Attracting foreign direct investment the Chilean government´s role promoting renewable energy

The development and implementation of renewable energy power plants is important for Chile in order to increase energy security, supply remote mines with electricity, and eventually decrease energy costs. The Chilean government has promoted renewable energy and attracted Foreign Direct Investment FDI) to develop large-scale renewable energy projects. However, the policies cannot sufficiently attract FDI in unproven renewable energies such as Concentrated Solar Power, though it is proven elsewhere. This paper examines the Chilean government´s renewable energy policies and investigates potential pitfalls of early to mid-stage capital for the renewable energy industry. Recommendations include linking the mining industry to the large-scale renewable energy industry in order to drive innovation and investment. A renewable energy technopole, or innovation center, should be established to link academia with private enterprise and government policy. Data for this research was acquired through in-person interviews with officials from CORFO (Economic Development Agency) and CER (Center for Renewable Energy) in Santiago, Chile, in June 2012.