Perspectives for Distributed Generation with Renewable Energy in Latin America and the Caribbean: Analysis of Case Studies for Jamaica, Barbados, Mexico, and Chile

This paper deals with how to promote distributed generation (DG) done with renewable energy in emerging markets of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), with the purpose of increasing competitiveness and achieving sustainable economic growth. The paper argues that the key rationale for promoting renewable DG in LAC is to reduce the cost of electricity for a country as a whole. The paper examines four case studies in the Caribbean (Jamaica and Barbados) and Latin America (Mexico and Chile) to assess what these countries are or are not doing, and why, in promoting renewable DG. These cases are also assessed in the light of the experience of Denmark, which has the world's highest share of DG (over 50 percent of electricity generation), mostly done with wind and cogeneration. This paper was presented at the Fifth Americas Competiveness Forum for the Inter-American Development Bank and Compete Caribbean Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, October 5-7, 2011.