Institutional conditions for the development of energy communities in Chile and Brazil

Authors

  • Axel Bastián Poque González Master of Science in Engineering, PhD candidate, Center for Environmental Studies and Research (Nepam), State University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1255-8007
  • Amanda Sousa Silvino PhD in Environment and Society, Researcher, National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4341-8461
  • Yunesky Masip Macia PhD in Industrial Engineering, Professor, School of Mechanical Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV), Chile https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4455-1819
  • Lúcia da Costa Ferreira Doctorate in Social Sciences, Researcher, Professor, Center for Environmental Studies and Research ― (Nepam), State University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9276-6369

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18472/SustDeb.v14n3.2023.50472

Keywords:

Energy Transition, Just Transition, Energy Communities, Chile, Brazil

Abstract

Energy is an essential factor that must not be overlooked in discussions concerning mitigating and confronting effects associated with human-induced climate change. This work delves into the Chilean and Brazilian energy transitions, scrutinizing just and sustainable aspects, primarily in the local context. The study highlights and compares the experiences of both nations' on-grid energy communities. The methodological pathway comprises three phases: examining regulatory frameworks, assessing on-grid energy communities’ infrastructure in both countries and delving into emerging energy cooperatives. Our findings suggest that on-grid energy communities have the potential to foster a more widespread sustainable energy transition, especially when established as cooperative entities. However, there are no easy solutions to date, as justice and democracy are not guaranteed if stakeholders are not adequately engaged. Although there are fewer cooperative cases in Chile, all show a cross-cutting involvement of different members of society, while some Brazilian cases do not.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Axel Bastián Poque González, Master of Science in Engineering, PhD candidate, Center for Environmental Studies and Research (Nepam), State University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil

Electrical Engineer, Master of Science in Engineering, Doctoral candidate in environment and society. He holds postgraduate diplomas in the energy industry, education, environment and society. His work is focused on energy policy and interdisciplinary studies related to sustainable energy transition.

Amanda Sousa Silvino, PhD in Environment and Society, Researcher, National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil

Associated researcher at the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). She has a Ph.D. in Environment and Society from the Philosophy and Human Sciences Institute of Campinas (UNICAMP). Master in Functional Ecology and Sustainable Development by Université des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, UM2, France. Master in Territorial Development and Integrated Management by UNESCO, in partnership with the National Museum of Natural History, AgroParisTech and the University of Montpellier, France. Degree in Biological Sciences. Her main fields of activity are integrated territorial management, protected areas, landscape ecology, human ecology, biodiversity conservation and environmental policies.

Yunesky Masip Macia , PhD in Industrial Engineering, Professor, School of Mechanical Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV), Chile

Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the "José Antonio Echeverría" Technological University of Havana. PhD in Industrial Engineering from the School of Engineering at the University of Navarra, Spain. He was a researcher in Energy and Fluids at the Materials Science Department of the Guipuzcoa Technical Research Centre in San Sebastian, Spain. He is currently a professor at the School of Mechanical Engineering at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso (PUCV), Chile. He has experience in the areas of energy and fluids, computer simulation, and statistical techniques applied to computer simulation, with an emphasis on the design of experiments for the characterisation and optimisation of processes using the response surface methodology.

Lúcia da Costa Ferreira, Doctorate in Social Sciences, Researcher, Professor, Center for Environmental Studies and Research ― (Nepam), State University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil

She is a retired professor of the University of Campinas (Unicamp). Bachelor of Ecology, Master of Sociology and Doctorate in Social Sciences, with experience in research and supervising theses and dissertations about social conflicts, social action, biodiversity conservation, and climate change, especially in the Amazon and Atlantic Forest of Brazil.

References

ABRAM, S.; WINTHEREIK, B. R.; YARROW, T. Current thinking – an introduction. In: SARKAR, A. (Ed.). Electrifying anthropology: exploring electrical practices and infrastructures. London; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2020. p. 3–24.

ACOSTA, C. et al. Facilitating Energy Transition through Energy Commons: an application of socio-ecological sys- tems framework for integrated community energy systems. Sustainability, v. 10, n. 2, p. 366, 31 jan. 2018.

ALARCÓN, P. Old and new challenges of the energy transition: insights from South America. South African Journal of International Affairs, p. 1–16, 15 jun. 2023.

ANEEL. Resolução 482. 2012. Available at: https://www2.aneel.gov.br/cedoc/ren2012482.pdf. Accessed on: 16 oct. 2023. ANEEL. Resolução 687. 24 nov. 2015. Available at: http://www2.aneel.gov.br/cedoc/ren2015687.pdf. Accessed

on: 8 dec. 2019.

