Chile faces high fossil fuel dependency despite renewable energy generation

A report titled ‘Estado de la electrificación en Chile 2026’, produced by Uno Punto Cinco, reveals a significant gap between Chile’s renewable energy generation and its actual consumption. While 65.6% of the electricity generated in the country came from renewable sources in 2025, electricity accounts for only 22.3% of the nation's total final energy consumption.

Currently, 85% of Chile’s energy consumption remains dependent on polluting sources, including petroleum, gas, coal, and wood. Benjamín Carvajal, executive director of Uno Punto Cinco, stated that the country does not face a supply problem of clean energy, but rather a demand problem regarding its use.

Electrification rates have grown slowly, rising from 20.4% in 2010 to 22.3% in 2024. During this period, for every unit of electricity added to national consumption, 2.6 units of fossil fuels were added. This trend suggests that the international goal of 35% electrification by 2035 may be unreachable, with even optimistic long-term projections suggesting only 26%. The transport sector remains a major contributor to this dependency, accounting for 33.9% of final energy consumption and relying on fuels for 98.9% of its needs.