Chile Government Endorses the HidroAysen Project - Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) becomes rubber stamp window dressing to appease public

The highly controversial HidroAysÈn dam project received a major boost from Chile’s government late last week. After long reserving judgement on the issue, the Michelle Bachelet administration – much to the chagrin of the project’s many opponents – now appears to endorse the estimated US$4 billion venture.

Last Thursday, Energy Minister Marcelo Tokman joined Interior Minister Edmundo PÈrez-Yoma in announcing a series of measures aimed at alleviating Chile’s current energy crisis. In recent months electricity supply problems have been exacerbated by falling water levels in the nation’s reservoirs and by the closure of a major generating plant in Region V. Among other things, the ministers announced a two-week extension of daylights savings time and called on electricity providers to reduce voltage by 10 percent.

Failing to mention that almost 40% of Chile's electricity goes to the foreign owned mining industry.


But while the announcements themselves came as no surprise, PÈrez-Yoma’s response when questioned about the HidroAysÈn project certainly did. “Do you support pushing forward with the AysÈn dams?” a reporter asked him. “Yes, I’m for it… Of course I am. I think so. With all due respect to the environmental issue,” the interior minister answered.

Leaving little room for interpretation, PÈrez-Yoma on Friday reiterated his support for the project. “What we have is water and we need to take advantage of it… We ought, with as much energy possible, to push forward with construction of the HidroAysÈn reservoir system,” he said.

HidroAysÈn, a joint entity created by Spanish/Italian electricity giant Endesa and Chilean energy company Colb·n, plans to construct five massive hydroelectric dams in Chile’s far southern Region XI, an area also known as AysÈn. Slated for the pristine Baker and Pascua Rivers – the region’s two largest – the project would generate an estimated 2,750 MW of electricity, roughly equivalent to 20 percent of the nation’s current overall generating capacity.

Backers of the project say it would go a long way toward meeting Chile’s growing appetite for electricity (foreign owned mines), which is said to be increasing by more than 6 percent annually. Also, say proponents, the Baker and Pascua Rivers represent a clean, renewable and 100 percent Chilean source of energy that unlike natural gas and petroleum – which Chile imports from abroad – are not subject to international price and supply constraints.

The project, however, is being hotly contested by a coalition of Region XI residents, Chilean environmentalists and NGOs in both the United States and Spain. Critics say the dams will destroy the pristine Baker and Pascua rivers and set the stage for an all out “looting” of Patagonia. Chile ought instead to invest in non-conventional, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, argue leading dam critics like Juan Pablo Orrego of the Santiago-based NGO Ecosistemas.

“Chile is a country that’s exceptionally rich in terms of renewable energy sources. Exceptionally rich. We could have solar energy in the north, wind energy throughout the entire country, geothermic energy from top to bottom, and tidal generators. But so far in Chile nothing’s been done with all these renewable energy sources. We’ve also done nothing in terms of efficiency,” Orrego said during a recent press conference in Santiago.

Before the moving ahead with the project, HidroAysÈn must first gain approval from the government’s National Environmental Commission (CONAMA). The company has said it will officially enter into the approval process as early as next month, when it plans to submit an Environmental Impact Study (EIS). Critics of the project will then have 60 days to assess the EIS and submit their own data and observations. From there the decision rests solely in the hands of CONAMA. .

Until now, the Bachelet government has been mostly quiet on the issue. Environment Minister Ana Lya Uriarte, for example, said repeatedly that the government will not offer an opinion until after the project has gone through the requisite bureaucratic channels. That no longer appears to be the case.

Not surprisingly, the government’s about-face has raised alarm bells among HidroAysÈn’s environmental critics. Calling for the interior minister’s resignation, environmentalist Patricio Rodrigo of the Chilean Patagonia Defense Council said PÈrez-Yoma’s stance inappropriately biases CONAMA’s environmental assessment process – a process that, in the final analysis, is political. The interior minister, he pointed out, has authority over the nation’s various regional governors who in turn preside of CONAMA’s regional offices.

