SANTIAGO, May 4 (Xinhua) -- "Within three years, Chile has become number one in Latin America for the generation of clean energy," declared Minister of National Wealth Nina Palma on Thursday.
In an interview with Radio of University of Santiago, Palma stated that "today, 15 percent of the total energy comes from solar or wind generation," and Chile is in eighth place in the world concerning the production of non-conventional, renewable energy.
Palma explained that this achievement has been done thanks to the policy of the central government, which has made it easier to install clean energy projects on public land.
"77 percent of solar energy plants and 23 percent of wind plants are located on public lands," she indicated.
Looking ahead, the minister stated that by the year 2050, the objective is that 70 percent of the energy in the country will come from clean sources. If it is achieved, Chile will be the main global producer of non-conventional, renewable energy.
Chile has the highest level of solar irradiance in the world, strong winds, great marine energy potential along its coastlines, which provide good opportunities to develop clean energy.
In a recent report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Inter-American Development Bank, Chile tops Latin American countries in investment in renewable energy and the fight against climate change.
