Energy Panorama
Welcome to the September edition of Energy Panorama.
We just wrapped up the second annual Madrid Energy Conference together with our partners IPD Latin America and Global Event Partners. While we moved this year’s event online across an entire week, our goals and objectives were unchanged: to address the way that energy is generated, distributed and consumed and the investment needed in Latin America to drive the energy transition and the nexus with Europe.
This year’s Madrid Virtual Energy Conference convened six ministers, 20 CEO’s and several other experts and senior officials, along with over 400 participants, to assess and leverage developments in Europe with an eye to how they can inform policy and investment frameworks in Latin America. Since the founding and launch of the Madrid Energy Conference we have sought to develop a program in concert with the subtitle: Where Europe and Latin America meet for energy dialogue.
Below is a link to an articled developed by our principal media partner, IPS. Please stay tuned for our complete conference analysis and post-event report in the coming weeks.
In our preparation for the Madrid Energy Conference, we also continued with two more Curtain-Raiser video interviews as well as a webinar.
In line with his participation in a panel on mobility, transport and energy transition, Non-Resident Fellow, Leonardo Beltran, joined with Cecilia Aguillon, Director of the IOA’s Energy Transition Initiative, to respond to the question “Has Progress on Latin America’s E-Mobility Stalled?” for the Inter-American Dialogue’s Energy Advisor newsletter.
Also this month, Leonardo Beltran examined the impact on fuel demand post-covid and argued that we will continue to see an acceleration of the process of digitalization and automation, which in turn most likely will result in an overall global reduction in mobility.
Our colleague and fellow, Roger Tissot, published an interesting piece this month focused on the intersection of renewable energy, recovery and employment. He specifically assessed the question: Can the “energy transition” in Latin America help address the risks caused by greenhouse gases (GHG) on the climate, and the economic depression caused by the pandemic?
As always, we are pleased to include two essays from IOA board member Chris Sladen and his essays written for ANZMEX. Be sure to take the “who wants to be a millionaire” quiz that Chris included in Volume 24.
Madrid Energy Conference
Energy Transition and Post-Covid Recovery, a Challenge for Latin America
Opinion & Analysis
Looking for Jobs in Latin America-Can the Energy Transition Help?
Has Progress on Latin America’s E-Mobility Stalled?
Investing in the “Hidden Fuel” the Smartest Alternative
Chris Sladen ANZMEX Energy Matters Vol 23
Chris Sladen ANZMEX Energy Matters Vol 24
Madrid Energy Conference Curtain Raiser Videos
Madrid Energy Conference: Energy Transition with Jose Vicente Zapata, Partner at Holland & Knight
Madrid Energy Conference: Energy Transition Curtain-Raiser with Catherine Von Burg, CEO & Co-Founder, SimpliPhi Power, Inc.
Madrid Energy Conference Curtain Raiser Webinar
Global LNG and South America Natural Gas Update-A Madrid Energy Conference Curtain-Raiser Webinar
In the News
Uruguay reafirma su compromiso de bajar emisiones y hacer mejor uso de las energĂas
Mexican renewables: trapped by policy about-face
Brazil’s grid expansion balancing act
Trump, Argentina and the LatAm energy transition
Opportunities in Uruguay’s energy plan
GEB’s Vision for Renewables, gas expansion and regional integration
Energy Panorama
Welcome to the August installment of Energy Panorama.
This month’s featured analysis, A Not-To-Do List for Guyana’s New Administration When It Comes to Oil, was timed to coincide with the arrival of the new administration in Guyana on August 6 and set forth five actionable ideas for the Ali administration to consider as the new government reviews the country’s policy and regulatory frameworks.
Cecilia Aguillon, Director of the IOA’s Energy Transition Initiative, assessed the developments in Chile with regards to its decarbonization goals for the Inter-American Dialogue’s Energy Advisor newsletter and the question: Is Chile On Track to Become Carbon Neutral By 2050?
In our preparation for the Madrid Energy Conference, we are hosting a series of Curtain-Raiser video interviews. The first two centered on Latin America’s renewable energy revolution. Alfredo Solar, General Manager for Chile at Atlas Renewable Energy and Claudio Rodriguez-Galan, a partner at ThompsonKnight in Mexico shared views and insights in advance of their participation in the panel “Assessing Latin America’s Renewable Energy Revolution.” They weighed in with their view on the top markets for renewables, key drivers and barriers across the region, as well as what impact COVID-19 is having on deployment of renewable energy and the energy transition.
Also this month, Jeremy Martin joined the San Diego Diplomacy Council event “Perspectives from Global Experts on Climate Change and Sustainable Energy” to discuss climate action and the latest developments on sustainable energy, adding perspectives from Latin America.