Socialist Party Sen. Alejandro Navarro had a similar reaction. “We have a process of interventionism with it comes to environmental evaluation processes. Politics are clearly emphasized over technical concerns,” he said.

PÈrez-Yoma’s statements also received a stern rebuke from activists in AysÈn. “I feel disillusioned with this government, which claims to represent the citizens,” said Miriam Chible, president of a Coyhaique-based organization called the Private Corporation for the Development of AysÈn. By commenting on a project that hasn’t even entered into the environmental assessment process, the interior minister is essentially bypassing the laws, she explained.

(Did they expect something different? Endesa Strategy & Tactics I – Revisiting the Ralco & Pangue Hydroelectric Projects on the Rio Bio Bio )

“I’m a business woman, but regardless of my concerns and needs, I must follow the laws. But with his recent statements, PÈrez-Yoma is suggesting that depending on our particular visions, we shouldn’t have to follow the law… It’s pathetic to hear something like that in a country that claims to be legally responsible and respectful,” said Chible.

Here is the full article.

Residential Electricity Rationing May Begin in Chile as Foreign Owned Mining Industry Consumes Almost 100% of Electricity Produced from Hydropower

Depleted reservoirs, the recent closure of a major generating plant and an expected consumption surge in March have Chilean authorities concerned about Chile’s ability to meet its growing electricity needs.

Chile generates roughly 38% of its 13,000 MW of total electricity with hydroelectric dams.

(Of which almost 100% is consumed by the foreign owned mining industry.)

Last year’s dry winter and unusually warm spring, however, have resulted in dropping water levels in the reservoirs that feed those dams. In fact, water levels in Chile’s reservoirs are down by an average of 40% compared to this time last year. Some reservoirs are drier still.

Region IV’s Cogote reservoir is down more than 55%, while the Peñuelas reservoir in Region V has dropped a staggering 65% in the past year.

Many of those reservoirs now contain barely the minimum amount of water they need to operate properly. Once the reservoirs drop below that minimum, the dams they feed begin functioning as “run of the river” dams, which can mean a sharp drop off in electricity production. For example, Region VIII Ralco dam, the country’s most powerful, has the capacity to generate some 690 MW. But if water levels drop below 692 meters (they’re currently at 703.7 meters, down 18 meters since early February 2007), the Ralco dam (On the Biobio River) would produce just 50 MW of electricity.

Complicating matter even more are predictions for yet another dry winter. Meteorologists say the “La Niña” effect, which involves a notable cooling of the Pacific Ocean water, could mean less than average rainfall for the country.

Chile’s electricity grid also took a hit late last year when a turbine fire forced the closure of Region V’s 370 MW Nehuenco plant. The thermoelectric plant, owned by Chilean energy company Colben, is currently under repair and is not expected to reopen for several months.

“There are two new factors that make this year, especially March, very complicated. We’re talking about the shutdown of the Nehuenco plant and also the low snow accumulation due to high temperatures at the end of last year,” Energy Minister Marcelo Tokman told reporters this week.
“If another large plant goes down, it’ll be next to impossible to avoid rationing. However, given the current situation, we think that with some additional measures we plan to take, we’ll be able to avoid (rationing) in March,” he said.

It’s not yet clear what exactly the government’s soon-to-be-announced measures will entail.

Analysts, however, say one possibility could be a slight voltage reduction. Chilean residences are wired to receive 220 volts of electricity. That voltage can be tweaked by as much as 7% either up or down without damaging household electric devices. The government might also authorize electricity providers to establish rate incentives for customers willing to reduce consumption.

(No plans are in place to limit the mining industry: Ransacking Chile: Fabulous Profits for Multi-Nationals)

This is certainly not the first time Chile’s electricity scenario has captured headlines. Over the past four years significant media attention has gone to the so-called Argentine natural gas “crisis.” Chile traditionally relies on natural gas – used in thermoelectric facilities – for much of its electricity production. However, ongoing supply cuts from Argentina have forced producers to turn to more expensive alternatives. As a result, costs for producing electricity have risen dramatically – up by more than 200% in central and northern Chile.

