Student Spotlight: Keylor Grant Winner Gonzalez in BU Today
William R. Keylor undergraduate student travel grant recipient Daniel Gonzalez (Pardee ’19) was recently interviewed by BU Today on his research funded by the grant on Latin America’s renewable energy sector.
With funding from this Keylor undergraduate student travel grant, Gonzalez traveled to Washington D.C. to analyze the principle barriers to the development and deployment of renewable energy technologies in Latin America, and identify feasible solutions to overcoming these barriers from a policy perspective.
With the help of Kevin Gallagher, Director of the Global Development Policy (GDP) Center and Professor of Global Development Policy at the Pardee School, Gonzalez was able to meet with experts who work with governments and companies in the region. Gonzalez used this research as part of his Keystone Project, a culminating research work done by Kilachand Honors College students.
The article, entitled “Can Latin America Jump-Start Our Clean Energy Future?” was published in BU Today on May 13, 2019. From the text of the article:
Why were you interested in researching green energy specifically in Latin America?
I appreciate the benefits for the future of our planet. But renewable energy development and investment, first and foremost, is a profit-driven enterprise. There is a massive opportunity, with the big decline in the price of solar panels and wind turbines in the past 15 years, for developing countries for breaking that cycle of economies that are highly dependent on the price of one commodity, whether it be oil or a certain mineral.
Your Keystone report references areas in Latin America with consistently high sunlight and wind speeds. Which regions do you mean?
Chile—they’re the leader in the region in solar; the Atacama Desert has sun all year round. Brazil has lots of potential just because they have such a large landmass. Colombia has a lot of potential. In terms of wind, Argentina and Brazil have tons of potential. Mexico also has quite a lot of potential for wind.
What are some of the current barriers to sustainable energy?
The important thing for investors to see is that they’re going to get a return on their investment. For that to happen, you need the economic environment for them to feel comfortable. While the operation of solar plants and wind farms is relatively cheap compared to traditional fossil fuels, a lot of the investment is up front. You need to find low-cost financing for that, and investors and banks can feel uncomfortable throwing so much money at countries with unstable credit histories. The construction period for these mega-projects is about three to six years. It takes a long time to start making money.
There can be massive shifts in political ideology. In Mexico, 2013 was a big year for the electricity industry. There was huge reform that brought a lot of investment. However, last year they elected a president who campaigned on nationalizing the sector and doing away with 2013 energy reform. The reform that exploded the investment in renewable energy is now up for debate.
It’s still cost-prohibitive to have mega solar farms or mega wind farms and not have batteries that can store excess power for when the wind is not blowing or when the sun is not shining. In Latin America, solar and wind will make up a very small part of the portfolio until we develop those batteries. The other issue in Latin America is old, outdated grids that can be really inefficient.
The William R. Keylor Undergraduate Student Travel Fund was established in 2018 in honor of Pardee School Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History William Keylor’s many contributions to Boston University and to the Pardee School — especially to undergraduate education. The fund was established – with an initial contribution from Pardee School Dean’s Advisory Board member Karen Ansara – to support international travel for research by Pardee School undergraduates.