Presidential Hopefuls in Chile Speak Out Against Wilderness Dam
Presidential Hopefuls in Chile Speak Out Against Wilderness Dam
By Marianela Jarroud
SANTIAGO, Jun 27 2013 (IPS) - Diversifying the energy mix and the spectre of energy shortages in Chile are central issues in the campaign for the primary elections this Sunday Jun. 30, when presidential candidates will be nominated for the Nov. 17 elections.
Particularly controversial is the HidroAysén project, which aims to build five large hydropower plants on the Baker and Pascua rivers, 1,600 kilometres south of Santiago, in Chile’s Patagonia wilderness region.
This is the most controversial project in recent years, raising hackles among local people and environmental activists on the one hand, while being presented as a concrete solution to the energy crisis forecast for the coming decade by its proponents, on the other.
Centre-left presidential hopeful and former president Michelle Bachelet (2006-2010), who is in the lead in voter intention polls, said on Jun. 23 that “HidroAysén is not viable, so in my view it should not go forward.”
Potential centre-right presidential candidate Andrés Allamand, of National Renewal (RN – Renovación Nacional), agreed that the project “is dead.”
HidroAysén, owned by Colbún, a company controlled by the Chilean consortium Matte and the European firm Endesa-Enel, is designed to occupy an area of 5,910 hectares.
More:
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/06/presidential-hopefuls-in-chile-speak-out-against-wilderness-dam/
[center]
Patagonia sin represas - pagatonia without dams[/center]