As always, we are pleased to include the latest essay by IOA board member Chris Sladen and his essays written for ANZMEX.
Be sure to mark your calendars for our collaboration with IPD Latin America and Global Event Partners for the second Madrid Energy Conference set for Sep 28-Oct 2, online this year. But first, don’t miss our Curtain-Raiser webinar focused on LNG and Natural Gas on September 15.
Opinion & Analysis
A Not-To-Do List for Guyana’s New Administration When It Comes to Oil
Is Chile On Track to Become Carbon Neutral By 2050?
Chris Sladen ANZMEX Energy Matters Vol 22
Madrid Energy Conference Curtain Raiser Videos
Madrid Energy Conference: Renewable Energy Curtain-Raiser with Claudio Rodriguez-Galan, Partner at ThompsonKnight
Madrid Energy Conference: Renewable Energy Curtain-Raiser with Alfredo Solar, General Manager for Chile, Atlas Renewable Energy
External Engagement
Perspectives from Global Experts on Climate Change and Sustainable Energy
Energy Panorama
Welcome to the July edition of Energy Panorama. This month’s featured analysis, Pros and Cons of a Super Regulator – The case of the Spanish Regulator, focuses on the debate over the role of regulators in Mexico. Specifically, our Non-Resident Fellows Andres Chambouleyron and Leonardo Beltran delved into the proposal in Mexico to create a market super regulator, largely derived from the Spanish experience.
Our Clean Energy in Mexico webinar series in collaboration with the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center also convened a discussion focused on regulators and regulation: Will Mexico’s regulatory level playing field survive? A conversation with the experts that featured former CRE Commissioners Francisco Xavier Salazar, Montserrat Ramiro and Guillermo Zuñiga.
We are also pleased to share the summary report from our Virtual Panel on Caribbean Energy Security, that included a presentation and discussion of the vision for the energy sector of the incoming government in the Dominican Republic as well as perspectives and the impact of COVID-19 on energy transition and natural gas in the Caribbean Basin.
July saw the release of Spanish versions of two previously published reports and our efforts to further assess the outlook for renewable energy in Mexico as well as the role and importance of critical minerals and supply chains in the hemisphere:  Los Argumentos EconĂłmicos y EstratĂ©gicos para la EnergĂa Renovable en MĂ©xico and Entonces, TĂş TambiĂ©n Quieres Hacer BaterĂas? Un marco de referencia para desarrollar una estrategia industrial de la cadena de suministros de BaterĂas de Iones de Litio.
Continuing our assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the pace and scope of energy transition across Latin America, we were pleased to have both Cecilia Aguillon, Director of the IOA’s Energy Transition Initiative, and Andres Chambouleyron contribute to the Inter-American Dialogue’s Energy Advisor newsletter and respond to the question: Is Covid Speeding up Latin America’s Energy Transition?
We also delved into the role of energy integration after the pandemic in an essay by Leonardo Beltran.
Jeremy Martin participated and moderated a July 15 virtual panel we organized in collaboration with CEBRI and a wide-ranging discussion of climate change, deforestation, power markets, energy transition and natural gas in Brazil.
As always, we are delighted to include the insights of IOA board member Chris Sladen and his essays written for ANZMEX.
Be sure to mark your calendars for our collaboration with IPD Latin America and Global Event Partners for the second Madrid Energy Conference set for Sep 28-Oct 2, online this year.
Reports
Pros and Cons of a Super Regulator – The case of the Spanish Regulator
Seguridad Energética en el Caribe y Retos Post-COVID-19
Los Argumentos EconĂłmicos y EstratĂ©gicos para la EnergĂa Renovable en MĂ©xico
Entonces, TĂş TambiĂ©n Quieres Hacer BaterĂas? Un marco de referencia para desarrollar una estrategia industrial de la cadena de suministros de BaterĂas de Iones de Litio
Opinion & Analysis
Is Covid Speeding up Latin America’s Energy Transition?
Energy Integration Key After the Pandemic
Chris Sladen ANZMEX Energy Matters Vol 20
Chris Sladen ANZMEX Energy Matters Vol 21
Webinars
Caribbean Energy Security
Energy: Reflections and perspectives
Will Mexico’s regulatory level playing field survive? A conversation with the experts
La Jolla Conference
Videos
In the News
Mexico Energy Regulator Losing Independence, Not Fulfilling Duties Under AMLO Government, Former Commissioners Say
Uso de combustĂłleo para electricidad sigue contaminando Ciudad de MĂ©xico
Spotlight: Aura Solar III – Mexico’s only solar-plus-storage park – BNamericas
YPF lanza un plan de retiros voluntarios con los incentivos más altos del sector
Energy Panorama
Welcome to the June edition of Energy Panorama. We begin this month’s newsletter with a note of welcome for the incoming president of the Institute of the Americas, Richard Kiy, and an expression of gratitude to Ted Gildred III as he winds down his term as interim president. More details on the new IOA president, Richard Kiy, below.
