News Categories Political News CHILE: HIRSCH SLAMS HIDROASYSEN DAM PROJECT
| CHILE: HIRSCH SLAMS HIDROASYSEN DAM PROJECT |
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| Written by Benjamin Witte | |
| Thursday, 23 April 2009 | |
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Presidential Candidate Calls Proposal “Inefficient” And “Harmful” Large-scale dams such as those being proposed by HidroAysén, a joint venture created in 2006 by Chilean utility Colbún and Italian-owned electricity giant Endesa, are inefficient and allow for an over-concentration of power in one single electricity source, explained Hirsch. Chile would do better, he said, to create a diverse electricity matrix that depends on various sources, including non-conventional renewables such as wind and solar power. “But beyond all of that, we’re talking about an area that’s unique in the world. There is nowhere else like Chilean Patagonia,” said Hirsch. “With these huge dams they’ll destroy the area. They’ll build them without any plans in place for what to do with the dams once they’re no longer useful. It would be hugely irresponsible, something for which future generations would have to pay the price.” Hirsch made his comments following a meeting with leaders of the Patagonia Defense Council (CDP), an umbrella group that for the past two years has waged a high-profile international campaign dubbed Patagonia sin Represas (Patagonia without Dams). Like Hirsch, the CDP and its allies argue that the HidroAysén project, slated for Region XI’s Baker and Pascua Rivers, would cause irreparable environmental damage and open up Chilean Patagonia to further industrial exploitation. The project, which promises an installed generating capacity of 2,750 MW, would also give the Endesa-Colbún partnership a virtual monopoly in Chile’s electricity generating market, critics warn. The two companies currently boast a combined installed capacity of more than 7,000 MW. Chile’s overall capacity is 12,847 MW, according to the government’s National Energy Commission (CNE). “We’re convinced HidroAysén is unnecessary. What’s more, it’s negative for future energy development. It’s negative for the diversification of the electricity matrix,” said CDP head Patricio Rodrigo. “It would mean that a monopoly which already produces 74 percent of the electricity consumed in Chile’s central interconnected grid would control more than 90 percent. That’s the kind of private monopoly that’s simply unacceptable in a country that’s looking to develop.” Hirsch represented the left-wing Juntos Podemos (Together We Can) coalition in the last presidential election, earning 5.4 percent of the vote. This time around Hirsch is competing within the coalition against Sen. Alejandro Navarro of the Broad Social Movement (MAS), Communist Party (PC) President Guillermo Teillier and Jorge Arrate of the Allendite Socialists. Juntos Podemos is expected to nominate one of the four contenders during a convention scheduled for this coming weekend. By Benjamin Witte ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) |
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