ANEEL. Microsoft Power BI. Available at: https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiY2VmMmUwN2QtYWFiO- S00ZDE3LWI3NDMtZDk0NGI4MGU2NTkxIiwidCI6IjQwZDZmOWI4LWVjYTctNDZhMi05MmQ0LWVhNGU5YzAxNz- BlMSIsImMiOjR9. Accessed on: 12 oct. 2023.

BAIGORROTEGUI, G.; CHEMES, J. Comunidades energéticas latinoamericanas. Sostenedoras de transiciones que mantienen y reparan la vida. Energía y Equidad, n. 6, p. 14–25, jul. 2023.

BEM VIVER COOPERATIVA. Bem Viver. 2023. Available at: https://bemviver.coop.br/social/. Accessed on: 17 oct. 2023. BERTINAT, P.; CHEMES, J. Transición energética y disputa de sentidos. In: Informe Ambiental 2022. Abordar una

transición socioecológica integral: el desafío de nuestro tiempo. 1. ed. Argentina: [s.n.].

BRASIL. L14300. 2022. Available at: https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2019-2022/2022/lei/l14300.htm. Accessed on: 12 oct. 2023.

CARROSIO, G.; DE VIDOVICH, L. Towards eco-social policies to tackle the socio-ecological crisis: energy poverty as an interface between welfare and environment. Environmental Sociology, v. 9, n. 3, p. 243–256, 3 jul. 2023.

CASTILLO, T. et al. Panorama Energético de América Latina y el Caribe 2022. 1. ed. Quito, Ecuador: Olade, 2022.

CLEVELAND, C. J.; RUTH, M. When, where, and by how much do biophysical limits constrain the economic pro- cess? A survey of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen’s contribution to ecological economics. Ecological Economics, v. 22, n. 3, p. 203–223, sept. 1997.

CO2 EARTH. Earth’s CO2 Home Page. Available at: https://www.co2.earth/. Accessed on: 30 jun. 2023.

COMISSÃO PASTORAL DA TERRA. Conflitos no campo Brasil 2020. Goiana: Comissão Pastoral da Terra, maio 2021. Available at: https://www.cptnacional.org.br/downlods?task=download.send&id=14242&catid=41&m=0. Accessed on: 15 aug. 2023.

COP 27. Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan. 20 nov. 2022. Available at: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/ resource/cp2022_L19_adv.pdf. Accessed on: 20 jul. 2023.

COPERNICUS. July 2023, the warmest month in Earth’s recent history. Copernicus. European Union’s Earth ob- servation programme. Available at: https://climate.copernicus.eu/july-2023-warmest-month-earths-recent-histo- ry?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=tw&utm_campaign=news-CBjulyteaser. Accessed on: 11 aug. 2023.

CUNHA, F. B. F. et al. Transitioning to a low carbon society through energy communities: lessons learned from Brazil and Italy. Energy Research & Social Science, v. 75, p. 101994, maio 2021a.

CUNHA, F. B. F. et al. Renewable energy planning policy for the reduction of poverty in Brazil: lessons from Jua- zeiro. Environment, Development and Sustainability, v. 23, n. 7, p. 9792–9810, jul. 2021b.

CURTIN, J.; MCINERNEY, C.; JOHANNSDOTTIR, L. How can financial incentives promote local ownership of onshore wind and solar projects? Case study evidence from Germany, Denmark, the UK and Ontario. Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit, v. 33, n. 1, p. 40–62, feb. 2018.

DUNLAP, A.; TORNEL, C. Pluralizing energy justice? Towards cultivating an unruly, autonomous and insurrection- ary research agenda. Energy Research & Social Science, v. 103, 2023.

ENERGÍA COOPERATIVA. Energía Cooperativa. Plataforma de Energía Cooperativa. energia.coop. Available at: https://www2.energia.coop/. Accessed on: 15 aug. 2023.

ESMAP. Trends. Tracking SDG 7. Available at: https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/time?country=Brazil. Accessed on: 10 oct. 2023.

FLORES-FERNÁNDEZ, C. The Chilean energy “transition”: between successful policy and the assimilation of a post-political energy condition. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, v. 33, n. 2, p. 173–193, 2 apr. 2020.

GALBIATI, L. A. et al. Ruptures from the cattle policy: an analysis according to the sustainable development goals. Ambiente & Sociedade, v. 25, p. e0021, 2022.

GARCÍA PARRA, G. et al. Transiciones justas. Una agenda de cambios para América Latina y el Caribe. 1. ed. Bue- nos Aires, Argentina: Clacso; Oxfam, 2023.

