For the last two decades, there has been a boost in renewable energies in our region, initially led by Brazil, Chile and Mexico, which benefited from economies of scale when renewable energy generation costs went down, and followed later by many other countries. Wind energy capacity increased almost 17 times between 2011 and 2020. Solar was even more extreme, growing … [Read more...] about Smart Wires for the Energy Transition in Latin America
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.
Latin America and the Caribbean strengthens its leadership in renewables worldwide in the critical decade of climate change through the RELAC initiative
Within the framework of the United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place in the United Arab Emirates (COP28), 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean presented the most ambitious renewable energy climate initiative worldwide. As world leaders seek to triple renewable energy generation capacity to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial … [Read more...] about Latin America and the Caribbean strengthens its leadership in renewables worldwide in the critical decade of climate change through the RELAC initiative
Strengthening Energy Storage Capacities in RELAC Countries: A Technical Dive into NREL
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 … [Read more...] about Strengthening Energy Storage Capacities in RELAC Countries: A Technical Dive into NREL
It’s time for solar to get its feet wet
Solar floating photovoltaic (FPV) energy is gaining relevance around the globe. Recently, plants with a capacity of tens and even hundreds of megawatts have been installed in China, and more are planned in India and Southeast Asia. In 2018, the cumulative installed capacity of floating solar panels was 1,000 MW, from which more than 500 MW were installed in the same year. At … [Read more...] about It’s time for solar to get its feet wet
Rise Up! New Initiative Teaches Kids about Sustainability
“No man is an island entire of itself…” We’ve all heard this poem before. True enough, none of us are as independent as we think. Neither are ecosystems! In fact, people and nature rely on each other. … [Read more...] about Rise Up! New Initiative Teaches Kids about Sustainability