(A man made problem, not a resource issue: "Cheap" energy costs Argentina billions and more blackouts - The cause of Chile's natural gas shortage? )

The country’s natural gas woes have been used in turn to argue in favor of large-scale hydroelectric ventures such as the controversial HidroAysen project. A joint entity created by Spanish-Italian electricity giant Endesa and Colbon, HidroAysen is planning to build five massive hydroelectric dams in Region XI, an area of Chilean Patagonia also known as Aysen. (More efficient and less environmentally destructive than helping Argentina overcome its energy problem, which would relieve Chile's in turn.)

Slated for the Baker and Pascua Rivers, the five dams would together generate a substantial 2,750 MW of electricity. That energy, say backers of the project, would go a long way toward alleviating Chile’s growing appetite for electricity, said to be rising by more than 6% annually.

(A 6% annual increase in electricity corresponds to a 30% increase in population as Chile's residential customers only consume 17% of the electricity generated.)

The project, however, is being hotly contested by a coalition of Region XI residents, Chilean environmentalists and NGOs in both the United States and Spain. Critics say the dams will destroy the pristine Baker and Pascua rivers and set the stage for an all out “looting of Patagonia
. Chile ought instead to invest in non-conventional, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, argue leading dam critics like Juan Pablo Orrego of the Santiago-based NGO Ecosistemas.

“Chile is a country that’s exceptionally rich in terms of renewable energy sources.

Exceptionally rich. We could have solar energy in the north, wind energy throughout the entire country, geothermic energy from top to bottom, and tidal generators. But so far in Chile nothing’s been done with all these renewable energy sources. We’ve also done nothing in terms of efficiency,” Orrego said during a recent press conference in Santiago.

Here is the full article.

Doug Tompkin's Calls Chile's Environmental Evaluation System a Farce - Stacked Deck Like I Have Never Seen

Well- known environmental philanthropist Douglas Tompkins of the United States is taking an active role in an international campaign to block the so-called HidroAysén project.

HidroAysén, a joint entity formed by Spanish-Italian electricity giant Endesa and Colbún, a Chilean energy company, plans to build five massive hydroelectric dams along Region XI’s Baker and Pascua River. The Baker River, Chile’s largest, is in fact just a few miles from Tompkins’ Estancia Chacabuco, a massive stretch of pristine steppe land that Tompkins would eventually like to donate to the Chilean government.

The Patagonia Times recently crossed paths with Tompkins in Region XI, where he met last months with key members of the Chilean Patagonia Defense Council (CDP), an umbrella organization of both Chilean and U.S. activists attempting to thwart the HidroAysén project. The dams are only part of the problem, said Tompkins. Even more alarming is a 2,300-kilometer transmission line Canadian-owned Transelec (Brookfield Management) plans to build in order to transport electricity from the Aysén to central Chile.

Before moving ahead with the project, HidroAysén must first gain approval from Chilean environmental authorities. The company plans to submit an environmental impact study as early as March. According to Tompkins, the approval process is “a farce.”)

Patagonia Times: Given the proximity of this project to your park (Estancia Chacabuco, Region XI), you have to be a concerned neighbor. How actively involved are you in the campaign to stop this thing?

Douglas Tompkins: We’re fully integrated in the campaign. We just had a big meeting here yesterday with the core members of the Consejo (CDP) were all here yesterday. There were about 20 of us. There are different layers. You’ve got 40 some members of the Consejo. And some couldn’t come for some other reasons. There’s a big effort. This is an epic environmental fight here. The biggest one that Chile’s ever seen. And it’s attracting a lot of attention. Because this is a mega-monster project. They’re talking about running these friggin power lines all the way up to Santiago and they’re going to disfigure the landscapes between here and there. And they’re winding all over. You should see a copy of the proposed (route). It’s a spaghetti type of thing. It’s only 1,600 kilometers in a direct line, but it’s a 2,300-kilometer line. It crosses eight or something protected areas. It just disfigures the landscape something terrible. And the impact of the wires is far greater than the dams. Of course they’re trying to concentrate on the dams. The dam guys are saying, ‘well, we’re not flooding that much. The containments aren’t that big.’ But that’s not where the real impact is. They’re talking about 20 million hectares of impact in one way or another all the way to Santiago. This is a big deal.

