Country and Regional Projects in Latin America and the Caribbean

Across Latin America and the Caribbean, NREL is enhancing regional resilience, reliability, security, and affordability through the deployment of advanced energy systems and data-driven decision-making tools.

Antigua and Barbuda

NREL provided technical assistance to partners in Antigua and Barbuda on procuring grid-interactive solar photovoltaics with battery energy storage systems for schools and clinics, developing a workforce development strategy for priority energy sectors, creating a community solar program and tariff design, supporting distributed energy resources interconnection, and deploying electric buses.

Argentina

NREL partnered with the National Energy Secretariat, subnational energy secretariats, utilities, regulators, and universities in Argentina on energy sector wide modeling and analyses in several areas related to their energy sector planning.  

NREL is supporting the National Energy Secretariat as well as the Provincial Government of San Juan to develop a national roadmap for demand side management, including tariff reform strategies that encourage implementation of demand side management measures and reduce peak load during the summer and winter.

In Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, NREL analyzed energy system alternatives, including increasing integration of wind power and long-duration storage as key solutions for cost-effective energy reliability, with mainland interconnection offering a competitive alternative, despite challenges related to terrain and resource availability.

In La Pampa, NREL modeled distributed photovoltaic systems to improve voltage drops and support energy diversification targets, assessed carbon capture and storage potential in the Neuquén Basin to inform national planning and cost curves, and analyzed building envelope and retrofit improvements to enhance efficiency and reduce costs.

Belize

NREL—in partnership with the Millenium Challenge Corp., Belize Public Utilities Commission, Belize Energy Limited, and Ministry of Public Utilities, Energy, Logistics, and E-Governance—developed a nodal production cost model and associated technical training for stakeholders to analyze the value of potential energy storage investments to support resilience and lower energy costs for Belize.

Brazil

NREL is supporting the Ministry of Mines and Energy to develop a framework for evaluating the socio-economic impacts of improving energy access for isolated communities in the Amazon through deployment of distributed energy mini-grids.

Through a broader regional program, NREL is also providing technical assistance to Brazil’s Energy Research Office and the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency to strengthen regulations and modeling to support procurement of utility energy storage systems in Brazil.

The Global Power System Transformation (G-PST) Consortium, in partnership with Brazil’s National System Operator, hosted two technical roundtables on modeling inverter-based resources and technical requirements for grid-following and grid-forming technologies. Experts from leading institutions shared best practices to help Brazil’s National System Operator enhance grid stability and integrate more renewable energy.

In addition, NREL is collaborating with Brazil’s Energy Research Office and the Ministry of Mines and Energy on a techno-economic analysis to estimate the production cost of hydrogen from sugarcane bagasse and straw, and facilitating collaboration across U.S.-Brazilian universities to strengthen curriculum development on hydrogen.

Chile

NREL supported the Chilean Renewable Energy Center in developing a concentrating solar power solicitation, advancing green disaster relief efforts, and facilitating renewable energy working groups. We also contributed to the creation of a Latin American gateway in Spanish on OpenEI and provided training on analysis tools to enhance Chile’s innovation investment program.

Chile is advancing its workforce and economic opportunities alongside energy system development. A multi-laboratory team, including NREL, conducted an analysis of workforce and economic opportunities in Tocopilla, Chile. This collaboration also fostered a Sister City relationship between Tocopilla and Lawrence, Kansas, to facilitate information exchanges on energy system advancements.

Colombia

NREL supported several Colombian ministries in energy planning, grid operations, electromobility, and energy communities, including refining interconnection standards, advancing mini-grids, analyzing rooftop solar, providing regulatory support for hydrogen and geothermal, and mobilizing renewable energy investment. We also provided technical training using NREL’s open-source tools to Colombia’s ministries and industry stakeholders to strengthen local expertise in analyzing energy development and integration opportunities.   

Additionally, NREL supported infrastructure resilience planning, including workforce training for distributed energy integration and technical guidance for Providencia Island’s energy system reconstruction following Hurricane Iota. Since 2017, we have assisted Colombia in implementing renewable energy auctions, and analyzing renewable energy opportunities, leading to the deployment of 2.5 GW of new generation capacity.

NREL is collaborating with Colombian ministries, industry associations, and private sector entities to build technical capacity for evaluating energy solutions aligned with national priorities and carbon policies.

Through G-PST’s partnership with Colombia’s system operator, XM, and in collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute, NREL developed a roadmap to modernize XM’s control room operations, enhance grid management, and facilitate peer-learning exchanges with international system operators.

Costa Rica

NREL helped develop a regional energy efficiency center in Costa Rica, located at the University of Costa Rica, which will collaborate with government agencies to expand local knowledge and provide training and services on energy efficiency.

