Multinational construction company Hochtief JV signs contract with SN Power and Pacific Hydro for Tinguiririca River hydropower project

The Hochtief JV lined up to build the 160MW La Confluencia hydropower scheme in Chile has signed a Euro175M (US$253M) contract with the developer consortium.

The project involves the design and construction of powerhouse to take two turbines, approximately 19km of tunnel and also two river diversions. Hochtief’s local subsidiary will undertake the work in partnership with Chilean firm Tecsa on a 70:30 basis, and the are working on a engineer, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.

The scheme is being developed 150km south of Santiago by a consortium of Australian utility Pacific Hydro and SN Power, which is a Norwegian venture of utility Statkraft and the Norfund Power Invest AS fund.

La Confluencia is to be built in the Tinguiririca valley upstream of the La Higuera scheme, which the developer is also building and should be online later this year. The new project is to be commissioned in 2010. Each project is to generate approximately 1400GWh annually.

The total budget of La Confluencia is US$350M and approximately 60% of the project cost will be debt financed.

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Kyoto deal to clear air for Australian investors, say experts - Pacific Hydro's manager says, Australia is "now open for business".

"There is no doubt that if we grab hold of this with both hands there is a lot of money to be made."

[December 5, 2007] BUSINESS will reap benefits from the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, with easier access to global carbon projects and multimillion-dollar investments expected to flow into Australia.

Investors, as well as industry experts, have hailed Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's decision to ratify the 10-year-old global climate change agreement, saying Australian businesses will be among the main winners.

(What this will do for Global Warming is another story:

"The Kyoto Protocol has proved totally ineffective on the practical side", says Italy's Enel / Endesa CEO

Profiteering from Carbon Trading - How the Global Carbon Market will Destroy Patagonia, Chile

Time to ditch Kyoto - Mitigating European Pollution with Patagonia Dams

Global warming has a financial upside )

Australia will be able to participate more easily in two project-based mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol that may be used to meet its abatement target — "joint implementation" (JI) and the "clean development mechanism" (CDM).

Rob Fowler, managing director of Abatement Solutions Asia Pacific, said the benefits to Australian businesses of ratifying Kyoto would be twofold.

"It makes it much easier for Australian companies to invest in renewable energy, clean development and energy efficiency in other parts of the world. It is a very big driver. Previously, if companies wanted to (participate in CDM) they had to seek approval from the UK or the Netherlands," he said.

"Secondly, if the Rudd Government decides to use a (joint implementation) mechanism, then Australian companies could do things like energy efficiency and be issued with permits which they can then sell overseas or use within Australia.

"There is no doubt that if we grab hold of this with both hands there is a lot of money to be made."

Clean Energy Council chief executive Dominique La Fontaine, in Bali to discuss a post-Kyoto agreement, said the ratification of Kyoto was more than symbolic and that Australian companies would have access to international markets through emissions trading worth $US55 billion ($A63 billion) a year.

Both Origin Energy and Pacific Hydro have expressed interest in using the mechanisms under Kyoto for future investment.

Andrew Richards, Pacific Hydro's manager of government and corporate affairs, said Australia was now "open for business" and that companies would also be more encouraged to invest overseas.

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SN Power, Norway, & Pacific Hydro, Australia, move on La Confluencia dam project on the Tinguiririca River- effort to reduce Europe's Carbon Emissions

RAIDERS FROM THE NORTH: Rivers of the Southern Hemisphere provide the solution to European carbon emissions pollution.

SN Power, Australian Pacific Hydro move on La Confluencia

[28 November 2007] Work on the 155MW La Confluencia project in Chile is set to commence with the JV developer having awarded the turnkey construction contract to Hochtief and Tecsa.

SN Power and Australian Pacific Hydro are the JV partners developing the project in the Tinguiririca valley upstream of the La Higuera scheme, which they are also building with the same installed capacity and is due to be commissioned late next year. La Confluencia is scheduled to come online in 2010.

Both plants are run-of-river schemes and together they should generate approximately 1400GWh per year of electricity.

The turnkey contract will see the contracting consortium of Hochtief’s local subsidiary and Chilean firm Tecsa engineer, procure and construct (EPC) the project.

