From Vision to Reality: A Mature Market Looking to Take the Next Leap

Chile made a bold bet on renewables. Since the approval of Law 20.698 in 2013, which spurred the growth of clean energy, the country has achieved what many others are still drafting: an energy matrix increasingly driven by sustainability.

Today, the question is no longer how much can be generated, but how to avoid underutilisation of this capacity. Market maturity brings with it new responsibilities: optimising networks, managing intermittency, and electrifying key production sectors.

What Do We Do With These Megawatts?

Focusing solely on installing more capacity is not enough if that power cannot be connected, distributed, or consumed efficiently. Chile now faces the challenge of giving a destination to the megawatts already being produced.

Oversupply in certain regions and transmission system saturation have led to curtailment and economic losses.
Sectors such as mining, freight transport, and manufacturing hold vast potential for electrification but still require regulatory adjustments, infrastructure, and viable business models.
Energy storage is emerging as a key enabler but needs greater integration into planning frameworks.

Industrial and Mining Electrification: The Next Big Step

Chile is a mining powerhouse. However, many operations still rely on fossil fuels. Electrifying critical processes would not only help advance decarbonisation goals but also improve the global competitiveness of the sector.

Electrification also brings the potential to:

Reduce long-term operational costs,
Access green financing,
Strengthen ESG credentials with international buyers.

To move forward, it will be essential to foster partnerships between generators, mining companies, and tech providers, alongside regulatory frameworks that enable flexible contracts and blended finance.

Transmission and Storage: Urgent Bottlenecks

While Chile has developed strong generation capacity, its transmission infrastructure has not kept pace. The regions with the highest solar radiation and wind potential — mainly in the north — face significant evacuation constraints.

At the same time, the country must scale up storage solutions to ensure grid stability and reduce curtailments.

Transmission: More than 2,000 km of new lines are needed in the coming years, according to the National Electric Coordinator.
Storage: Over 2,500 MW in battery projects are under evaluation, but few have moved forward due to a lack of clear market signals.

Towards an Electric Economy: The Need for Cross-Sector Planning

The energy transition cannot be driven by the power sector alone. It requires a holistic vision that includes:

Mining,
Heavy and rail transport,
Industrial production,
The development of both digital and physical infrastructure.

Only with coordinated, multisector planning will it be possible to build a development model based on clean, affordable electricity.

Chile Energy Transition Summit 2025: The Forum to Define the Destination of Megawatts

In this new context, there is a growing need for platforms that foster dialogue and actionable outcomes. From 26–28 August 2025, Santiago will host the second edition of the Chile Energy Transition Summit, backed by the Ministries of Energy and Mining and supported by InvestChile.

The summit is the strategic forum where stakeholders will discuss the real destination of Chile’s generated megawatts: How can they power the mining sector? What kind of transmission infrastructure is needed? What storage models are viable? What financing instruments are available?

With a focus on connectivity, transmission, and electrification, the event will bring together:

Government representatives,
Power generation and transmission companies,
Industrial and mining firms,
Technology providers,
Investment funds and financial institutions.

It will also provide an opportunity to forge partnerships, explore concrete business opportunities, and outline Chile’s new energy roadmap.

Chile has already achieved the hardest part: generating clean energy at scale. Now the challenge is to use it well.
The era of electrification is not a promise — it is the new ground for competition, investment, and transformation.

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