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Mejillones power station (Termoeléctrica Mejillones) is an operating power station of at least 954-megawatts (MW) in Mejillones, Antofagasta, Chile with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as IEM2 (Unit 5), Red Dragon (Unit 4, Unit 5), IEM1 (Unit 4), Infraestructura Energética de Mejillones.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Mejillones power station | Mejillones, Antofagasta, Chile | -23.0892, -70.4103 (exact)[1][2] |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- 3, Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 4, Unit 5: -23.0892, -70.4103
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Operating[3][4][5] | fossil gas: natural gas[3][5][6] | 245[3][5] | combined cycle[2][7] | – | 2000[2][7] | – |
| Unit 1 | Operating | coal: bituminous | 160 | subcritical | – | 1996 | 2024 (planned)[8] |
| Unit 2 | Operating | coal: bituminous | 174 | subcritical | – | 1998 | 2024 (planned)[8] |
| Unit 4, timepoint 1 | Operating[9][10] | coal: bituminous[9][10] | 375[11] | subcritical | not found | 2019[9] | 2025 (planned)[12] |
| Unit 4, timepoint 2 | Announced[9][10] | fossil gas: natural gas, fossil liquids: diesel[9][10] | 375[11] | steam turbine | not found | 2025 (planned)[9] | – |
| Unit 5 | Cancelled | coal: bituminous | 375 | subcritical | – | – | – |
CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | ENGIE Energía Chile SA [100%][3][5] | ENGIE Energía Chile SA [100.0%] |
| Unit 1 | ENGIE Energía Chile SA [100%][3][5] | ENGIE Energía Chile SA [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | ENGIE Energía Chile SA [100%][3][5] | ENGIE Energía Chile SA [100.0%] |
| Unit 4, timepoint 1 | ENGIE Energía Chile SA [100%][3][5] | ENGIE Energía Chile SA [100.0%] |
| Unit 4, timepoint 2 | ENGIE Energía Chile SA [100%][3][5] | ENGIE Energía Chile SA [100.0%] |
| Unit 5 | ENGIE Energía Chile SA [100%][3][5] | ENGIE Energía Chile SA [100.0%] |
Unit-level fuel conversion details:
Unit 4: Announced conversion from coal to fossil gas in 2025.
Background
The newer unit of the Mejillones power station is alternatively known as Infraestructura Energética de Mejillones, IEM1, or Red Dragon. The plant is owned and operated by Engie Energía Chile S.A.(formerly E-CL)[13] and consists of two original coal-fired units with a combined capacity of 334 MW, a 246 MW gas-fired combined cycle unit, and a 375 MW coal-fired expansion unit.[14] Bituminous and subbituminous coal are used as combustion for the coal-fired units at the plant.[15]
Unit 1 (listed by various sources as 160 MW or 162 MW) and Unit 2 (listed as 172 MW or 174 MW)[16][14] were built in 1996 and 1998, respectively.[17] The gas-fired, combined cycle Unit 3 was brought online in 2000.[13][18][19]
Coal for the plant arrives via the Port of Mejillones.
