Chile Forum

greg~judy wrote:
Damn it all (hmmm... maybe so?) - here we go again...!
looks like it's just about that time - to start building more damn dams?
(but just for "energy security" and "reduced costs" of course?)

greg~judy wrote:here we go again...
after a pause for appeal...
away we go, once more into the dam(n) fray...

Chile court lifts suspension on HidroAysen dam work --- 06 oct.

Chile court rules in favour of Patagonia HidroAysen dam ---04 apr.

Chile's Supreme Court has ruled in favour of a multi-billion dollar dam project in Patagonia, in the south of the country.

The court, the highest in the land, rejected an appeal by environmentalist groups who fear it will damage Patagonia's fragile ecosystem.

The project, which involves flooding 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) of land, still needs government approval.

It has sparked a number of protests, some of them violent.

Court spokesman Jaime Rodriguez said the Supreme Court had rejected seven appeals filed against the HidroAysen project, a joint venture by Spanish-owned energy company Endesa and Chile's Colbun.

The objections ranged from the detrimental effect opponents said it would have on the Laguna San Rafael National Park to the dangers it could pose to the Huemul, an endangered Andean species of the deer family.

The project would involve the building of five dams on two fast-flowing rivers that run into the Pacific - two on the river Baker, and three on the river Pascua.

They would drain lakes in a region that is famous for its rugged beauty - a landscape of glaciers, ice-fields, mountains and fjords.

The government says the dams are essential to meet Chile's growing energy needs.

Final decision

The Supreme Court decision follows a ruling in October 2011 by a lower court, which had also found in favour of the project.

Environmentalists appealed against that decision, taking it to the Supreme Court.

Wednesday's ruling was the last legal hurdle in the way of the project, which would see two major rivers dammed and five power stations built.

The project will, however, still need government approval for the building of a 2,000km-long (1,250 mile-long) transmission line channelling power to the capital, Santiago.

If the government gives its go-ahead to the transmission line, construction work on the project could begin in 2014, and is expected to take around 10 years.

HidroAysen says the project "represents a cost-effective, sustainable, reliable and ecologically viable source of energy".

damns....jpg (118.64 KiB) Viewed 70 times

Chilean High Court Blocks Patagonia Dam Project --- May 12, 2012

Santiago – Chile's Supreme Court has blocked a hydroelectric plant project in the Patagonia region, accepting an appeal filed by environmental groups.

The high court's ruling shot down a decision by the southern Aysen region's Environmental Impact Assessment System, or SEIA, which had given the green light for the Rio Cuervo Hydroelectric Project earlier this month, judiciary officials confirmed Friday.

The decision stated that the SEIA acted illegally in approving the 640 MW project and ignoring the National Geology and Mining Service's recommendation that the joint venture behind the plant - Swiss firm Xstrata Copper and Australian energy retailer Origin Energy - carry out a new soil survey.

The Supreme Court ruled that the new study must be conducted before the $645 million project, part of that joint venture's $3.6 billion Energia Austral hydroelectric project in Patagonia, can be approved.

The Rio Cuervo project was approved on May 8 by the Aysen region's SEIA despite the opposition of environmental groups and some lawmakers.

Other hydroelectric projects are also planned in Patagonia as part of energy-hungry Chile's attempts to increase electricity output.

A consortium made up of Endesa Chile, a unit of Spain's Endesa and the South American country's largest electric utility, and Chile's Colbun is building the 2.75 GW HidroAysen megaproject in Patagonia that involves the construction of five dams on the Pasca and Baker rivers and the flooding of 5,000 hectares (12,350 acres).

The Supreme Court gave the green light for that $3.2 billion project in April, rejecting appeals filed by lawmakers, regional organization and environmental groups.

Plans for the megaproject sparked large-scale protests last year in the Patagonia region and in Santiago.