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Energía para el Futuro

Strengthening Energy Storage Capacities in RELAC Countries: A Technical Dive into NREL

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The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and with the financing support of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), conducted a series of workshops and technical visits as part of the RELAC initiative[1].

The collaboration aimed to enhance the technical capabilities of the participants so that they could develop action plans focused on promoting an enabling regulatory environment and the technical conditions to accelerate the integration of energy storage into the electrical systems of their respective countries. The event was part of a collaborative initiative to address the critical need for developing technical capabilities in energy storage and advancing the integration of renewable energies in the region through the regional Technical Cooperation “Promoting Energy Storage Markets in LAC for a Resilient and Low-Carbon Multisectoral Coupling”.

The workshop series took place starting in April 2023 and included seven virtual seminars and a one-week on-site technical visit to the NREL campus in Denver, Colorado, from October 16th to 20th. This event successfully brought together 24 delegates, including 11 women, from 11 member countries of the RELAC Initiative, including Bolivia, Barbados, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay.

Throughout the workshops, technical capacities in the planning, deployment, integration, and operation of energy storage solutions were strengthened. Personalized technical assistance from experts was also provided to expedite the implementation of specific projects and regulations.

Taking advantage of the technical assistance from NREL experts and other sector specialists, at the end of the visit, participants had the opportunity to present their proposals for action plans focused on energy storage. These plans were primarily structured around various strategic axes, such as:

  • Development of proposals for regulatory/normative changes to facilitate the deployment of energy storage systems.
  • Pilot project development with technical assistance from the IDB, NREL, and other partner agencies of the RELAC initiative.
  • Modeling and planning the integration of energy storage systems through tools provided by NREL.
  • Feasibility studies and financing of grid systems to support the deployment of storage technologies in national electrical systems.
  • Utilization of storage technologies to facilitate energy access provision in remote areas through microgrids.

In addition to receiving support and expert guidance from NREL and the IDB to review and enhance their proposals, participants also had the opportunity to interact with representatives from agencies such as the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet – GEAPP, who expressed their intention to support energy storage initiatives in RELAC countries. This further enriched the discussion and collaboration with partner agencies of the initiative.

In conclusion, the collaboration between NREL and the IDB, within the framework of the RELAC initiative, has emerged as a strategic alliance to promote more robust and resilient energy storage markets in Latin America and the Caribbean. NREL, with its global leadership in energy storage research, brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in various areas of storage, energy efficiency, and new technologies.

On the other hand, the IDB will continue to actively contribute to the RELAC initiative, providing essential financial and technical assistance, helping countries in the region deploy advanced energy infrastructure, and developing strong regulatory frameworks for energy storage and the widespread deployment of renewable energy.

[1] The RELAC initiative aims to promote its member countries to achieve at least a 70% share of renewable energy in their electrical systems by 2030.

This blog entry was created in collaboration with Gabriela Gutiérrez, consultant for the Energy Division of the RELAC initiative.

All photographs were taken by Werner Slocum, NREL.


Juan Roberto Paredes

Juan Roberto Paredes is a Senior Renewable Energy Specialist at the Energy Division of the Infrastructure and Environment Department at the Interamerican Development Bank, the largest provider of multilateral finance in Latin America and the Caribbean. Throughout his career he has advised several governments, energy regulators and public utilities in the region on topics such as grid integration of variable renewable energies, smart grids, electric mobility and regional electricity integration. Prior to his role at the IDB, he had the opportunity to work for private sector consultancies and clean energy developers in Germany and the UK, gaining extensive experience by assessing more than 1GW of wind and solar projects.    Mr. Paredes has B.Sc. degrees in in Mechanical Engineering and Physics from the University of Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, and a M.Sc. degree in Renewable Energies from Oldenburg University in Germany. He also has executive program degrees in Infrastructure from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Energy and Climate Change from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Energy Innovation and Emerging Technologies from Stanford University.

Edwin Malagón

Edwin Malagón is an Energy Specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in the La Paz, Bolivia office. He has 18 years of experience in the energy sector in several countries in the region. He joined the IDB in 2014 in Washington DC to support the preparation and execution of projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. Then, he has overseen the Bank's energy sector project portfolio in the Caracas, Buenos Aires and La Paz offices, leading multiple loan operations for hydroelectric power plant modernization projects, the expansion of transmission systems, rural electrification and energy efficiency, together with technical assistance initiatives to promote the energy transition in the region, the promotion of renewable energies and energy storage technologies. Before joining the IDB, he worked for nine years at ENEL-CODENSA in Bogotá, in areas related to the wholesale energy market and power distribution. Edwin is an Electrical Engineer from the National University of Colombia, with a Specialization in Economics from the Universidad de loss Andes (Colombia) and a master’s degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science from the University of Lund (Sweden).

Juan Cárdenas

Juan Carlos Cárdenas es Economista en la División de Energía del BID en Washington D.C. y brinda apoyo técnico y operacional al portafolio de proyectos energéticos en América Latina y el Caribe. Su trabajo se enfoca en la promoción del uso de energías renovables, el acceso a energía y las reformas de política energética. Previo al BID, Juan Carlos trabajó en la Práctica Global de Energía y Extractivas del Banco Mundial en Washington D.C., el Grupo de Energía de Bogotá y la Secretaría de Planeación Distrital de Bogotá D.C. Juan Carlos tiene un Máster en Administración Pública (MPA) del School of International and Public Affairs de Columbia University, y es Máster en Ciencias Económicas y Economista de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

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