Chile – Energy

“Chile produces almost no fossil fuels and imports 75% of its energy in the form of oil, coal, and liquified natural gas (LNG). As an earthquake zone, nuclear power is not a feasible option. Hydropower accounts for 40% of Chile’s electricity. But proposals for more plants (dams and transmission lines) in the wet south have been opposed by environmentalists. Renewables here could include solar power (the Atacama desert in the north), geothermal wells in the volcanic Andes, and tidal generation along the Pacific,” (abridged from ‘Energy in Chile, Dancing in the Dark,’ The Economist, October 1st 2011 p.49).