Units 4 and 5, each 375 MW, also known respectively as IEM1 and IEM2 or collectively as the Red Dragon expansion project, received environmental approval in 2010.[16][20] In May 2012, E-CL sold 30% of the project to Chile-based Luksic Group and was reportedly looking for a second business partner to buy a 30% share, which would leave E-CL with a 40% stake.[21] To make construction of the plant viable, E-CL sought to sign an energy contract with one of northern Chile's large mining companies. However, as of July 2013, E-CL's General Manager Lodewijk Verdeyen acknowledged that no deal had been reached, effectively postponing construction of the plant indefinitely.[22][23]
E-CL continued to hold out hopes that a proposed new transmission line linking Chile's two major power grids (northern Chile's SING grid and central Chile's SIC grid) might help E-CL find customers for the plant's electricity further afield, in Chile's Atacama region. In December 2014, EC-L won a 15-year contract to supply 5,040 GWh of electricity annually to central Chile's SIC grid via the new transmission line, and the Mejillones power plant was mentioned as a potential energy supplier for the grid. However, the total size of the IEM expansion was reported as only 375 MW,[24] implying the expansion's second unit (Unit 5) might be deferred.[25]
In January 2015, Chilean energy minister Máximo Pacheco announced that the connector line, to be constructed by EC-L, would be ready by 2017[26][27], and the Chilean business news site La Tercera Negocios cited 2018 as the anticipated completion date for Infraestructura Energética's Unit 1.[28]
Doosan Škoda Power was chosen to supply the 375-MW steam turbine for the power plant, with South Korea’s SK Engineering & Construction providing EPC support.[29] Along with the 375 MW IEM1 power station, Engie's plans called for construction of a port designed to receive more than 6 million tons of coal and limestone a year. The total investment for the plant and port was estimated at US$1.1 billion.[30]
In October 2015, Engie Energia Chile's CFO Alex Freitas announced that IEM unit 1 was on schedule to begin commercial operations in July 2018, but that IEM unit 2 had been shelved following Engie's recent decision to stop building new coal-fired plants.[24][15] In mid-2016, Chile's national energy journal Electricidad confirmed the projected July 2018 start-up date.[31]
In October 2016, the Chilean business news site Pulso reported that Engie had put IEM2 up for sale in early 2016 and was also looking to sell its interests in the port project. Axel Leveque, CEO of Engie Energia Chile, was quoted as saying that Engie would not pursue further development of IEM2 due to the company's shifting focus towards renewable energy, but that he expected a buyer for IEM2 to eventually step forward, as the site, permits and engineering plans for the second unit are already in place.[32] However, given the fact that IEM2 is not mentioned in the comprehensive June 2019 plan for Chilean coal-fired plants put forward by President Sebastián Piñera and the Chilean Ministry of Energy, it appears that IEM2 has been definitively cancelled.[16]
As of December 2016, IEM1 was 57% complete and still on track to begin commercial operations in mid-2018, while the port was 58% complete.[33]
In November 2017 E-CL announced successful completion of the 600km-long transmission line between Mejillones (Antofagasta region) and Cardones (Atacama region), allowing Chile's two major power grids (northern Chile's SING grid and central Chile's SIC grid) to interconnect.[34]
In October 2018 Unit 4 (IEM1) began test operations.[35] In November 2018 it was reported the the plant would be commissioned in Q1 2019.[36]
Unit 4 began commercial operations in May 2019.[37][38]
Environmental & Social Impact
Mejillones Unit 4 (IEM1) is the largest coal-fired plant in Chile, consuming 228 tons of coal per hour and immense quantities of water. Environmental groups note that despite Engie's much-touted June 2019 retirement of two units at the nearby Tocopilla power station, the commissioning of Mejillones Unit 4 actually represents a significant increase in Engie's coal-fired electricity production in the Antofagasta region, which according to a 2019 study by Universidad Católica and Chile Sustentable suffers some of the nation’s highest rates of lung cancer, asthma, and other respiratory illnesses.[39][40]
In July 2020, a coalition including the environmental NGO FIMA and the Mejillones Association of Tourist Service Providers petitioned Chile's Comptroller General's office to rule on the legality of continued operations by Engie's Mejillones Units 1 and 2. The complainants maintain that the older Mejillones units, which pre-date the enactment of Chile's Environmental Impact Assessment System, are operating without necessary safeguards and thereby causing damage to the environment and the health of local residents.[41]
In October 2022, a large fire broke out in the Port of Mejillones as coal was being unloaded for transport to the power station.[42][43] The Municipality of Mejillones filed a complaint with Chile's national environmental authority requesting an investigation of potential toxic impacts on air and water quality[44]
Planned retirement of coal-fired units 1 & 2
In June 2019, Chilean president Sebastián Piñera announced a plan drafted by the Chilean Ministry of Energy calling for the decommissioning of all Chilean coal-fired plants by 2040.[45]
