Characterized by diverse geographic regions and climate zones, cities, towns and villages in Chile often are separated by difficult terrain and long distances, Sitting atop one of two colliding tectonic plates – the oceanic Nazca and continental South American – the Andean nation, as has come to be known worldwide, is also prone to cataclysmic earthquakes.

Given all this, Chileans are increasingly recognizing, aand taking advantage of, the prospective benefits held out by renewable microgrids, including those in which solar-plus-storage are core elements. Italy’s Enel Green Power numbers among the players participating in Chile’s emerging “green energy” revolution.

On May 31, the Rome-based multinational clean energy services company announced its Enel Green Power Chile subsidiary had commissioned “the world’s first 100% emissions-free ‘plug-and-play commercial-sized microgrid.” Relying on a combination of a 125kWp (kiowatt-peak) solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation and 580-kilowatt-hours (kWh) of lithium-ion battery (LiB) (132-kWh) and hydrogen energy storage (450-kWh), the all renewable microgrid is supplying part of the electricity needs of Enel’s Cerro Pabellón geothermal power plant in Chile’s northern Antofagasta region 24×7, management highlights in a news release.

More than 600 technicians work at Enel Green Power’s Cerro Pabellón geothermal plant in the are of Ollagüe in northern Chile’s Antofagasta region. The province of Antofagasta borders the 1,000 kilometer (625 mi) long Atacama Plateau, the driest non-polar desert in the world, the Sahara being no exception.

The Antofagasta region is also home to the vast bulk of Chile’s copper, which has long been the Andean nation’s primary export and source of foreign currency earnings. Sparsely populated, copper and other mining activities dominate the regional, as well as national, economy. Some mining companies active in the region have taken to tapping the region’s abundant solar energy resources to power their mining operations.

Enel Green Power’s Cerro Pabellón geothermal plant at a stretch could be considered mining – mining for clean energy. Tapping Antofagasta’s solar energy resources, and enhancing them with the addition of hydrogen and LiB energy storage capacity, adds to the company’s innovation and “green” energy credentials, as well as marking a world first.

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Research results set out in the 2017 edition of Lloyd’s Technology Radar – the first to zoom in on low carbon energy and power and energy  – reveals that renewable power generation technologies are now cost competitive with fossil fuels, and ongoing innovation is likely to yield further gains.

“We are very encouraged by the findings, which highlight not only a growing optimism across the industry but a vigorous and intelligent debate about the pathways to decarbonization,” Lloyd’s Register Energy Director Alasdair Buchanan commented upon the report’s release.

“Clearly, there are many uncertainties about exactly how the industry will evolve, but what is inarguable is that the conversation is no longer about ‘should we?’ but ‘how should we do it?’”

Lloyd’s Low Carbon Technology Radar: The Highlights

A global engineering, technical and business services organization wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, Lloyd’s Register explores conditions and the outlook for renewables, nuclear, grid and infrastructure; and energy storage in its double edition Technology Radar – Low Carbon 2017 research report.

In addition to delving into a wide variety of data and information sources spanning the global power-energy value chain, researchers sought out insights and opinions of industry leaders and obtained views from nearly 600 professionals and experts.

Among the report’s key takeaways, Lloyd’s Register found that low-carbon generation technologies have declined in cost to the point where they are now competitive with conventional fossil fuel power generation.

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It wasn’t all that long ago that there was no mid-tier market for solar energy-energy storage. That’s changed pretty radically in a short span of time as a result of efforts by pioneering startup and government support for development of low or emissions-free energy generation and grid modernization.

Sharp Electronics Corp.’s Energy Systems and Services Group (ES&S) on Sept. 8 announced it is allocating $25 million to finance commercial & industrial (C&I) projects that combine solar PV systems with its ¨behind the meter¨ SmartStorage energy storage system.

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Energy storage deployment has been ramping up at a rapid pace across the country, mainly because it can reduce electric bills and cut utility expenses. It is now time to consider another key benefit of storage—public health, especially the power of energy storage to reduce pollution in marginalized communities.

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