HEFFRON, R. J. et al. Pathways of scholarship for energy justice and the social contract. Journal of Energy & Nat- ural Resources Law, v. 41, n. 2, p. 211–232, 3 apr. 2023.

HERNANDO-ARRESE, M.; RASCH, E. D. The micropolitical life of energy projects: a collaborative exploration of injustice and resistance to small hydropower projects in the Wallmapu, Southern Chile. Energy Research & Social Science, v. 83, p. 102332, jan. 2022.

HOLSTENKAMP, L.; KAHLA, F. What are community energy companies trying to accomplish? An empirical investi- gation of investment motives in the German case. Energy Policy, v. 97, p. 112–122, oct. 2016.

IEA. Credible pathways to 1.5°C. Four pillars for action in the 2020s. France: International Energy Agency, abr. 2023. Available at: https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/ea6587a0-ea87-4a85-8385-6fa668447f02/Credi- blepathwaysto1.5C-Fourpillarsforactioninthe2020s.pdf. Accessed on: 10 aug. 2023.

ILO. ILO welcomes COP 26 Just Transition Declaration. News. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the- ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_826717/lang--en/index.htm. Accessed on: 19 jul. 2023.

IPCC. Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2014: mitigation of climate change. Contribution of Work- ing Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [EDENHOFER, O.; R. PICHS-MADRUGA; Y. SOKONA; E. FARAHANI; S. KADNER; K. SEYBOTH; A. ADLER; I. BAUM; S. BRUNNER; P. EICKEMEIER; B. KRIEMANN; J. SAVOLAINEN; S. SCHLÖMER; C. VON STECHOW; T. ZWICKEL and J. C. MINX (eds.)]. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2014.

IPCC. Climate Change 2022. Mitigation of Climate Change. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2022. Available at: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/. Accessed on: 14 apr. 2022.

IPCC. Climate Change 2023. Synthesis Report. Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2023: synthesis report. A Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Geneva, Switzerland: IPCC, 2023. p. 36.

IRENA. World Energy Transitions Outlook 2023: 1.5°C Pathway. 1. ed. Abu Dhabi: International Renewable Ener- gy Agency, 2023. v. 1.

JENKINS, K. et al. Energy justice: a conceptual review. Energy Research & Social Science, v. 11, p. 174–182, jan. 2016.

LAMPIS, A. et al. Energy transition or energy diversification? Critical thoughts from Argentina and Brazil. Energy Policy, v. 171, p. 113246, dec. 2022.

LAMPIS, A.; BERMANN, C. Public Policy and Governance Narratives of Distributed Energy Resources in Brazil. Ambiente & Sociedade, v. 25, 2022.

LATOUR, B. Où atterrir? Paris: La Découverte, 2017.

LAZARO, L. L. B. et al. Energy transition in Brazil: Is there a role for multilevel governance in a centralized energy

regime? Energy Research & Social Science, v. 85, p. 102404, mar. 2022.

LEFF, E. Ecologia política: da desconstrução do capital à territorialização da vida. Tradução: Jorge Calvimontes.

Brasil: Editora da Unicamp, 2021.

LEO COLEMAN. Afterword: People Thinking Energetically. In: LOLOUM, T.; ABRAM, S.; ORTAR, N. (Eds.). Ethnog-

raphies of power: a political anthropology of energy. 1. ed. New York: Berghahn Books, 2021. v. 42, p. 180–194. LEVY, A. et al. Pathways to sustainable planning for a just energy transition in Latin America and the Caribbean:

an analysis of best practices in selected countries. Natural Resources and Development, 2023.

LIMA, D. DE B. Cooperativas de energia. Guia de constituição de cooperativas de geração distribuída fotovolta-

ica. 1. ed. Brasília: Sistema OCB, Cooperação Alemã, Giz, DGRV, 2018.

LODE, M. L. et al. A transition perspective on Energy Communities: a systematic literature review and research

agenda. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, v. 163, p. 112479, jul. 2022.

LODE, M. L. et al. Energy communities in rural areas: the participatory case study of Vega de Valcarce, Spain.

Renewable Energy, p. 119030, jul. 2023.

LODE, M. L.; COOSEMANS, T.; RAMIREZ CAMARGO, L. Is social cohesion decisive for energy cooperatives exis-

tence? A quantitative analysis. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, v. 43, p. 173–199, jun. 2022. MAX-NEEF, M. The World on a Collision Course and the Need for a New Economy: contribution to the 2009 Royal

Colloquium. AMBIO, v. 39, n. 3, p. 200–210, may 2010.

