Latin America and the Caribbean has one of the cleanest electricity mixes in the world. According to the Monthly Electricity Generation Report of the Latin American and Caribbean Energy Organization (OLACDE), 158 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity were generated in February 2026. This reflects a system in which renewable energy accounts for 67.7%, while fossil fuel sources contribute 29.7% and nuclear energy 2.6%.
This figure underscores a structural reality: Latin America and the Caribbean continues to be a key player in the global energy transition, with a mix that considerably exceeds the global average in terms of clean generation, which stands at 33.8% (first quarter of 2026).
However, the region remains heavily dependent on hydropower, which accounted for 45.4% of total generation. The next largest sources were natural gas (22.7%) and wind energy (12.2%). Together, these three technologies account for more than 80% of monthly generation, reflecting the structural weight of these technologies in covering regional electricity demand.
Lower reliance on hydropower and greater momentum for non-conventional renewables
Comparing year-on-year with February 2025, the data show growth of 3.9% in regional electricity generation; this is equivalent to an additional increase of 6 TWh. However, what is most notable is how this growth occurred: while hydroelectric generation fell by 9 TWh, other technologies managed to offset this with a combined increase of 15 TWh. Emerging energy sources were responsible for this offset:
• Wind: +6 TWh
Bioenergy: +5 TWh
Solar: +2 TWh.
This pattern shows a fundamental trend within the system: diversification toward other renewable sources is gaining importance and reducing vulnerabilities.
Decrease in generation during February
The report also indicates that the month-on-month variation in February 2026 compared to January of the same year was -6.2%. This contraction is partly due to the natural calendar adjustment—February had only 28 days—as well as a widespread reduction across nearly all energy sources. The largest declines were seen in coal (-17%), geothermal (-14%) and natural gas (-10%), followed by oil, nuclear and solar. This is significant because it shows that the decrease was not the result of a technological substitution but rather a general compression of energy dispatch.
View the full report at the following link: https://www.olacde.org/publicaciones/junio-2026-reporte-no-14-generacion-electrica-en-america-latina-y-el-caribe/
