Huasco power station
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Guacolda power station (also known as Huasco power station or Proyecto Termoeléctrico Guacolda) consists of five 152-megawatt (MW) coal-fired plants at Huasco in region III, Chile.
Contents
Location
The photo shows the plant in Huasco.
Background
Launched in 1992, the Guacolda subcritical coal project supplies power to the northern sector of Chile's SIC (Sistema Interconectado Central) electrical grid. The first unit at Guacolda began producing power in July 1995. Additional units came online in August 1996, July 2009 and March 2010.[1]
The fifth 152 MW unit received its environmental permit in August 2010[2] and is currently under construction by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, with operations scheduled to begin in the second half of 2015.[3] In September 2013, responding to tougher new government pollution restrictions, the plant announced a deal with the Austrian company Andritz to acquire a selective catalytic reduction plant, four desalinization plants and technology for cleaning exhaust fumes, all expected to be in place by early 2016.[4]
The new unit began operating in fourth quarter 2015.[5]
Environmental Impact
In September 2017, César Araya, a government official for the Atacama region, announced the implementation of a new environmental management plan for the Guacolda plant, designed to improve air quality by imposing a 22% reduction in particulate emissions over a five- to 10-year period. Chilean environmental groups including S.O.S Huasco, Chile Sustentable and the Asamblea Freirina criticized the plan, asserting that it provided insufficient public health protections and gave local industry excessive leeway to regulate itself and delay meaningful emissions reductions.[6]
Ownership
Since March 2014 the plant has been jointly owned by Chilean generator AES Gener (part of US-based AES Corp.) and the international investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).[7][8]
Project Details
- Sponsor: AES Gener/GIP
- Parent company:
- Location: Huasco, III Region, Chile
- Coordinates: -28.465013, -71.256541 (exact)
- Status: Operating
- Capacity:
- Unit 1: 152 MW
- Unit 2: 152 MW
- Unit 3: 152 MW
- Unit 4: 152 MW
- Unit 5: 152 MW
- Type: Subcritical
- In service: Unit 1: 1995; Unit 2: 1996; Unit 3: 2009; Unit 4: 2010; Unit 5: 2015
- Coal Type: Subbituminous, Bituminous
- Coal Source:
- Source of financing:
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ "Central termoeléctrica Guacolda,", Wikipedia, accessed March 26, 2014.
- ↑ "Proyectos en Construcción,", AES Gener website, accessed October 2015.
- ↑ "MHI Receives Full-turnkey Order to Build Coal-fired Power Plant in Chile - Fifth Plant Ordered by Empresa Eléctrica Guacolda," Mitsubishi Heavy Industries press release, Nov. 27, 2012.
- ↑ "Empresa austriaca moderniza planta energética Guacolda de Huasco,", La Nación, September 5, 2013.
- ↑ "AES Gener Overview," AES, September 2015
- ↑ "Comunidades rechazan nuevo plan ambiental para Huasco," UChile, September 19, 2017
- ↑ "Chile AES Gener brings in fund as partner on Guacolda power plant," Reuters, March 28, 2014.
- ↑ "Fitch: AES Gener Gains Control of Guacolda; Neutral to Ratings," Business Wire, March 31, 2014.
