The Latin American and Caribbean Energy Organization (OLACDE) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) presented the Indicative Regional Electricity Interconnection Plan with a horizon to 2040 on Wednesday, June 17, in Montevideo. The initiative—driven together with the European Union through the Euroclima program and implemented with GIZ—sets out a long-term vision that defines the key electricity corridors for the region’s energy future.
The program, made up of 16 electricity interconnection infrastructure projects, requires an initial investment of 3.5 billion dollars through 2040, a figure that technical reports describe as highly profitable, since it would pay for itself within 2 to 6 years (payback period). The goal for 2040 is to achieve an optimal interconnection of 5,000 MW that would drastically reduce CO2 emissions and spending on fossil fuels.
The benefit-cost ratio of the Plan’s investments averages 10 to 1, with a net economic benefit of between US$1 billion and US$5 billion per year, the latter figure considering a scenario of high electrification in the region. These benefits arise from the safe, low-cost exchange of clean energy between neighboring countries.
The 8th CELAC Ministerial Meeting on Energy was held on Thursday, June 18, with the participation of financial institutions and cooperation partners, with a central goal of discussing the challenges of regulatory convergence in the energy sector in a context marked by climate variability and the expansion of renewable energy.
OLACDE’s Executive Secretary, Andrés Rebolledo, highlighted the importance of beginning a process aimed at dialogue and negotiation of an Energy Integration Treaty for Latin America and the Caribbean, a legal instrument that does not currently exist in the region and whose creation is now more urgent and necessary than ever to strengthen energy security, regional cooperation and the sustainable transition.
The ministerial meeting was a strategic space for laying the groundwork for a political dialogue process. The ultimate goal of the member countries is to move toward building a future energy integration treaty for Latin America and the Caribbean, a binding framework that will consolidate the exchange of resources, unify regulations and guarantee the region’s energy security in the face of the challenges of the 21st century.