Through the Renewables in Latin America and the Caribbean initiative, NREL also contributed to deploying production cost modeling to evaluate energy storage and other resources, informing planning for the integration of up to 300 MW of new energy storage projects.

Dominican Republic

NREL is partnering with Dominican Republic government agencies, nonprofits, multilateral organizations, and private sector firms to evaluate financing mechanisms for solar and energy efficiency systems in public hospitals and schools, while building technical capacity in PV deployment and energy retrofits.

Additionally, we are supporting production cost modeling and technical training alongside the Ministry of Energy, national utility, and energy regulator to enhance energy storage integration and resilience.

Ecuador

NREL assisted the Ecuadorian government in addressing energy system challenges from natural disasters and advancing national goals for a more reliable and resilient power grid. This included strengthening technical and regulatory capabilities to scale up variable renewable energy, enhance transmission, integrate inverter-based resources, and deploy energy storage solutions.

Haiti

NREL collaborated  with Haiti’s government and local institutions on the development of mini-grid regulations, project developer training, and geospatial analysis tools for decision-making. NREL also conducted techno-economic studies to evaluate solar hybridization for existing power plants.

To support energy access efforts, NREL also supported energy sector planning and modeling, along with technical training (on YouTube) in NREL’s open-source Engage model. This included developing national mini-grid regulations, creating a framework (in both English and Creole) for integrating agrivoltaics into mini-grid models, building capacity for resilient energy planning (on YouTube), and developing a university curriculum on off-grid solar technologies and energy access business models.

Honduras

NREL is supporting development of production cost modeling in NREL’s open-source Sienna platform as well as technical capacity building for the system operator, ministry, and energy regulator in Honduras to support evaluation of energy storage to support grid transmission and integration of new energy generation.

NREL also conducted a techno-economic evaluation of electrification solutions for healthcare and education as well as livelihood development in off-grid communities in Honduras.

Jamaica

Together with Jamaican stakeholders, NREL conducted a risk and resilience assessment to prioritize investment for critical facilities based on hazard exposure and infrastructure. Using geospatial data, 1,700 critical facilities were mapped and grouped into clusters that could be served by microgrids. NREL analyzed the feasibility of integrating renewable energy and storage solutions at these sites using REop REopt t. To build local capacity, NREL also provided training on energy modeling and procurement best practices, including interconnection, storm-hardening, and system operations.

In 2018, NREL also collaborated with Jamaican partners to install dataloggers in buses and conduct a transportation assessment to inform transportation policy decision-making.

Mexico

NREL supported the states of Guanajuato and Yucatán in planning and implementing transportation policies and programs, such as the development of a 100 km electric bus corridor in Mérida. NREL has also worked with Mexico City on analyzing the benefits of electric motorcycles and buses. Further, NREL conducted economic analysis of distributed solar photovoltaics in Mexico, in collaboration with the Energy Regulatory Commission, evaluating the impacts of proposed changes to metering and billing for solar generation.

Peru

NREL supported an analysis of Peru’s current grid codes and compared them with international standards (IEEE 1547 and IEEE 2800) to identify potential gaps or considerations for future updates related to distributed energy resource and energy storage integration.

Through G-PST’s partnership with Peru’s system operator, COES, NREL used an assessment framework from the Electric Power Research Institute to develop a control center modernization roadmap. COES has since created a department to implement these updates, and the roadmap is now a resource for other system operators worldwide.

NREL also developed renewable energy resource data, including GIS and other datasets, to inform Peru’s renewable energy targets and conduct economic analysis for distributed solar photovoltaic deployment.

Uruguay

NREL is supporting technical evaluation of energy storage potential for the Uruguay electricity grid.

Regional Support

NREL partners with the RELAC Initiative to help 16 member countries meet the 2030 regional renewable energy targets of 73% installed capacity and 80% electricity generation. This includes annual programs on energy storage, system planning, and regional integration, featuring webinars, workshops, action plans, and NREL delegation visits. NREL also provides regulatory support on grid code updates, cybersecurity, and energy storage.

In collaboration with other partners, NREL engages nearly 1,000 practitioners across Latin America and the Caribbean in initiatives spanning bioenergy, transportation, and private sector partnerships.

In partnership with other national laboratories, we are developing a 20-year, high-resolution historical wind resource dataset to support detailed energy system modeling across South America.

NREL is also addressing cybersecurity challenges in the Latin American and Caribbean power sectors, collaborating with partners like the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation to provide technical assistance and training. Key initiatives include conducting assessments using the open-source Distributed Energy Resource Cybersecurity Framework, hosting capacity-building webinars, and supporting the Caribbean Cybersecurity Working Group. These efforts aim to strengthen regional capacity, enhance cybersecurity practices, and improve energy security across the region.