Ensuring Reliability and Resilience in South American Power Markets

The need for reliability and flexibility in South American power markets is driven by high dependence on hydropower (and occasional drought years) and rapid growth of variable renewable energy sources. Countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia are experiencing seasonal fluctuations in peak energy demand; increasing seasonal and annual fluctuations in hydropower supplies, often related to variations in rainfall; and growth in variable solar and wind power that contribute to the need for flexible energy sources. Natural gas is one option to provide a critical source of flexibility to the energy markets in Latin America, and the potential exists for LNG to serve a more prominent role. Analysis is needed to better understand how policies and business models could be adapted to support potential greater use of natural gas as a low-cost flexible source of energy supply, and how much of that natural gas supply might come from LNG imports. This poster describes the preliminary work on a project that will study several factors (economics, reliability, market design, resiliency, trade, geopolitics, and environmental) that can influence the potential for greater reliability and flexibility in key South American countries.