The paradox of having sun and still living in the dark

THE PARADOX OF HAVING SUN AND STILL LIVING IN THE DARK

SurEconomics staff, August 2026

Latin America is home to the Atacama Desert, where solar radiation is 30% higher than anywhere else on the planet, and to Patagonian winds capable of driving turbines without pause.

Yet 18% of the clean energy generated by the region's solar and wind farms in 2025 had to be thrown away (literally, the panels were disconnected) because there were no high-voltage cables to carry it to cities.

We are throwing away clean energy while families suffer power cuts during heat waves, a problem that is global, not only regional, and is known as curtailment.

The investment gap is enormous: the region needs to invest $89 billion before 2030 solely to modernize and build new electricity transmission lines.

If it does not, power systems collapse in summer and governments are forced to fire up old thermal plants fueled by polluting diesel.

The result? Residential electricity tariffs in Latin America that are, relative to income per capita, 40% higher than in OECD developed countries, with a marginal cost of producing each megawatt-hour substantially higher than desirable.

Sources

·       Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE). Report on Electricity Infrastructure and Transmission, 2025.

·       IDB. Bottlenecks in the Energy Transition in Latin America, 2025.

·       El Mercurio. "Why clean energy fails to lower tariffs in South America," March 3, 2026.