HidroAysén (Pronounced: ) was a controversial megaproject that aimed to build five hydroelectric power plants in Chile's Aysén Region, two on the Baker River and three on the Pascua River (with government subvention included to help relief costs). Planned for construction during the 2010s, the project was definitely cancelled by its contractors in November 2017.
The total expected installed power was 2,750 MW, generating an average per year, which corresponds to 21% of Central Interconnected System's (SIC) demand by 2020. A 3,000 high-voltage direct current line would have been built between Aysén and the capital Santiago to feed the SIC, including a submarine portion between Chaitén and Puerto Montt. The projected cost was estimated at 3.2 billion U.S. dollars (1.5 trillion Chilean pesos), and would have employed 5,000 workers from Chile and abroad, making it the largest energy project in the country's history.
HidroAysén is owned by a corporation which is a joint venture between Endesa (a subsidiary of Italian conglomerate ENEL), with a 51% stake and by Colbún S.A. which owns the other 49%.
History The dams were approved on May 9, 2011, under the government of President Sebastián Piñera. The decision was made by eleven counselors on a committee. Ten voted in favor, with one abstention. Twenty-seven days earlier the Foreign Investment Committee was already aware of the decision ahead of time. If completed these companies would own 80% of the Chilean energy market together establishing a duopoly. The project was placed on hold in early June 2012 due to protests. In June 2014, the project was rejected by the government of Chile, due to calls from environmentalists.
Stakeholders Endesa & Enel: The utility company Endesa was previously named Endesa Chile during the 70s and 80s when it had been a company of the state. Under Endesa Chile, water rights were in national hands because of national government control over the company. However, this changed after the privatization of Endesa in 1997 when it was bought by Spanish Investors through Endesa Spain, which was owned by the Italian utility company, Enel. This transition shifted 80% of Chile's non-consumptive water rights to Endesa Spain and Enel. Water rights were no longer nationalized like previously but were now owned by private Spanish investors. In 2006, The Chilean utility company Colbún and Endesa formed a partnership under the name HydroAysén.Patagonia Se Levanta. 2011. [film] Northern Patagonia Ice Cap: Brian Lilla (Director), Greg Miller (Producer), Scott Douglas (Producer), Jonathan Leidich (Field Producer and Logistics Coordinator). Endesa had owned fifty-one percent of the project, and Colbun had owned forty-nine percent.
HydroAysén: HydroAysén had campaigned and marketed the development of the dams as a project to meet the energy demands of the Northern population of Santiago, projecting 500 million dollars would be saved a year by the country if the construction was completed. However, a majority of this hydroelectricity would have been directed to the mining industry, specifically copper extraction. The company also marketed the dams as sustainable because they would replace several coal plants. The general manager of HydroAysén, Hernan Salazar, had characterized the project as sustainable in an interview with Patagonia Rising because it would benefit the entire country and for generations to come.
The creation of dams would have caused major flooding in the area of Patagonia, affecting the local population and would force the people to be displaced. HidroAysén had a two-stage plan for the displaced population of Patagonia. The first step would have been to inform the families who would have potentially been affected by the flooding. The company would have Informed the families of the project, the impact, and the project's programs. Supplemental to this, HidroAysén would then survey the population's socioeconomic situation to comprehend the full extent of how the project would affect the population. Next, authorities would require compensation to these affected families that HidroAysén would then pay. The second stage would have been to create a relocation agreement with the residents. Additionally, the power lines used for the transmission of the energy would have cut through 9 regions, 67 communities, 42 protected areas, and thousands of properties. The Senator of Aysén during this time, Antonio Horvath, was opposed to approving the project because of the lack of transparency from HydroAysén of where these power lines would cut through.
Local Residents: Residents who live in the countryside are self-sufficient and have traditional customs centralized in the Baker River and the ecosystems of Patagonia. Gauchos make up a large portion of the population of Patagonia and specialize in the production of timber, the breeding of animals such as sheep and cows, and the production of wool. In the village of Caleta Tortel, which is placed at the mouth of the Baker River, the production of timber and transportation of timber through the river is a big part of the economy for those living along the Baker River. In a survey done in the village where 86% of the residents 18 or older had participated, 76% answered that they were opposed to the dams. This opposition was expressed in January 2008 when a group of gauchos had ridden across the area of Patagonia to recruit local people to ride to the capital to protest the construction of the dams. At the capital, there were more than 300 people on their horses in protest.