Patagonia Times: And that impact is a lot more than just an aesthetic problem…

Doug Tompkins: Sure. You’ve got to build the things. They’re cutting a million trees. They’re going to need road access, which has a direct impact on the terrain. And of course the visual impact is terrible. It lowers property values. It affects communities. It’s just got a long list of negatives. All of this unnecessary of course, because of a number of reasons. One being that you have to develop an energy plan. Chile doesn’t have an energy plan. All they’re into is growth, growth, growth. And this is the ideology of the cancer cell. We’re talking about a flawed economic model, a flawed development plan, lack of an energy plan, lack of an overall master plan of where the hell the country’s going. Nobody knows. If they do, it’s the best kept secret in Chile. What is the plan? Where does this stop? Where does development finish up? What is the goal? There is no goal. The goal is nothing but grow and grow and grow and the hell with it. That’s it.

Patagonia Times: I understand that HidroAysén is planning to submit its environmental impact study as early as March.

Doug Tompkins: Yeah, maybe at the end of March. And then you’ve got a complete farce of a system here to evaluate them. They can put in the worst plan you’ve ever seen and then what? You’ve got addendums and they don’t have to have any citizen reviews. It’s a stacked deck like I’ve never seen anything else. Loaded dice.

Patagonia Times: If the government’s environmental approval system is such a rubber stamp, where does the campaign focus its energy?

Doug Tompkins: It’s got to put pressure on government and on so called leadership, and get public opinion to rise up and say ‘hey, this has to be thought out. There’s got to be a plan here.’ There’s no plan…And you’ve got this development mania, and it’s uncontrolled development, and that’s the basic economic model of Chile.
Patagonia Times: You’ve been in Chile a long time. You’ve had interactions with the government over a number of different issues. How does this campaign compare as far as other efforts you’ve been involved in?

Doug Tompkins: This is a big one. This is the biggest one ever. Because it’s an iconographic thing. Mega centrales (dams) with these huge power lines going north. And that’s just only the start of it. There are concessions on 15 rivers down here and they want to run all those up there. There’ll have to be more power lines. So there’s going to be one power line after another cutting through all these different regions. It’ll destroy the economic possibilities of tourism. I mean forget it. Who’s coming here from all over the world to pay good money to come and see a bunch of power lines disfiguring the landscapes…

Here is the full article.

HidroAysen Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 80% Complete for Dams on the Baker & Pascua Rivers

The EIA being prepared by generator HidroAysén for its 2.75GW hydro project planned for southern Chile's Aysén region is 80% complete, HidroAysén general manager Hernán Salazar told BNamericas.

The company plans to submit the EIA in the first half of this year.

(But will anyone be able to read it? See: Hydroaysen Keeping Public in the Dark, Say Chile Dam Critics )

"In March, we are going review the progress of the project and determine if we can stick to that time frame," Salazar said.

The company could not speculate on how long the review process would last, but projects usually take 9-14 months to be reviewed, according to Salazar.

"It's different for each case and depends on the specific characteristics of the project," he said.

NO CHANGE IN PROJECT

No changes, meanwhile, will be made to the project from its current form.

"We've spent two years making the project as efficient as possible and it's what we are going to present," he said.

HidroAysén announced in August it had reduced the project's proposed total flood surface from 9,300ha to 5,910ha as a result of input from both local residents and government officials.

The total planned flood surface dropped 45.4% to 4,300ha on the Baker river and increased 14.2% to 1,600ha on the Pascua river.