MCCAULEY, D.; HEFFRON, R. Just transition: integrating climate, energy and environmental justice. Energy Policy,

v. 119, p. 1–7, aug. 2018.

MERINO, F.; MONTERO, A. M.; DASTRES, C. An inclusive and participative model for energy transition in Latin America: the case of Chilean Generación Comunitaria. In: The Regulation and Policy of Latin American Energy Transitions. [s.l.] Elsevier, 2020. p. 331–345.

MINISTERIO DE ECONOMÍA. Decreto 244. 246461, 17 jan. 2006. Available at: http://www.leychile.cl/ N?i=246461&f=2015-09-30&p=. Accessed on: 29 nov. 2019.

MINISTERIO DE ENERGÍA. Ley 21118. Modifica la Ley General de Servicios Eléctricos, con el fin de incentivar el desarrollo de las generadoras residenciales. 17 nov. 2018. Available at: https://www.bcn.cl/leychile. Accessed on: 21 jul. 2021.

MIRZANIA, P. et al. The impact of policy changes: the opportunities of community renewable energy projects in the UK and the barriers they face. Energy Policy, v. 129, p. 1282–1296, jun. 2019.

MUNDACA, L.; BUSCH, H.; SCHWER, S. ‘Successful’ low-carbon energy transitions at the community level? An energy justice perspective. Applied Energy, v. 218, p. 292–303, may 2018.

NETTO, A. DE M.; JÚNIOR, J. U. Análise da geração compartilhada de energia elétrica no Brasil. Anais CBENS 2022. Anais [...] In: IX CONGRESSO BRASILEIRO DE ENERGIA SOLAR. Florianópolis: may 2022. Available at: https://anais- cbens.emnuvens.com.br/cbens/article/view/1203.

OLIVEIRA, B. EasyCoop – Cooperativismo em Revistas. Available at: https://www.easycoop.com.br/. Accessed on: 12 oct. 2023.

PAVANELLI, J. M. M. et al. O contexto da geração distribuída e sua evolução na Macrometrópole Paulista. In: JACOBI, P. R. et al. (Eds.). Governança Ambiental na Macrometrópole Paulista face à Variabilidade Climática. Brasil: Rima Editora, 2022. p. 379–394.

PÉREZ-PÉREZ, B. Comunidades energéticas en barrios patrimoniales: comunidad energética (CE) Barrios de La Alhambra (Granada). n. 46, 2023.

POQUE GONZÁLEZ, A. B. et al. Socio-Ecological Controversies from Chilean and Brazilian Sustainable Energy Tran- sitions. Sustainability, v. 15, n. 3, p. 1861, 18 jan. 2023a.

POQUE GONZÁLEZ, A. B. et al. Redistributing power? Comparing the electrical system experiences in Chile and Brazil from a historical institutional perspective. Energy Research & Social Science, v. 101, may 2023b.

POQUE GONZÁLEZ, A. B.; SILVA, B. D. J.; MACIA, Y. M. Transición energética en América Latina y el Caribe: diálogos inter y transdisciplinarios en tiempos de pandemia por Covid-19. Lider, v. 39, p. 33–61, 15 mar. 2022.

POQUE GONZÁLEZ, A. B.; VIGLIO, J. E.; FERREIRA, L. DA C. Energy communities in sustainable transitions. The South American Case. Sustainability in Debate, v. 13, n. 2, p. 19, 30 aug. 2022.

RAMÍREZ-TOVAR, A. M.; SCHNEIDER, K. Por más, y no menos, comunidades energéticas en la generación ciudad- ana: diálogo entre las regulaciones brasileña y colombiana. Energía y Equidad, n. 6, p. 14–25, jul. 2023.

ROHDE, R. June 2023 Temperature Update. Berkeley Earth, 11 jul. 2023. Available at: https://berkeleyearth.org/ june-2023-temperature-update/. Accessed on: 19 jul. 2023.

SALM, S.; HILLE, S. L.; WÜSTENHAGEN, R. What are retail investors’ risk-return preferences towards renewable energy projects? A choice experiment in Germany. Energy Policy, v. 97, p. 310–320, oct. 2016.

SCHNEIDER, K. et al. Community Solar in Brazil: the cooperative model context and the existing shared solar cooperatives up to date. Proceedings of the ISES Solar World Congress 2019. In: ISES SOLAR WORLD CONGRESS 2019/IEA SHC INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOLAR HEATING AND COOLING FOR BUILDINGS AND INDUSTRY 2019. Anais [...] Santiago, Chile: International Solar Energy Society, 2019a. Available at: http://proceedings.ises. org/citation?doi=swc.2019.31.04. Accessed on: 27 aug. 2021.