This month’s featured report “The Day After: Latin America’s response to key energy issues derived from COVID-19” by principal author Roger Tissot is a detailed analysis based on policy and political trends likely to impact several countries’ oil industries as they emerge from the COVID-19 health crisis; how the region arrived at the pandemic crisis and how countries responded and the key emerging trends that are likely to influence policy decisions in Latin America and the so-called “day after.”
We are also pleased to share the summary report and synopsis derived from the discussions at the Virtual XXIX La Jolla Conference, as well as several of the panel videos and news coverage.
The Virtual La Jolla Conference convened as the implications of COVID-19 and the massive shock to the global oil market and its impact across the hemisphere were being felt. The discussion focused on whether the energy transition was being accelerated or delayed, the role for the region’s NOC’s particularly in recovery, the potential for key plays such as Guyana, the Pre-Salt, Vaca Muerta, Camisea and fracking in Colombia. A cross-cutting and recurring debate over whether habits and consumption had temporarily or permanently changed yielded a variety of replies. How countries and energy policymakers are navigating the dual crises were very much on display and, as expected, differed from Mexico to Chile to Peru to Uruguay to Argentina.
Our assessment of the energy transition continued this month and clean hydrogen in Latin America was at the center of two articles – one in Spanish and one in English – by Cecilia Aguillon, Director of the IOA’s Energy Transition Initiative.
Clean Energy in Mexico, our webinar series in collaboration with the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center, kicked-off with John McNeece’s presentation of our jointly-published paper “The Economic and Strategic Arguments for Renewable Energy in Mexico.”
We also convened a virtual panel discussion focused on the energy sector in Bolivia and outlook for the next administration featuring representatives from the major political parties vying in the September election. The event also featured opening remarks from IOA Board member Jose Luis Manzano.
We are also pleased to continue to bring you the insights of IOA Board member Chris Sladen and his essays written for ANZMEX, of which there were two released in June.
We look forward to our collaboration with CEBRI in Brazil on a unique virtual panel on July 15, as well as our partnership with IPD Latin America and Global Event Partners for the second Madrid Energy Conference set for Sep 28-Oct 2, being presented and held online this year.
Richard Kiy Named President of the Institute of the Americas
Read Article
Reports
XXIX La Jolla Energy Conference – Summary Report
The Day After: Latin America’s response to key energy issues derived from COVID-19
La Jolla Conference Videos
IOA YouTube channel
La Jolla Conference in the News
Media coverage and stories from the Virtual La Jolla Conference
Opinion & Analysis
Clean Hydrogen in Spanish – PV World
Clean Hydrogen in English – IPS
Chris Sladen ANZMEX Energy Matters Vol 18
Chris Sladen ANZMEX Energy Matters Vol 19
In the News
Las disyuntivas energéticas aguardan al próximo gobierno de Bolivia
Debate sobre el futuro energético de Bolivia
Webinars
Bolivia’s Energy Future – Perspectives for the Next Administration
Clean Energy in Mexico Webinar Series featuring John McNeece
Energy Panorama
The month of May at the Institute of the Americas is synonymous with our annual La Jolla Energy Conference. This year, as most of you know, meant the Virtual La Jolla Conference. We were very pleased to be able to pivot and host our XXIX La Jolla Conference online. The virtual platform allowed for a weeklong program accessible by a far greater number of attendees from across the hemisphere and globe.
We were extremely pleased with the topics, panels, level of discussion and high-level of engagement from the online attendees. We know that the move to an online event eliminated many of the La Jolla Conference’s most cherished elements, but we would like to thank our panelists, speakers, partners and participants for ensuring that our focus on high-level policy and investment discourse in a relaxed and friendly setting was alive and well.
We were also pleased to publish two reports in advance of the La Jolla Conference in an effort to foster dialogue on cross-cutting issues of natural gas and LNG, but also an excellent and rigorous analysis of the economic arguments and technical elements associated with renewable energy deployment in Mexico.
Despite the online setting, we feel this year’s discussions again served to foster high-level public-private dialogue on the future of the hemisphere’s energy sector, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and global oil price shock. The La Jolla Conference remains the linchpin for the Institute of the Americas objective of serving as an honest broker of policy and investment debates surrounding the hemisphere’s most critical energy and sustainability issues, whether online or, hopefully again soon, through our in-person events.
Stay tuned for our La Jolla Conference report. In the meantime, check out the recordings from many of the sessions, as well as the plethora of articles and media stories derived from discussions at the Virtual La Jolla Conference.
