Bachelet Government Dumps Baker, Pascua River Dams In Patagonia, HydroAisen Out
Chile's government canceled a controversial plan for five dams on two of Patagonia's wildest rivers Tuesday, after an eight-year battle between environmentalists and developers. Chile's Committee of Ministers overturned the environmental permits for the HidroAysén project, which would have put dams on the Baker and Pascua Rivers, flooding 5,900 hectares of land in order to generate hydroelectric power.
The committee had previously approved the permits in 2011, but has faced strong public opposition to the plan inside Chile and from the international environmental community. (See related blog post: "A Battle Over the Quest to Tap Patagonia's Rivers for Energy."
"Patagonia's rugged and varied wilderness is truly an environmental treasure," Amanda Maxwell, Latin America project director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement. "These giant dams would have put at risk the wilderness, traditional culture, and local tourism economy of this remarkable region."
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To replace the power from the canceled dam, Chile's government says it will add terminals to receive liquid natural gas from abroad and will invest heavily in energy efficiency. The government set a target of cutting energy consumption by 20 percent from the level that it would otherwise reach by 2025. The government has also set a target of producing 20 percent of the country's electricity from renewable sources by 2025 (it is currently about 6 percent). Officials have called for solar panels on public buildings and are considering expansion of solar into the Atacama Desert.
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http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/06/140610-chile-hidroaysen-dam-patagonia-energy-environment/
