Peru Seeks to Cut Dependency on Gas by Adding Renewables

Hydroelectric power, wind energy and other renewable sources can provide most of Peru’s power in the future as the country seeks to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.

Renewable energy can account for 60 percent of Peru’s energy mix, up from about 50 percent, with natural gas and oil supplying the rest, Energy and Mines Minister Eleodoro Mayorga said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. He did not provide a timetable for the transition.

“That places us as one of the countries with one of the cleanest energy mixes in the world,” Mayorga said.

Envoys from some 190 nations meet next month in Lima for United Nations-organized talks on a global deal on climate change.

In 2013, about half of the country’s power came from hydroelectric dams and half from gas and oil power plants, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Maria Rojas Gonzales, a spokeswoman for the ministry, was not available to provide further details.