Clean energy in Mexico will be the topic for our next major webinar series, in collaboration with the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center. The series will launch on June 11 with John McNeece presenting a summary of our jointly-published paper “The Economic and Strategic Arguments for Renewable Energy in Mexico.” Mexico’s power sector was also the theme of Jeremy Martin’s commentary written for the Inter-American Dialogue Energy Advisor Newsletter.
Prior to the Virtual La Jolla Conference, we concluded our Critical Minerals and the Energy Transition webinar series in collaboration with the Payne Institute with a presentation by Nedal Nassar from the US Geological Survey and discussion of managing risk in critical mineral supply chains.
Reports
The Economic and Strategic Arguments for Renewable Energy in Mexico
Natural Gas Southern Cone Dynamics and Development
La Jolla Conference Videos
IOA YouTube channel
La Jolla Conference in the News
Media coverage and stories from the Virtual La Jolla Conference
Opinion & Analysis
Do Mexico’s New Power Sector Rules Favor the State?
Chris Sladen ANZMEX Energy Matters Vol 17
Webinar
Managing Critical Mineral Supply Chain Risks
Energy Panorama
The April edition of Energy Panorama arrives as the world continues to navigate and manage crisis. We reiterate our best wishes to everyone directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the calendar turns to May, it’s time for the annual La Jolla Conference. As you know, last year the La Jolla Conference went tieless. This year we are going virtual. With the restrictions in place for travel and meetings, the XXIX La Jolla Conference will break new ground as a weeklong virtual conference from May 18-22. Please join us online this year.
Our featured report this month looks at the impacts of COVID-19 and the implications for Latin American economies and specifically the energy sector. We invited a dozen energy experts from across Latin America to comment on their respective markets. IOA non-resident fellows Andres Chambouleyron, Leonardo Beltran and Nelson Narciso were key contributors.
Our collaboration with the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines and webinar series Critical Minerals and the Energy Transition continued in April. We hosted three joint webinars focused on the intersection of critical minerals and the global energy transition, as well as a look at governance and implications for public policy and investment.
We ended April with an update and discussion of the outlook for renewable energy in Argentina as part of our traditional monthly webinar series.
Our non-resident fellow, Andres Chambouleyron, penned an essay for IPS News examining electricity demand during lockdown and the case of Argentina while Jeremy Martin commented for the Inter-American Dialogue’s Energy Advisor on the outlook for Vaca Muerta against the backdrop of the oil price collapse.
April also saw us formally kick off our collaboration with CEARE at the University of Buenos Aires and a session and discussion of oil markets featuring our UCSD colleague Mikkal Herberg.
Our analysis in April included the Spanish version published by Mexico’s El Universal of Jeremy Martin’s essay on oil price and fuels market in Mexico and featured his participation in a virtual panel hosted by El Universal.
Our podcast series turned to Ecuador and discussion of the oil sector, pipeline issues and possible reduction of fuel subsidies in a conversation with Julian Pastor of Quito law firm Sempertegui Abogados. Jeremy Martin also sat down to chat with Emily Hersh as part of the Minerals Manhattan Project podcast. They discussed a wide range of issues from the role of China in the Americas to leadership and multilateralism in today’s world.
We are also pleased to continue to bring you the cogent insights of IOA board member Chris Sladen and his monthly essay written for ANZMEX.
Featured Report
COVID-19 and Latin America’s Energy Sector: Today, Tomorrow and Beyond the Crisis
Opinion & Analysis
Electricity Demand During Lockdown: Evidence from Argentina
El mercado de combustibles de MĂ©xico y un “doble golpe”
Will Investors Leave Vaca Muerta Amid Lower Oil Prices?
Energy matters – What happens when the price is not right? – ENERGY MATTERS © VOL. 15
Webinars
The Material and Metal Security of Low-Carbon Energy Transitions
Energy Resource Governance Initiative (ERGI)
The Future of Clean Energy Demands Critical Mineral Policy Solutions
Renewables in Argentina, Trends, Expectations and Investment Perspectives
Podcast
Oil Prices, Pipeline Outages and Reducing Subsidies in Ecuador: A Conversation with Julian Pastor, Partner at Sempertegui Abogados
Videos
CEARE-IOA Oil Markets Presentation featuring Mikkal Herberg
El precio del petrĂłleo en los tiempos del Covid -19
¿Quién puede salvar a Venezuela del desabastecimiento de gasolina?
In the News
Mexican oil prices stay low as demand tanks, storage maxed out
Mexico’s state oil company hasn’t paid hundreds of workers for months
Jeremy Martin: “Los proyectos petroleros en marcha favorecen a Guyana”
Maduro acelerĂł plan de PDVSA para sacar a EE UU de Venezuela
