Unconventional Energy in Argentinian Andes: Territories of Dependence or Transition?

In the transition to sustainable energy systems, pressures arise on natural resources and territories. In Latin America, since the end of the 20th century, countries have sought to diversify their energy mixes, promoting the use of unconventional resources. In Argentina, the provinces of Neuquén and...

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Main Authors: Sofia Villalba, Alejandra Ise, Luciana Clementi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institut de Géographie Alpine 2021-12-01
Series:Revue de Géographie Alpine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/rga/9704
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author Sofia Villalba
Alejandra Ise
Luciana Clementi
author_facet Sofia Villalba
Alejandra Ise
Luciana Clementi
author_sort Sofia Villalba
collection DOAJ
description In the transition to sustainable energy systems, pressures arise on natural resources and territories. In Latin America, since the end of the 20th century, countries have sought to diversify their energy mixes, promoting the use of unconventional resources. In Argentina, the provinces of Neuquén and San Juan are well endowed with gas, solar and wind resources. There, large exploitation projects reposition the territories on a global and national scale. This paper aims to analyse the transition process in territories of the central Andes, considering the actors and infrastructures linked to unconventional energy resources. The main hypothesis is that regardless of the resource exploited, the projects strengthen the centralised energy system, perpetuate the inherited territorial trajectories, and thus restrict the energy transition to the replacement of energy sources. The methodological approach is based both on primary data—collected through semi-structured interviews and field observations—, and secondary data, obtained from research articles, reports and press releases. The unconventional energy resources and their associated projects in Neuquén and San Juan represent a weak transition in the territories, given the major role played by external actors and the inertia of pre-existing infrastructures.
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publisher Institut de Géographie Alpine
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series Revue de Géographie Alpine
spelling doaj-art-491a64f478ce42f08cc8b9431425a39f2025-01-10T15:54:02ZengInstitut de Géographie AlpineRevue de Géographie Alpine0035-11211760-74262021-12-01109310.4000/rga.9704Unconventional Energy in Argentinian Andes: Territories of Dependence or Transition?Sofia VillalbaAlejandra IseLuciana ClementiIn the transition to sustainable energy systems, pressures arise on natural resources and territories. In Latin America, since the end of the 20th century, countries have sought to diversify their energy mixes, promoting the use of unconventional resources. In Argentina, the provinces of Neuquén and San Juan are well endowed with gas, solar and wind resources. There, large exploitation projects reposition the territories on a global and national scale. This paper aims to analyse the transition process in territories of the central Andes, considering the actors and infrastructures linked to unconventional energy resources. The main hypothesis is that regardless of the resource exploited, the projects strengthen the centralised energy system, perpetuate the inherited territorial trajectories, and thus restrict the energy transition to the replacement of energy sources. The methodological approach is based both on primary data—collected through semi-structured interviews and field observations—, and secondary data, obtained from research articles, reports and press releases. The unconventional energy resources and their associated projects in Neuquén and San Juan represent a weak transition in the territories, given the major role played by external actors and the inertia of pre-existing infrastructures.https://journals.openedition.org/rga/9704Argentinaenergy transitionUnconventional energyprojectsAndean territories
spellingShingle Sofia Villalba
Alejandra Ise
Luciana Clementi
Unconventional Energy in Argentinian Andes: Territories of Dependence or Transition?
Revue de Géographie Alpine
Argentina
energy transition
Unconventional energy
projects
Andean territories
title Unconventional Energy in Argentinian Andes: Territories of Dependence or Transition?
title_full Unconventional Energy in Argentinian Andes: Territories of Dependence or Transition?
title_fullStr Unconventional Energy in Argentinian Andes: Territories of Dependence or Transition?
title_full_unstemmed Unconventional Energy in Argentinian Andes: Territories of Dependence or Transition?
title_short Unconventional Energy in Argentinian Andes: Territories of Dependence or Transition?
title_sort unconventional energy in argentinian andes territories of dependence or transition
topic Argentina
energy transition
Unconventional energy
projects
Andean territories
url https://journals.openedition.org/rga/9704
work_keys_str_mv AT sofiavillalba unconventionalenergyinargentinianandesterritoriesofdependenceortransition
AT alejandraise unconventionalenergyinargentinianandesterritoriesofdependenceortransition
AT lucianaclementi unconventionalenergyinargentinianandesterritoriesofdependenceortransition