SCHNEIDER, K. et al. Shared solar cooperatives in Brazil: context, overcoming barriers and lessons to be drawn from previous European countries experiences. In: 36TH EUROPEAN PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR ENERGY CONFER- ENCE AND EXHIBITION. Anais [...]. 2019b.

SCHNEIDER, K. Geração comunitária e descentralizada de energia renovável no Brasil: cooperativas de geração distribuída compartilhada. Diálogos Socioambientais, v. 3, n. 9, p. 39–42, dec. 2020.

SE FOR ALL. Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). Available at: https://www.seforall.org/sustainable-devel- opment-goal-7-sdg7. Accessed on: 19 jul. 2023.

SEC. Solicitud de acceso a la información. Ref.: Solicitud NoAU004T0036504, 25 oct. 2023a.

SEC. Solicitud de acceso a la información. Ref.: Solicitud NoAU004T0036430, 3 nov. 2023b.

SERGI, B. et al. Institutional influence on power sector investments: a case study of on- and off-grid energy in

Kenya and Tanzania. Energy Research & Social Science, v. 41, p. 59–70, jul. 2018.

SOKOŁOWSKI, M. M.; HEFFRON, R. J. Defining and conceptualising energy policy failure: the when, where, why,

and how. Energy Policy, v. 161, p. 112745, feb. 2022.

SOVACOOL, B. K. et al. Pluralizing energy justice: incorporating feminist, anti-racist, indigenous, and postcolonial

perspectives. Energy Research & Social Science, v. 97, p. 102996, mar. 2023.

SUN, Z. et al. Literature review and analysis of the social impact of a just energy transition. Frontiers in Sustain-

able Food Systems, v. 7, p. 1119877, 29 jun. 2023.

SVAMPA, M. Dilemas de la transición ecosocial desde América Latina. In: Transiciones Justas. Una agenda de

cambios para América Latina y el Caribe. 1. ed. Buenos Aires: Clacso; Oxfam, 2023. p. 35–88.

SVAMPA, M.; BERTINAT, P. La transición energética en la Argentina: una hoja de ruta para entender los proyectos en pugna y las falsas soluciones. 1. ed. Argentina: Siglo XXI Editores, 2022.

WANG, X.; LO, K. Just transition: a conceptual review. Energy Research & Social Science, v. 82, p. 102291, dec. 2021. WYSE, S. M.; HOICKA, C. E. “By and for local people”: assessing the connection between local energy plans and

community energy. Local Environment, v. 24, n. 9, p. 883–900, 2 sept. 2019.

Downloads

Published

2023-12-11

How to Cite

González, A. B. P., Silvino, A. S., Masip Macia , Y., & Ferreira, L. da C. (2023). Institutional conditions for the development of energy communities in Chile and Brazil. Sustainability in Debate, 14(3), 88–121. https://doi.org/10.18472/SustDeb.v14n3.2023.50472

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 3 (2023): Sustainability in Debate / Sustentabilidade em Debate

Section

Dossier

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Sustainability in Debate

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

SUSTAINABILITY IN DEBATE – Copyright Statement

The submission of original scientific work(s) by the authors, as the copyright holders of the text(s) sent to the journal, under the terms of Law 9.610/98, implies in the concession of copyrights of printed and/or digital publication to the Sustainability in Debate Journal of the article(s) approved for publication purposes, in a single issue of the journal. Furthermore, approved scientific work(s) will be released without any charge, or any kind of copyright reimbursement, through the journal’s website, for reading, printing and/or downloading of the text file, from the date of acceptance for publication purposes. Therefore, the authors, when submitting the article (s) to the journal, and gratuitous assignment of copyrights related to the submitted scientific work, are fully aware that they will not be remunerated for the publication of the article(s) in the journal.
The Sustainability in Debate Journal is licensed under Creative Commons License – Non-Commercial-No-Derivation Attribution (Derivative Work Ban) 3.0 Brazil, aiming at dissemination of scientific knowledge, as indicated on the journal's website, which allows the text to be shared, and be recognized in regards to its authorship and original publication in this journal.
Authors are allowed to sign additional contracts separately, for non-exclusive distribution of the works published in the Sustainability in Debate Journal (for example, in a book chapter), provided that it is expressed the texts were originally published in this journal. Authors are allowed and encouraged to publish and distribute their text online, following publication in Sustainability in Debate (e.g. in institutional repositories or their personal pages). The authors expressly agree to the terms of this Copyright Statement, which will be applied following the submission and publishing by this journal.