Hydro Developments, Generation Options and the Environment in Latin America

摘要

Latin America has emerged in recent years as one of the most dynamic regions for electricity markets. The region is characterized by high - but uncertain - demand growth rates (over 4-6% annually). The countries have a great diversity in size, installed capacity, power demand, network characteristics (level of meshing and geographical extension) and electricity-gas cross-border interconnections. Because the regional infrastructure is still developing, heavy investments in both generation and transmission investments are required. The countries of Latin America have plentiful energy resources, including natural gas, oil, coal, biomass, wind, geothermal and other renewable resources, as well as significant hydropower potential. For example, hydropower has always been an abundant resource for the region. It is still a competitive option in Brazil and has had renewed interest in other countries due to recent oil price increases (e.g. Colombia, Peru) or more reliance on local generation (e.g. Chile). Natural gas had a fast penetration in the 90's with many countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela) promoting natural gas use, especially for power generation. Coal is available in Colombia, Brazil and Chile and has started to have the interest of investors because of the increasing volatility of gas prices and uncertainty in gas cross-border supplies. There have also been incentives for renewables in the region. However, the most important reserves are highly concentrated in a few countries and often away from major consumption centers. The need to conciliate generation development with the environment has resulted in an environmentally constrained outlook for development of hydropower in the region, which is still a competitive option. In order to overcome this deadlock, countries are developing other resources, such as natural gas, coal and other renewables. These technologies have their own advantages but other significant disadvantages (volatility in gas prices, higher cost on coal plants due to emission control, etc). Cogeneration has also been playing a role, mainly in Brazil, where cogeneration from sugarcane biomass has emerged as a competitive generation option. Various public debates have occurred in recent decades in industrialized economies over the energy supply future. Much greater attention is now being paid to these issues in developing economies. The debates are generally about the comparative economic, environmental and social trade-offs, and public acceptability of the various nuclear, thermal, hydro, and alternative generation options; and increasingly, about the potential role and contribution of demand management options. Other questions are technology and/or country-specific. These types of issues that are increasingly being debated include macroeconomic and consumer affordability dimensions, poverty alleviation impacts, and social, institutional and political implications of centralized versus decentralized energy supply approaches.