Chile passes energy storage, electromobility bill

Chile's congress passed a bill today promoting investment in energy storage and electromobility to alleviate power transmission congestion and assist in closing all coal plants by the early 2030s.

The government-sponsored bill authorizes capacity payments for standalone storage systems that provide power or function as spare capacity. It also enables industries that self-generate power from renewable sources for productive purposes, such as green hydrogen projects, to connect to the national grid to inject excess electricity or withdraw energy.

It will exempt electric vehicles from annual road taxes for two years. The exemption would cover 75pc of road taxes in years three and four, 50pc in years five and six and 25pc in years seven and eight.

Transmission expansions have lagged the development of non-conventional renewable energy in Chile, causing 770GWh of curtailment from solar and wind sources in the first nine months of 2022.

The bill will allow intermittent renewable energy to be stored and dispatched during peak periods or at night providing flexibility and security to the system.

The senate's unanimous passage cemented its approval by the chamber of deputies in March.

By Emily Russell