Abstract

YANEZ, César  and  GARRIDO-LEPE, Martín. The Third Cycle of Coal in Chile, from 1973 to 2013: From Climacteric to Rejuvenation. Am. Lat. Hist. Econ [online]. 2017, vol.24, n.3, pp.224-258. ISSN 2007-3496.  https://doi.org/10.18232/alhe.v24i3.833.

Unlike other latecomers, Chilean energy history has been deeply linked to the consumption of coal. Its importance in the energy matrix would decrease since 1953, leaving behind industries and railroads to concentrate on the generation of gas and electricity. This transition initiated a new cycle of coal, characterized by a link with thermoelectric generation. Since 1990, the growth of electric demand has grown coal consumption to the highest levels in history. The objective of this article is to analyze the consumption of coal in the Chilean economy during the last forty years. The hypothesis is that after the decline of coal consumption in the late 1960s, a new era begins in which coal is used to generate thermoelectricity.

Keywords : history of the energy; energy; coal; coal history; economic history of Chile.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )