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| Fig. 1: Eucalyptus tree waste as potential for biomass. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
Chile is a country of South America surrounded by the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The country is abundant in natural resources. Some of the most prominent include copper, timber, and precious metals. The economy of Chile relies on mining as its main industry.
However, Chile is very limited in its fossil fuels. [1] As a result of this, most of its fossil fuels and oil products are imported. The country imports more than 90% of natural gas, oil, and coal because of the high demand for them. More than 50% of Chile's energy is based on fossil fuels and oil products. [2]
Recognizing this high dependency on imported fossil fuels, oils, and coal, the Chilean government has acknowledged the need to invest in renewable energy. It has seen an opportunity to help conserve the environment and grow economically by using renewable energies. To kickstart the use of renewable energies within the country, the government has implemented some new laws and goals. One of those laws passed by Congress states that 20% of energy in Chile must consist of renewable energy by 2025. This law helps support the renewable energy sector as well as incentivize companies to invest in renewable energy sources or to produce renewable energies themselves. [3]
One of the most important energy sources in developing countries as well as industrial countries is biomass. 14% of the world's energy is provided by biomass. [4]
Biomass is a promising renewable energy specifically for Chile. Biomass is considered a non-conventional renewable energy. Biomass is a prospective option for Chile because of the country's agriculture and forestry sector. Biomass can be used to produce many forms of energy. Some of the most prominent energies include: heat and steam, biogas, liquid biofuels, and electricity. Production of electricity from biomass could be most useful for Chile. [2] There are many advantages to using biomass. The first is that it does not contribute to global warming and it can also significantly moderate the greenhouse effect. Biomass can help reduce the greenhouse effect by capturing the methane gas from landfills and agricultural waste. Another huge positive to using biomass is that its power generation aids in the waste control for agriculture, forestry, as well as in urban areas. In southern Chile, there is a large amount of forestry as well as forest plantations. Eucalyptus is a popular type of tree in these Chilean forests whose waste product could be used for biomass. [2] (An image of an eucalyptus tree is shown in Fig. 1.) Other than environmental reasons, biomass has the potential to generate new jobs especially for rural economies in Chile. It can also help alleviate some of the stress placed on forestry and agricultural production.
In 2015, biomass accounted for a small proportion of energy generation in Chile. 2.2% of the gross energy generated in Chile came from biomass in thermoelectric plants. [2] Although this number is small, Chile is working to diversify its power generation mix and biomass is a viable option for this diversification.
There are many advantages to using biomass in Chile, however, there are some cons. A disadvantage of biomass energy usage in Chile is that it is less efficient than energy produced from fossil fuels. Another potential downfall of biomass energy is that it must be processed correctly. Incomplete combustion produces organic matter and harmful gases. [2] Overall, the advantages of using biomass outweigh the potential pitfalls for Chile.
© Morgan Hentz. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] M. Procesi, "Geothermal Potential Evaluation for Northern Chile and Suggestions for New Energy Plans," Energies 7, 5445 (2014).
[2] C. Rodríguez-Monroy, G. Mármol-Acitores, and G. Nilsson-Cifuentes, "Electricity Generation in Chile Using Non-Conventional Renewable Energy Sources - A Focus on Biomass," Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev. 81, 937 (2018).
[3] B. Doyle, "Chile's Roadmap to a Renewable Future," Renewable Energy Focus 17, 184 (2016).
[4] "Biomass Energy," in Renewable Energy: Prospects for Implementation, ed. by T. Jackson (Butterworth-Heinemann, 2013).