At the initial development states of the project, the company had sought input from Aysén residents through its Casas Abiertas program. The company received more than 800 questions from local residents and responded to each.

"From the beginning of the project, when we arrived in the region at the end of 2005, we decided to abide by several criteria. We decided to respect local culture and to make the process transparent.

(Like the transparent Biobio River project? Endesa Strategy & Tactics I – Revisiting the Ralco & Pangue Hydroelectric Projects on the Rio Bio Bio )


We decided to inform (but not respect the wishes of) local residents of Aysén about the project first, before the rest of Chile," Salazar said.
"WORLD-CLASS PROJECT"

The company faces opposition from several NGOs, which argue the project would damage pristine areas of Chile's south, but Salazar argues the project is one of the most efficient hydro projects ever planned.

"The two rivers could be used for a project much larger than the one we are developing. The 2.75GW project is the minimum size that will permit us to maintain economic and financial equilibrium," Salazar said.

The Rapel hydro plant in Chile, which was constructed in the 1960s, occupies 8,000ha of flood land for 376MW of capacity, according to Salazar.

The HidroAysén project, meanwhile, will produce 18.4TWh/y with 5,910ha of flood land, of which 1,900ha are natural.

"The project is 25 times more efficient than Rapel. It's a world-class project, probably one of the three or four most efficient projects in the world," Salazar continued. (Forgetting to mention the 2000 kilometer-long transmission line across Patagonia.)

When the project comes online, it will produce nearly 20% of the total capacity currently installed in Chile's central grid. The rivers, however, run on inverse seasons to rivers in Chile's central zone. The company does not expect dry seasons to significantly affect power production.

HidroAysén is jointly run by Chilean generators Endesa Chile and Colbún. Total project investment is expected to exceed US$2.43bn.

Here is the full article.

New Green Party Forms in Chile - Promises Mother of All Battles Over HidroAysen

Promises “Mother of All Battles” Against Patagonia HydroAysén Dam Project

(Jan. 21, 2008) After a year of jumping legal hurdles, the Partido Ecologista (or Green Party) was recognized on Jan. 11 in the El Diario Oficial, the official government registry. Led by Universidad de Concepción political scientist Félix González, the party will be formally introduced to the public this week.

Well-known environmentalists Sara Larrain, director of Chile Sustentable, Ecology Policy Institute director Manuel Baquedano and Renace National director Isabel Lincolao also joined González in forming the party. These older activists will take on a supporting role in the party, but want a new generation to step into leadership roles.

During a meeting last week with Chile’s Secretary General José Viera-Gallo, the directors of the new party introduced a 10-point list that will define the party’s relationship with the government. The list, known as the “Chagual Agreement,” outlines promises made by Michelle Bachelet to the green movement when she was running for President in 2005. Bachelet signed the agreement during her campaign.

“We have restated our intention to respect this agreement,” Viera-Gallo told the Chilean daily La Nación.

The new party will not align itself with either the center-left governing Concertación coalition or the rightist opposition Alianza. In past elections, environmentalists have aligned themselves with the Concertación, but recent decisions by Bachelet’s government led them to disassociate themselves from the established blocs of Chilean politics.

During the Wednesday meeting at La Moneda, González outlined “two critical points” connected with the Chagual Agreement that trouble environmentalists. The first was the Zanelli Commission, a body created to study the possibility of developing nuclear energy in Chile. The environmentalists claim President Bachelet promised not to consider nuclear energy when she signed the agreement. Secondly, González said that the government has not made a decision on the labeling of genetically-modified foods.

González told the Santiago Times that Minister Viera-Gallo “assured us that the nuclear matter will not (…) go much further than what the Zanelli Commission has already done. On the subject of genetically altered foods, he told us that the government had no intention of approving them.”

Viera-Gallo also tried to pacify the Green Party’s worries by comparing the US$200,000 the government gave to the Zanelli Commission to the more than US$6 million in direct subsidies it has given to renewable energy through Corfo (the Corporation for Development of Production).

