Renewables Bulletin Latin America and the Caribbean Edition

The Renewables Bulletin Latin America and the Caribbean Edition provides an update on the region's transition to clean energy, highlighting the growth of wind and solar, the role of critical minerals, and the challenges of energy efficiency and biodiversity protection. It specifically notes a recent shift in Venezuela's energy strategy and the region's overall progress relative to global averages.

• As of November 2025, the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region generated 19% of its electricity from wind and solar, which is higher than the global average of 17.6%. Between 2020 and 2023, more than 50% of the region's annual capacity additions consisted of solar and wind projects.
• Nearly half of the 33 countries in the LAC region have committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, and Brazil. Additionally, 16 countries have joined the Renewables in Latin America and the Caribbean (RELAC) initiative, aiming for at least 80% of electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2030.
• Venezuela has historically lagged in wind and solar development compared to its neighbors, but has recently shifted toward solar generation to address 'chronic' grid reliability issues. While 2023 data showed wind and solar capacity at only 0.05 GW, private market data indicates this rose to 18.67 GW by 2025.
• The LAC region possesses at least one-third of global reserves of silver, copper, and lithium, with Chile and Argentina holding the largest and third-largest lithium reserves respectively. However, investment has primarily focused on extraction rather than local manufacturing; there are only two operational battery plants in the region, though more are planned.
• Energy efficiency in LAC is under-utilized, with an average annual reduction of 0.4%. While the region has lower energy intensity than all other global regions except the EU, this is attributed to limited access to technology and affordable energy rather than high efficiency. Performance varies by country, with Chile and Peru showing improvement while Uruguay's efficiency has worsened.
• Electric vehicle (EV) adoption in Latin America grew significantly in 2024, led by Brazil and Mexico, with EVs making up over 6% of new passenger car sales, an increase from 2% the previous year.
• Renewable energy expansion in LAC must be managed via safeguard frameworks to prevent human rights violations, such as forced relocation, and environmental damage in biodiversity hotspots, which are defined as areas having lost 70% of primary native vegetation and containing 1,500 endemic vascular plant species.

APA

Team, Z. (2026). Renewables Bulletin Latin America and the Caribbean Edition. Zero Carbon Analytics. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/renewables-bulletin-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-edition/

Chicago

Team, ZCA. Renewables Bulletin Latin America and the Caribbean Edition. Zero Carbon Analytics, 2026. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/renewables-bulletin-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-edition/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Team |first1=ZCA |title=Renewables Bulletin Latin America and the Caribbean Edition |publisher=Zero Carbon Analytics |date=13 January 2026 |url=https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/renewables-bulletin-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-edition/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{team2026renewables, author = {Team, ZCA}, title = {{Renewables Bulletin Latin America and the Caribbean Edition}}, institution = {Zero Carbon Analytics}, year = {2026}, month = jan, url = {https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/renewables-bulletin-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-edition/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }