Chile has vast renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar, which can help address the water shortage that has affected the country for over a decade. The problem is that storage capacity is limited, which forces the use of thermoelectric plants that accelerate climate change and put the country’s sustainable energy commitments at risk.

Although Chile has storage capability and technology, high costs prevent many projects from materializing due to market design. For example, the Valhalla pumping station project in Tarapacá region was abandoned for economic reasons, even though it was highly innovative.

The Chilean system provides little incentive to invest in storage technology. But the reality is that the drought scenario is here to stay, so the threat of water rationing will remain latent if we do not recognize the need for large storage capacity facilities which allow us to take better advantage of the current and future generation sources that have been integrated into the system.

For several years, the AC3E’s electrical systems research line has focused on the development of power converters to make the charging and unloading of energy more efficient and take advantage of non-conventional renewable energies. In addition, the center addresses complex and interdisciplinary problems that include technical, economic, regulatory, environmental, and social aspects.

Research topics include:

• Design of hardware, firmware, and software to control power converters to improve reliability and efficiency and facilitate the integration of clean energy and storage systems.
• Development of tools for the planning, operation, and control of electric power systems, considering uncertainty and using advanced optimization methods.
• Design of electricity markets and regulatory analysis: Payment schemes for renewables capacity, design of complementary service markets, and impact of taxes on investments linked to CO2 emissions, among others.

Researchers in this segment actively collaborate with colleagues from the University of Technology Sydney, Morelia Institute of Technology, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, UC Denver, Johns Hopkins University, University of California Berkeley, Pontifícia Universidad Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Technische Universität München, North China University of Technology (Beijing), Sandia National Laboratory, and others.

Any research results are published in prestigious scientific journals and used by the Ministry of Energy, the National Energy Commission, the National Electricity Coordinator, and companies in the electric power sector to develop public policies and regulations.