Some residents were opposed to the idea of HidroAysén taking control of the water of the river and having to ask for permission for the usage of water. Others had feared that they would experience the same fate of the Mapuche/ Pehuenche people of the Bíobío River. Endesa promised the residents of the Bíobío River that they would be able to use the energy from the dams for free and that they would receive compensation. Instead, the residents were charged extremely high electricity bills, given no compensation, and were relocated to homes that had no direct source of water, causing significant difficulty to these farm-based villages.
However, not all residents of the Patagonia area were opposed to the construction of the dams. In the Cochrane area, some gaucho families were in favor of the dams in order to sell their land. In the town area of Cochrane, merchants and business owners had approved of the dam because of the influx of workers from HidroAysén. These workers would have increased the local economy. At the same time, these same residents also voiced their opposition to the change in the way of life the dams would have created.
Protests
The lack of transparency in the decision-making process was widely criticized by the Chilean public; In fact it elicited nationwide street protests. The main detractors hoped to initiate legal actions against the project, and assured that the public demonstrations would be massive.
The planning process was harshly criticized by environmentalists and the local population of the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region. According to opinion polls in April 2011, the project was opposed by 61% of the population despite a massive public relations campaign in support of it. Later that same month upon government approval of the project opposition climbed to 74%.
The project was opposed by Greenpeace Chile with the slogan "¡Paren el circo, No a hidroaysén!" (Stop the circus, no Hidroaysén!) and "¡Salva la Patagonia!" (Save the Patagonia!).¡Paren El Circo! No a HidroAysén. Greenpeace Chile. 6 de mayo de 2011. Local groups showed their opposition to the project with banners and bumper stickers reading, "Patagonia Sin Represas" ("Patagonia without dams").
HidroAysén launched a marketing campaign that was highlighted by fear-mongering that showed what life would be like without new energy in Chile produced by the project. This marketing attempt ultimately failed as those who were fervently against the dam in the first place were not swayed. Chileans around the country were too environmentally aware to be tricked by this marketing attempt and in the meantime would do nothing to stop protest and outrage against the project.
HidroAysén was met with strong opposition. Protests across the country did major damage as public property was destroyed totaling over $100,000. 28 police officers were injured during these encounters with some protests totaling over 4,000 participants. These protesters mostly consisted of environmentalists concerned with the country's future if HidroAysén was followed through. Polls were taken by various outlets which showed what the Chilean public thought of the energy project. In 2007, when the idea of HidroAysén was conceived around 38% of the Chilean population was against the project which is quite a small number when compared to the number of people that would be outraged by the project in the near future. Only four years later, in 2011, depending on what poll you looked at, anywhere from 60 to 74% of the population were against the construction of HidroAysén.
Protests against HydroAysén began to gain funding from environmental organizations outside of the country due to the increased press the topic was getting because of the ongoing disagreement between the majority of the government and the public in Chile. These organizations that helped fund the protests include the Natural Resource Defense Council as well as International Rivers. The Patagonia Defense Council would also play a large role in the conflict as they started a legal battle with the country that would coincide with the protests. Protests would continue to open new avenues of opposition against the project as celebrities from all walks of life in Chile would weigh in on HidroAysén, supporting those who had been against the project from the beginning. Another major win for the protesters came in the form of local government officials who spoke out against HidorAysén as they feared it would have detrimental effects on the areas that they governed.
Court case Corporación Chile Ambiente (Chile Environmental Corporation) along with private citizens Elizabeth Schindele and Fran Yave Schindele filed a lawsuit against the megaproject based on water rights. They lost their case in the district court and later the supreme court rejected their appeal under the procedural rationale that such water rights cases cannot be appealed beyond the discretion of the lower courtChilean Supreme Court rejects claims of water rights in HidroAysén , ILoveChile.cl, October 27, 2011, retrieved October 30, 2011 In June 2014, the project was rejected by the Chilean government due to its alleged environmental impact, however the decision may be appealed.