Las energías renovables: La paradoja de la impopularidad de las tecnologías sustentables

Abstract

This article deals from a Latin American perspective with the existing contrast between the popularity of discursive practices on renewables and the unpopularity of these technologies. The article focuses in particular on the sociopolitical and institutional aspects of this paradox. The paper first contends the glamorous rhetoric on mandatory changes in the energy matrix, depicting the status of energy as a commodity, considering the social impacts and the structure of risks, costs, and benefits involved in the large-scale development of renewables. The author argues that the evaluation of such impacts and risks requires a long-term analysis taking into consideration future trends, the possibility of the foreseeable redesign of urban spaces, and sociopolitical constraints. The second portion of the article elaborates a couple of examples that illustrate how the popularity of conventional energy undermines the development of renewables. The manuscript concludes that the long-term challenge is the strengthening of the development of technoscientific capabilities that ensure a smooth transition to a new and more sustainable energy matrix.