June 10, the Chilean government definitively rejected the controversial HidroAysén project, which proposed to construct five hydroelectric power plants in the country’s southern region. The decision comes after years of struggle by environmental groups and communities affected, who warned the world of the project’s destructive consequences for Patagonia. The Patagonia Without Dams team celebrating the Chilean ministers’ decision to reject the HidroAysén project. Photo: Greenpeace Chile. "It is a historic day," stated Patagonia Without Dams’ international coordinator, Juan Pablo Orrego, in response to the government’s decision. "I am thrilled that the public – because this is a public victory – was finally able to inspire the government to do the right thing with the giant project," he added. The decision was made by a committee of ministers of Michelle Bachelet’s government, who debated the issue for three hours before announcing the final decision. The committee, comprised of ministers of Environment, Energy, Agriculture, Mining, Economy and Health, unanimously accepted the 35 petitions presented in opposition to the project, 34 of which were made by communities and opponents of the initiative, and one by the company involved. With the announcement of the decision, which took six years to arrive - after various court battles - the people took to the streets of Patagonia to celebrate. "The committee of ministers has decided to accept the appeals made by the community and the citizenry, and vacated the environmental impact resolution for the HidroAysén project. Thus with this final administrative act, the hydroelectric project has been officially rejected," emphasized Minister of Environment, Pablo Badenier. The company belonging to Italian firm Endesa-Enel (51% shareholder) and Chilean company Colbún, has 30 days to appeal the decision, before an environmental tribunal in Valdivia, in the south of the country. President Bachelet anticipated her government’s rejection of HidroAysén during her presidential campaign which brought her return her to power in March 2014, commenting that the project was not viable. In May, Bachelet presented her Energy Agenda, which emphasized the development of unconventional renewable energy and the use of natural gas, in contrast to former President Sebastián Piñera’s (2010-2014) plan which supported use of hydroelectricity. The HidroAysén project was submitted August 2007, and proposed the construction of five hydroelectric power plants along the rivers Baker and Pascua, in Chile’s Patagonia. By 2008, 32 of the 34 institutions from which opinions were requested had expressed their opposition to the project. The southern region of Aysén, some 1,600 kilometers south of Santiago where the project would have been carried out, is considered, by environmental groups, to be a natural world heritage site given the vastness of its biodiversity. Furthermore, it is one of the largest fresh water reserves on the planet. The project included the construction of the plants in over a 5,910 hectare area, and promised a total generating capacity of 2,750 megawatts, supplied by the Central Interconnected System (SIC). Chile currently has the capacity to generate 17,000 megawatts: 74% via SIC, 25% through the Great North Interconnected System (SING) and the rest via medium size networks from southern regions of Aysén and Magallanes. The project also included a 1,912 kilometer transmission line, the longest in the world which would pass through 66 municipalities and nine of Chile’s 15 regions. Minister of Energy Máximo Pacheco, stated that the HidroAysén project "suffers from significant shortcomings in its realization, stemming from the lack of due care and attention it pays to aspects related to the people who live there." He added that as minister of Energy "I have voted with complete confidence and clarity in relation to this project." Pacheco continued "the decision which has been made today in no way compromises the energy policy which we have designed in the Energy Agenda, but relates specifically to one project." According to environmentalist Orrego, the rejection of the HidroAysén project "implies the end of the era of thermoelectric and hydroelectric energy mega projects, an era which ended a long time ago in developed countries." Chile imports 97% of its hydrocarbon needs and its energy system is composed of 40% hydroelectricity, with the rest from polluting fossil fuel thermoelectric plants. The energy shortage in Chile has now placed the price of producing a single megawatt among the highest in Latin America, over 160 dollars. The same amount costs 55 dollars in Peru, 40 in Colombia and 10 in Argentina. The Association of Electric Companies’ executive director, Rodrigo Castillo, said that the resolution "refers to one project in particular and not the future of exploiting water resources in the south of Chile." René Muga general manager of the Chilean Generators Association however, stated that the HidroAysén project represents 40% of the country’s energy needs for the next 10 years, equivalent, according to his figures, to what seven or eight coal plants could produce. "This energy is crucial," he stated. Orrego commented that the government’s decision could have "important political consequences. It is a brave move," he said, "no doubt, inspired by the public." Orrego recalled that "many years of fighting have resulted in this resounding public victory." The group Patagonia Without Dams, formed of citizens and environmental organizations, led by Orrego and well-known environmentalist Sara Larraín, broke down barriers and mobilized an entire country in opposition to HidroAysén. According to surveys, 74% of Chileans interviewed oppose the project and at the beginning of 2011, more than 100,000 people marched in protest against HidroAysén, a demonstration which opened the door to others, such as those of studens, in which thousands of young people took to the streets to proffer their own demands. Orrego, ecologist and winner of the Right Livelihood Award 1998, thanked Chile "because the whole country has made this campaign." Patricio Segura, from the Citizens Coalition for the Aysén Life Reserve, stated that the government’s decision "is necessary in terms of sustainability and to construct an energy system which we as a county deserve." "We hoped that President Michelle Bachelet’s political commitment would be fulfilled, but also that an irregular project which advanced on the basis of lobbying and pressure, would be discarded," he added. Segura recognized that the project "generated an astonishing polarization in the region of Aysén," which has consequently laid the foundations to "sit down and discuss what is really important, which is the Aysén Life Reserve," he said. "We must now talk about a sovereign and sustainable energy system for the Aysén region, including water resources and wind energy, abundant in our region," he concluded. (IPS)