In December 2019 Engie announced that it would retire Unit 1 and Unit 2 by the end of 2024 instead of the previously planned date of 2040.[14] The exact retirement date for Unit 4 (IEM1) remained uncertain, but plant owner Engie agreed to consult with the government every five years to renew details of the plan, taking into account management and shareholder input, Engie's legal obligations to meet environmental targets and supply contracted levels of power, and other criteria.[16]
As of December 2020, Units 1 and 2 were still scheduled for retirement in December 2024.[46] As of January 2023, Engie's most recent annual report confirmed this December 2024 shutdown date.[18]
As of June 2023, the following (2022) annual report from Engie confirmed the late 2024 shutdown date for Units 1 and 2. [47]
The Chilean Ministry of Energy published a decarbonization plan in early 2024, confirming the planned retirement of Units 1 and 2 in 2024.[48] An Engie statement in March 2024 stated that the company's remaining coal-fired units in Mejillones would close "by 2025."[49]
Planned conversion to natural gas of coal-fired unit IEM1
In April 2021, Engie reconfirmed the 2024 closure plan for Units 1 and 2, while announcing plans to retrofit the IEM1 plant to run on natural gas by 2025.[50][51][52][53][54]
In March 2022, Chile's environmental authority SEA approved the IEM plant's conversion to natural gas[55]; the cost of the conversion was estimated at US $50 million.[56] The plant's existing infrastructure was expected to be replaced by new dual-fuel burners capable of running on natural gas or diesel.[57]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ https://goo.gl/maps/Dmi7jdG6gNxPXE6U7.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20240125112836/https://globalenergyobservatory.org/form.php?pid=45384. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 https://web.archive.org/web/20240125091513/https://www.engie.cl/reporte-integrado/. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240125091320/https://energia.gob.cl/sites/default/files/compendio_cartografico_diciembre_2022.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 https://web.archive.org/web/20240125091507/https://generadoras.cl/empresas-asociadas/engie. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220130211101/http://www.cdec-sing.cl/html_docs/anuario2014/esp/files/assets/common/downloads/CDEC%20SING%202014.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220130211101/http://www.cdec-sing.cl/html_docs/anuario2014/esp/files/assets/common/downloads/CDEC%20SING%202014.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240529165736/https://energia.gob.cl/sites/default/files/seguridad_abastecimiento_-_11_enero.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 May 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 https://web.archive.org/web/20240125091638/https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/electric-power/042821-chile-speeds-up-plans-to-close-coal-plants-to-retire-half-its-fleet-by-2025. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20240125091647/https://www.revistaei.cl/2022/03/29/avanza-descarbonizacion-engie-obtiene-aprobacion-para-reconvertir-a-gas-natural-su-planta-de-carbon/. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 11.0 11.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20221206210429/https://www.chilesustentable.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Minuta-Anuncios-Descarbonizacion-04062019_CHS.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 06 December 2022.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240529165953/https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/engie-makes-latest-announcement-to-disconnect-coal-fired-plants-in-chile. Archived from the original on 29 May 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Anuario y Estadísticas de Operación (p 34)" (PDF). CDEC/SING. 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Engie, AES to retire 674 MW of coal capacity in Chile earlier than agreed, Renewables Now, Dec. 10, 2019
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Infraestructura Energética Mejillones: Potencia en Construcción". Revista Construcción Minera (Issuu). August 1, 2016.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 "Plan de Descarbonización y Retiro de Centrales Termoeléctricas a Carbón en Chile, Anuncio del gobierno de Sebastián Piñera" (PDF). Chile Sustentable. June 4, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Mejillones Coal Plant," Global Energy Observatory, accessed June 2018
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Memoria Integrada 2021 (pp 14, 106)". ENGIE Energía Chile. April 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Engie". Generadoras de Chile. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Ficha del Proyecto: Infraestructura Energética Mejillones," Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental, 2010
- ↑ "Luksic negocia comprar 30% de nuevo proyecto de E-CL en Mejillones". Minería Chilena. May 8, 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "E-CL posterga proyecto por US$ 1.500 millones en el norte," Economía y Negocios, July 5, 2013
- ↑ "E.CL Falls After Postponing Northern Chile Power Project," Bloomberg, July 5, 2013
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Chile's E-CL to shelve 375MW coal project," BN Americas, October 30, 2015
- ↑ "French energy firms win contracts in Chilean electricity tender". S&P Global Platts. December 12, 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Máximo Pacheco anunció que interconexión eléctrica entre el SIC y SING estará lista el 2017". Radio Duna. January 29, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Chile to Connect Its 2 Major Power Grids by 2017," Latin American Herald Tribune, January 30, 2015.
