, 1994. 2. Thomas Johansson, Henry Kelly, Amulya Reddy and Robert Williams, Renewuble Energy, Sources&r Fuels and Electicity, Island Press, California, USA, 1992. 3. PRIEN, Las fientes nuevas y renovables (FW): una opci6n energ&ica pam el desarrollo sustentoble, in print, ECLAC, Santiago, Chile, 19%. 4. PRIEN, Detenninackk de esquemas organizacionales para la outogeneraci’6n de energia ektrica en zones t-wales y uisladus, for the National Energy Commission, SaMiago, Chile, 1995.

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