SN Power and Australian Pacific Hydro are to build the La Confluencia project for US$350M. Approximately 60% of the project cost will be debt financed.

Read about the SN Power / Pacific Hydro Chile dam plans below:

Kyoto ratification crucial in Australian plans for Chile hydro-development – Carbon Offsets purchased in Europe critical to dam construction

Australia's Pacific Hydro finds a loophole: Climate change, Kyoto, and carbon trading

Chile Environment Exploited to Offset European Pollution

More on how Norway's SN Power intends to oust Chile's indigenous Mapuche people from ancestral lands to pursue hydro-development schemes:

Mapuche Protest against Norwegian Hydroelectric Power

Norwegian Power Projects in Mapuche, Chile Heartland Plunder Environment

Here is the full article.

Australia's new government tackles Global Warming - Chile dam efforts to receive Carbon Credit / Clean Development Mechanism Kyoto Funding

SYDNEY, Australia - Australia's Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd took advice Sunday on how to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and fielded phone calls from world leaders — starting in on work the day after a sweeping election victory.

The emphatic victory for Rudd's Labor Party swings Australia toward the political left after almost 12 years of conservative rule and puts it at odds with key ally Washington on two crucial policy issues — Iraq and global warming.

After declaring victory late Saturday, Rudd attended church Sunday then held meetings with government officials about the mechanics of signing the Kyoto pact on global warming, an issue he made his top priority during the election campaign.

Read about Pacific Hydro's Dam plans below:

Kyoto ratification crucial in Australian plans for Chile hydro-development – Carbon Offsets purchased in Europe critical to dam construction.

Australia's Pacific Hydro finds a loophole: Climate change, Kyoto, and carbon trading

Chile Environment Exploited to Offset European Pollution

Here is the full article.

IFC to Help SN Power (Norway) and Pacific Hydro (Australia) with funding for La Confluencia Hydroelectric Project in the Tinguiririca River Valley

IFC to Help La Confluencia Meet Energy Needs in Chile

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group has signed an agreement to support the construction of Chile’s La Confluencia hydropower project to help meet the country’s increasing energy needs.* This project will provide clean, renewable power and help lower energy prices.

*(To offset the carbon introduced to the atmsophere by non-compliant European corporations: Chile Environment Exploited to Offset European Pollution And to power the mining industry: which consumes 35% of Chile's electricity.)

La Confluencia is a 158 megawatt run-of-river hydroelectric power plant to be built in the Tinguiririca valley, about 150 km south of Santiago. It is upstream of the IFC-financed La Higuera hydropower plant project, which is under construction by the same sponsors. As the project’s water inflows are determined primarily by melting snow, La Confluencia is expected to dispatch at full load during the dry season when water levels in the system are below average.

The project is being developed by a 50/50 consortium comprising Australia’s Pacific Hydro Pty Ltd (Pacific Hydro) and Statkraft Norfund Power Invest AS (SNPI) of Norway.** IFC’s $208 million financing package will consist of an $83 million loan for IFC’s own account and a $125 million loan for the account of participating banks, including DnB NOR Bank, HSH Nordbank, Nordea Bank, Banco Santander, and SEB.

** (The same two companies which were fined for submitting a false environmental impact statement for their La Higuera hydropower project on the same river: False Environmental Impact Statements induce Regional Environment Commission to Implement Fines. )

Rashad Kaldany, IFC Director for Infrastructure, said, “Using indigenous renewable resources, La Confluencia will help Chile meet a growing demand for power and improve the country’s energy security. The project will also help reduce carbon emissions that are associated with power generation. We are happy*** to continue building our partnership with Pacific Hydro and Statkraft Norfund Power Invest.”

***(Statkraft Norfund Power (SN Power, Norway) which presently intends on "using indigenous" Mapuche land for hydropower: Mapuche Protest against Norwegian Hydroelectric Power , Norwegian Power Projects in Mapuche, Chile Heartland Plunder Environment . It seems the World Bank is back in the native indian exploitation game, this time with a new partner: Endesa Strategy & Tactics I – Revisiting the Ralco & Pangue Hydroelectric Projects on the Rio Bio Bio )

Here is the full article.