- ↑ "La revancha de GDF Suez en Chile". La Tercera / Electricidad. February 2, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Doosan Škoda Power to supply steam turbine for Chile's power plant". Prague Monitor. 2016-02-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Obras en nueva central termoeléctrica y puerto en Mejillones registran avance de hasta casi 34%," Electricidad, May 24, 2016
- ↑ "Infraestructura Energética Mejillones: El proyecto de E-CL que usará la línea de interconexión SIC-SING," Electricidad, June 8, 2016
- ↑ "Engie está "en conversaciones" para enajenar puerto de Mejillones". Pulso / Electricidad. October 4, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Engie: Hay que avanzar en integración energética en la región," El Mercurio, April 7, 2017
- ↑ "Con Éxito TEN Finaliza Proyecto y Da Inicio a Histórica Interconexión Eléctrica en Chile". Arica al Día. November 28, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ ENGIE ENERGÍA CHILE REPORTED EBITDA OF US$96 MILLION AND NET INCOME OF US$43 MILLION IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2019, Engie, Apr. 30, 2019
- ↑ End to the coal age: Engie enlists the opening of the last plant of this type in Chile LT Pulso, Nov. 26, 2018
- ↑ Más carbón al aire en Mejillones: La firma francesa Engie inaugura nueva central termoeléctrica en la región de Antofagasta, El Diario de Antofagasta, May 30, 2019
- ↑ "Entró en operación la última central a carbón del país en manos de Engie". Electricidad. May 22, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 39.0 39.1 González, Karen (August 25, 2019). "Estudio UC: habitantes de zonas con termoeléctricas se enferman 4 veces más - La Tercera". La Tercera. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
- ↑ Fajardo, Marco (August 29, 2019). "La ironía de Mejillones y Tocopilla: zona alberga a nueva termoeléctrica en región con la mayor tasa de cáncer al pulmón del país". El Mostrador. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Drama ambiental en Mejillones: Piden a Contraloría pronunciarse por el funcionamiento de Central Termoeléctrica". El Diario de Antofagasta. 2020-07-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Reportan incendio en muelle terminal de Mejillones". El Mostrador. October 1, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Enorme incendio afectó al terminal Mejillones: se habrá originado durante una descarga de carbón". Fundación Terram. October 4, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "El SMA intervino por incendio en Puerto Mejillones". Antofagasta TV / YouTube. October 5, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Presidente Piñera presenta plan para cerrar todas las centrales energéticas a carbón y que Chile sea carbono neutral". Gobierno de Chile. June 4, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Retiro del carbón se reactivará en enero de 2022 con salida de dos unidades de Central Tocopilla". Electricidad. December 31, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "MEMORIA INTEGRADA 2022" (PDF). Engie. 2022. Retrieved June 2023.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help); line feed character in|title=at position 8 (help) - ↑ Plan de Descarbonización, Ministerio de Energia, Government of Chile, January 11, 2024
- ↑ Focus on ENGIE’s activities in Chile, Engie, March 5, 2024
- ↑ "Engie anuncia el desarrollo de cartera de energías renovables por cerca de 2.000 MW y una salida total del carbón para 2025". Engie. April 29, 2021.
- ↑ "Gobierno anuncia el retiro del 50% de las centrales a carbón al 2025". Ministerio del Medio Ambiente. April 28, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Engie aumenta su compromiso de descarbonización, sumándose a Enel y dejando en evidencia el maquillaje verde de Aes Gener". Chile Sustentable. April 28, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Chile speeds up plans to close coal plants, to retire half its fleet by 2025 | S&P Global Platts". www.spglobal.com. April 28, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Tras anuncio de Engie de salida total del carbón para 2025, ambientalistas apuntan a Aes Gener y Colbún". El Mostrador. April 28, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Reporte de proyectos en Construcción e Inversión en el Sector Energía mes de marzo de 2022 - Tabla 6. Centrales de generación aprobadas. Mes de marzo de 2022 (p 30)" (PDF). Ministerio de Energía. March 2022.
{{cite web}}: line feed character in|title=at position 49 (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Engie: reconversión: planta carbón: Mejillones". Revista Electricidad. March 29, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Engie: reconversión: planta carbón: Mejillones". Revista Electricidad. March 29, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Additional data
To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
