Energía Minera power station

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Energía Minera power station (Termoeléctrica Energía Minera) is a cancelled power station in Puchuncaví, V Region, Chile.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Energía Minera power station Puchuncaví, V Region, Chile -32.733333, -71.416667 (approximate)

The map below shows the approximate location of the power station.

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Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology
Unit 1 cancelled coal: unknown 350 subcritical
Unit 2 cancelled coal: unknown 350 subcritical
Unit 3 cancelled coal: unknown 350 subcritical

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner Parent
Unit 1 Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile [100%] Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile [100.0%]
Unit 2 Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile [100%] Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile [100.0%]
Unit 3 Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile [100%] Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile [100.0%]

Project-level captive use details

  • Captive industry: Other Metals & Mining


Background

The $1.7bn Energía Minera power station was to be developed by Codelco, Chile's state-run copper mining company, and located near Codelco's Ventanas copper smelter in Puchuncaví, in Chile's Valparaíso region.

A contract was initially awarded to local electricity company Colbún in 2009, who obtained the necessary environmental permits but did not exercise its option and returned the project to Codelco in March 2012, bringing development of the plant to a halt.[1][2]. Even with development indefinitely stalled, local residents and Chilean environmental groups continued to protest the project.[3][4]

In February 2015, the environmental group Oceana urged Chile's national environmental authority SEA (Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental) to issue a statement declaring that Energía Minera's permit (Resolución de Calificación Ambiental) had expired, given the fact that more than five years had already passed since issuance of the original permit.[5] In June 2015, Puchuncaví's mayor Hugo Rojas expressed similar concerns about the plant's status, in response to news that the SEA was still considering a January 2015 petition from Energía Minera requesting extension of the plant's environmental permit.[6]

However, in an October 7, 2015 letter addressed to the Commission Environmental Assessment, Codelco said it decided "not to persevere" in the project and would "renounce all rights and obligations Exempt Resolution No. 267 of 2009 Regional Environmental Commission gives Minera SA Energy," effectively putting an end to the development of the project.[7]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. "Chile: Se congela construcción del mayor proyecto termoeléctrico de Codelco". Nueva Mujer. March 2012.
  2. "Codelco considers selling a 1050 MW project option". Power Engineering International. April 5, 2012.
  3. "Masiva movilización en Ventanas: "Vamos a morir con otra termoeléctrica"". OLCA (Observatorio Latinoamericano de Conflictos Ambientales). January 12, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. "Informe de Fiscalización Ambiental: Central Termoeléctrica Energía Minera," Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente, Gobierno de Chile, November 18, 2013.
  5. "Oceana solicita caducidad de la RCA de proyectos termoeléctricos Los Robles y Energía Minera," Oceana press release, February 3, 2015.
  6. "Termoeléctrica: alcalde critica a Codelco por mantener licencia," Mercurio Valparaiso, June 30, 2015.
  7. "Codelco no construirá proyecto termoeléctrico Energía Minera en Puchuncaví," Codelco, Dec 29, 2015

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.