Soaring Energy Demand Means Opportunities for U.S. Companies in Latin America

Marjorie Baker recently completed a summer internship with the International Trade Administration’s Office of the Western Hemisphere.

This post originally appeared on the Tradeology, the ITA Blog

More Latin Americans than ever are now members of the middle class, and sustained economic growth in the region has led to increased demand for energy.

Energy consumption is projected to more than double in Latin America between 2010 and 2030, and this will transform the continent’s energy sector, creating new opportunities for U.S. companies.

As part of the federal government’s Look South initiative, the International Trade Administration (ITA) has published a series of best prospect sector reports for our 11 Free Trade Agreement partners in Latin America (Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru).

Our on-the-ground experts have identified the following countries as especially attractive for U.S. energy sector exporters:

• Chile has a projected growth rate in energy consumption of more than six percent.

• Colombia is looking to expand hydro power generation projects through 2018.

• The Dominican Republic’s power grid has unreliability that seems to stem from systemic problems within its infrastructure.

• Population growth in Honduras means an expected growth in energy demand of about seven percent annually.

• Mexico’s energy reform bill may open up new opportunities for U.S. technology and services.

• Panama is looking to make renewable energy account for 70-80 percent of the nation’s total energy production.

We are also leading several U.S. companies on a renewable energy trade mission to Peru in November, and we look forward to new opportunities and new business deals as a result of that mission.

The energy sectors of these countries face challenges in terms of generating, distributing, and transmitting power, and that means there are a wide variety of opportunities for U.S. companies.

One way to learn about these opportunities and how to take advantage of them is at the upcoming DISCOVER GLOBAL MARKETS: The Americas forum in Charlotte, N.C., Oct. 29-31.

This forum will be the premier international business conference for U.S. executives to explore new market development strategies in the Americas, featuring:

• One-on-one appointments with a buying delegation from Mexico;

• Opportunities to meet with commercial diplomats who work in these markets every day; and

• A breakout session focusing specifically on energy opportunities across the hemisphere.

We hope to see many U.S. companies taking advantage of the promising opportunities in Latin America!