Electricity generation in Chile using non-conventional renewable energy sources - A focus on biomass

This article presents the development of biomass for electricity generation in Chile within the country's complex energy framework which is still unable to strengthen and encourage renewable energy development and relies heavily on fossil fuels, increasing the latent risk of suffering an energy crisis in the medium term, due to the slow incorporation of new energy power plants to meet the growing energy demand forecast. This article provides a background of the power generation status in Chile, along with an analysis of the country's electricity market and its regulations, focusing on non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE), ending with the description of the current development status of biomass for electricity generation in its three physical states, its features, applications, conversion processes, advantages and disadvantages. Chile presents a low proportion of renewable energy technologies within its energy mix, in which solid and gaseous biofuels are mainly used for low power energy generation, through cogeneration and biogas extraction and use, while liquid biofuels are under research through the development of pilot plants managed by several entities for industrial production and the transportation industry.