ABSTRACT
In 2019, President Sebastian Piñera announced a plan to close all of Chile’s coal-fired power plants by 2040, beginning with eight early closures by 2024. This plan emerged from consensus among key actors on the need to phase out coal. Through exploring the motivations of actors in government, civil society and the private sector, this study identifies four key objectives that define Chile’s energy policy: electricity affordability, energy security, air quality and climate action.
Prioritizing electricity affordability and security led the Ministry of Energy to encourage renewable energy generation. Meanwhile, civil society groups defended clean air and health, challenging new power plants and raising the costs of coal-fired generation. These objectives converged to form the Voluntary Coal Retirement Scheme, which was driven by interest in combatting climate change but made possible by the alignment of actors in response to high renewable penetration and the waning fortunes of coal.
