Despliegue de energía renovable, cadenas de valor y minerales estratégicos

The document analyzes Latin America's potential to transition to a 100% renewable electricity matrix by 2040, focusing on the role of strategic minerals and the development of regional value chains. It highlights the region's vast reserves of copper and lithium and its existing manufacturing capabilities in steel and aluminum as key competitive advantages. However, it identifies significant barriers, including insufficient geological knowledge, low refining capacity, weak industrial policies, and social conflicts related to mining and land rights. The brief recommends increasing public investment in R&D, strengthening regional cooperation through the G20 and RELAC, and implementing binding community participation to ensure a just energy transition.

• Latin America has a strong starting point for a renewable transition, with renewable sources accounting for approximately 60% of its electricity matrix and 35% of its primary energy matrix.
• The region possesses critical global reserves of strategic minerals, including 38% of global copper reserves and 53% of identified lithium resources (located in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile).
• There is a significant gap in the value chain; while the region is a major extractor, it lacks integrated manufacturing for renewable technologies, leaving it vulnerable to international price disruptions and geopolitical dependence, particularly on China, which controls 82% of the global solar panel market.
• The region has substantial capacity in basic materials needed for renewable infrastructure, producing 61.97 million tonnes of steel in 2022, which exceeds the 27 million tonnes required for the IRENA 90% renewable scenario.
• Industrial policies in the region are often fragmented or lack specific mechanisms for decarbonization; for example, Argentina's 'Argentina Productiva 2030' promotes energy exports but lacks specific actions for solar or wind industry creation.
• Investment in Research and Development (R&D) is critically low, with the region spending 0.63% of its GDP on R&D in 2020, significantly below the global average of 1.93%.
• Mining projects frequently cause severe social and environmental conflicts, with 80% of lithium projects and over half of nickel, copper, and zinc projects located on indigenous territories.
• Infrastructure deficits, particularly in electrical transmission and road networks, hinder competitiveness; in 2019, average electricity transmission and distribution losses in the region were 15%.

APA

Betancourth, D. D., Mejía, L. F., Ramos, J. L. D., Junco, D. C. M., & Hernández, V. V. (2024). Despliegue de energía renovable, cadenas de valor y minerales estratégicos. Transforma. https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/20230419-VIS-Transforma-PB-Hacia-una-latinoamerica-renovable-en-2040.pdf

Chicago

Betancourth, Diana Díaz, Laura Flechas Mejía, Jose Luis Díaz Ramos, Diana Carolina Montaño Junco, and Verónica Valencia Hernández. Despliegue de energía renovable, cadenas de valor y minerales estratégicos. Transforma, 2024. https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/20230419-VIS-Transforma-PB-Hacia-una-latinoamerica-renovable-en-2040.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Betancourth |first1=Diana Díaz |last2=Mejía |first2=Laura Flechas |last3=Ramos |first3=Jose Luis Díaz |last4=Junco |first4=Diana Carolina Montaño |last5=Hernández |first5=Verónica Valencia |title=Despliegue de energía renovable, cadenas de valor y minerales estratégicos |publisher=Transforma |date=12 April 2024 |url=https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/20230419-VIS-Transforma-PB-Hacia-una-latinoamerica-renovable-en-2040.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{betancourth2024despliegue, author = {Betancourth, Diana Díaz and Mejía, Laura Flechas and Ramos, Jose Luis Díaz and Junco, Diana Carolina Montaño and Hernández, Verónica Valencia}, title = {{Despliegue de energía renovable, cadenas de valor y minerales estratégicos}}, institution = {Transforma}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/20230419-VIS-Transforma-PB-Hacia-una-latinoamerica-renovable-en-2040.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }