MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Chilean court halts construction of huge power plant for the copper industry
Fishermen argued that the project would harm the environment and their livelihood A court in Chile has halted the construction of a huge power plant being built by a Spanish company, after fishermen charged that the massive project would harm the environment and ruin their livelihood.
The Punta Alcalde plant in northern Chile was being built by the Madrid-based company Endesa, Spain’s leading electric utility. The fishermen said the project would despoil the Llanos de Calle National Park and the Humboldt Penguin national reserve, both considered among Chile's natural treasures.
“This could compromise fishing industries resources, with repercussions as well as marine reserves and biodiversity in the region” Paula Villegas, an attorney for the fishermen, told the CNN Chile news network.
The fishermen were from the town of Huasco in Chile's Atacama region, about 800 kilometers north of the capital city Santiago.
The Punta Alcalde thermoelectric plant was being built to supply power to the region's huge copper mining concerns. At present, six plants operate in the region, a number insufficient to provide enough power to the energy-hungry mining industry.
Endesa officials said they were reviewing the ruling, which puts the massive 1.4 billion dollars project on hold indefinitely.
A court in Santiago issued the order on Friday but it was not unsealed until Tuesday. Regional environmental authorities had halted the project last year, but were overruled by federal officials who said construction could proceed if some changes were made.
Legal observers said if Endesa appeals the ruling, the case could make its way to Chile's Supreme Court. A court in March rejected a similar project, the 4.4bn dollars Castilla thermoelectric power plant.
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Read all commentsTWIMC
Mar 07th, 2013 - 08:33 am 0When will this people ever learn?
The days where they could do as they pleased in Chile are over.
Get used to it.
http://www.patagoniasinrepresas.cl/final/contenido.php?seccion=nuestrapropuesta
http://www.patagoniasinrepresas.cl/final/contenido.php?seccion=nuestrapropuesta
http://www.patagoniasinrepresas.cl/final/contenido.php?seccion=nuestrapropuesta
Think,
Mar 07th, 2013 - 01:26 pm 0Is that veiled criticism of our last 20 years of energy policy?
How untypically unpartisan of you.
I'll put it down to your early start this morning (8:30 GMT)!
This is my turf, the Islas Damas really is a treasure and i don't want to see it damaged. However, we need a coherent energy strategy. At the moment we seem to be aimless on this matter. We need the power for the mines, we need the mines for income, jobs, tax revenues etc.
If Endesa is falling over on environmental concerns then they need to improve on that. The energy must be provided. We also need to think big about solar power. we have 360 days a year of intense sunshine and vast uninhabited areas. It shouldn't be beyond our wit to derive a lot of energy from the sun. With more vision we could lead the way in this area.
How did the build get this far without satisfying the environmental audits in the planning phase.
Mar 07th, 2013 - 03:17 pm 0This is like half-building a hydroelectric dam and then stopping it because it 'could harm the environment'.
It does not happen this way. There must be a desire somewhere to re-write the contract and pay off a longer list of 'interested parties'.
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