District energy is becoming established in Latin America and the Caribbean as a strategic tool for advancing more sustainable cities, improving energy efficiency, and reducing air pollution. Its capacity to integrate heating and cooling solutions through centralized infrastructure makes it possible to replace inefficient and polluting individual systems, thereby contributing to the energy transition, climate change mitigation, and urban resilience.
In order to contextualize these elements and explore their practical application in greater depth, this note presents the experiences of Chile and Colombia, along with a brief review of the fundamental concepts of district energy to facilitate a better understanding of the topic.
In Chile, the primary motivation for promoting district energy has been the improvement of the heating sector, historically associated with critical air pollution problems in cities in the central-southern regions. In its early stages, the country promoted the concept of “district heating,” which was explicitly incorporated into public policy instruments and regulatory frameworks as a structural alternative to reduce emissions and improve air quality.
In Colombia, the promotion strategy did not originate in the heating sector, but rather from the need to outsource cooling services in buildings with high energy consumption, while also promoting the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) in traditional air-conditioning systems. Within this context, the concept of “thermal districts” was rapidly incorporated into national regulations, defining the necessary infrastructure to produce and distribute thermal energy under an innovative commercial model involving an energy service provider and one or more clients.
The experiences of Chile and Colombia demonstrate that, with clear institutional frameworks, a conceptual evolution aligned with market needs, and well-adapted business models, it is possible to promote high-impact urban energy infrastructure.
