Peru facing the challenge of finding its own route towards the energy transition

Peru, like the rest of the planet, must address the challenge of the energy transition in the coming decades, a challenge in which it will have to find its own path and in which the natural gasabundant in the country, could still play an important role, according to several experts.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the UN for 2030 include “adopt urgent measures to combat climate change and its effects”which has motivated the countries to begin an in-depth dialogue about the energy transition.

This means changing the current system based on fossil fuels to one with low or no carbon emissions, based on renewable sources, a great global challenge that countries must adopt.

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In this sense, the executive director of the Videnza Institute and former Minister of Economy of Peru, Luis Miguel Castilla, has identified what he calls the triangle dilemma energetic”.

“There is usually a tension between the objectives of trying to maintain energy at a competitive cost, accessible, on the other hand, that energy sources are environmentally sustainable, less dependent on fossil fuels, in line with environmental commitments, and the most complex it is always to maintain security in the supply”, explains to EFE.

In his opinion, “That is the central issue and there has to be a proper balance between these three vertices that can sometimes have friction between them.”

“If you look at the Peruvian energy matrix, it is a relatively clean matrix. 54% is hydraulic, 38% is thermoelectric, dependent on natural gas, and the remaining 7% is among alternative (renewable energy resources)”

Therefore, he concludes that “92% of the Peruvian energy matrix is ​​relatively clean”.

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However, Castilla recalls the challenges that renewables pose in a country like Peru: “Solar energy, for example, depends on the passing of a cloud and there is a downturn. The cost of storage is high.

“The idea is to be able to capitalize on the fact that we start from a base of having a high hydraulic component that is renewable, that we have a non-renewable source (…) that of the fossil energy sources is the cleanest (natural gas ), compared to other countries that depend on coal or have to burn diesel”Explain.

Castilla recalls that the large sources of CO2 in Peru “they are on the other side”not in power generation.

LANDING THE TRANSITION TO PERU

Against this background, the general director of Inkia Energy, parent company of one of the main energy generators in Peru, Kallpa, Willem Van Twembeke, explains that the “energy transition in every country in the world means something different”.

“It depends on the geography of the country, it depends on the natural resources (and) where the country is located on the globe, that changes the situation in each country enormously. So, a solution in one country does not apply to another country.”, he emphasizes.

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“In this sense, Peru is a country that really has a privileged situation to achieve ‘net zero’ (reach zero net emissions) in 2050. Peru can easily reach this goal”apostille.

In Van Twembeke’s opinion, this privileged situation is based on the fact that “it has many natural energy resources”for example, for the development of hydropower or areas “with a lot of wind for wind generation” and “it also has gas internally”no need to import it.

“Gas is important because, if one wants to reach ‘net zero’, (with) renewables one does not control how much they generate per day”so it is needed “the flexibility of gas plants”, comment.

It is possible to do the same “with batteries, but it is too expensive to replace gas-fired plants now.”

“I think that gas will be needed for around 20 more years in Peru, in the middle of this period I think we will have cheaper batteries and at the end of this gas transition period we will be able to replace gas generation with batteries and equivalent things. I think it’s the natural evolution.” He says before asking that the economic aspect of the energy transition should not be forgotten.

“There is a difference from a developing country to a developed one. It is a bit irritating that the Europeans, who have made so many mistakes in the energy sector, as we have seen over the years, always give other countries choices. They think that the solutions from Europe and the United States are the solutions developing countries like Peru should apply.”says Van Twembeke.

Therefore, he concludes that “Peru has to find its way to the energy transition.”

Source: EFE