González explained to the Santiago Times that the Green Party is necessary because a “cultural change” is taking place in Chile. He argued that people are becoming more concerned about how environmental issues affect them, which allows his party to propose new topics. In order to get its message out, the party plans to use “alternative media” that is not owned by interests that can influence the way news is written.

The goal of the party is to be a “distinct alternative,” González said. “We don’t come from the political class, we are not going to be in Juntos Podemos (the far left coalition called Together We Can), we are not going to be on the right, and we are not going to be in the Concertación, because they don’t represent us. This is the principal message.”

González also said the party will form part of the growing international fight against the HydroAysén project. He described environmentalists’ efforts to thwart the dam initiative as “the mother all battles” because they are up against three industrial giants: Colbun, ENDESA and Transelec.

If approved by the government, HidroAysén’s multi-dam project could generate as much as 2,750 MW of electricity, roughly equivalent to about 20 percent of Chile’s current generating capacity. The project, slated for the region’s two largest rivers – the Baker and the Pascua – has an estimated price tag of US$2.5 billion.

That figure does not include an additional US$1.5 billion likely needed to build a 1,200 mile transmission line between southern Region XI, an area also known as Aysén, and central Chile, where the electricity would be consumed. HidroAysén is still working out details with Transelec, a Canadian-owned electricity transport company, over the costs and route of the extensive line.

The project has generated no small amount of opposition, particularly from environmentalists – both in Chile and abroad – who say the dams, reservoirs and transmission line would cause irreparable damage to pristine southern Chile. (ST, Jan. 14)

The party plans to run candidates in October’s municipal elections, hoping for five percent of the vote. According to their website, before being legally recognized in Chile, the party was incorporated into the International Green Parties, through the Federation of Green Parties of America. The party has been an active member of the Federation for four years.

Here is the full article.

Hollywood Stars Shed Light on Chile's Controversial Dam Project

U.S. Film Idols May Join Chilean Music Celebs In Protesting Dams

(Jan. 15, 2008) A controversial plan to construct massive hydroelectric dams in Chile’s Region XI continues to attract international attention to pristine Patagonia, which this (Chilean) summer welcomes a number of high-profile visitors – possibly even a few Hollywood stars.

Rumor has it that mega-celebrities Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz might be making their way to southern Chile in the coming weeks. The two actors, who have both visited Chile in the past, starred opposite each other in the 2002 box office hit “Gangs of New York.”

According to La Tercera, their trip has the support of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). DiCapprio sits on the Washington, D.C.-based environmental group’s board of directors, together with U.S. film legend Robert Redford. Citing an unnamed source, the Chilean daily also reported that Diaz and DiCapprio will participate in protests against the so-called HidroAysén project.

A joint venture involving Spanish-Italian electricity giant Endesa and Chilean energy company Colbún (owned by the Matte and Angelini groups), the project involves plans to build five dams that would together generate some 2,750 MW of electricity – roughly equivalent to 20 percent of Chile’s current overall generating capacity.

The project, slated for the region’s two largest rivers – the Baker and the Pascua – has an estimated price tag of US$2.5 billion. That figure does not include an additional US$1.5 billion needed to build a 1,200 mile transmission line between Region XI, an area also known as Aysén, and central Chile, where the electricity would be consumed by mostly industrial and mining operations.

At this point, the rumored Diaz-DiCaprio visit is still very much unconfirmed, insists ecologist Juan Pablo Orrego, a leading opponent of the polemical project. Still, were the rumor to become reality, the involvement of DiCaprio and Diaz in the ongoing anti-HidroAysén campaign would certainly be welcome, he told the Santiago Times’ sister newspaper, the Patagonia Times.

“In general, artists can play a powerful role in bringing together campaigns and drawing attention to all kinds of issues, be they human rights, foreign debt, the environment, what have you…Artists can really play a noble role in this sense. I think it’s praiseworthy that people who’ve done well for themselves as a result of their art are ready to use that charisma, the celebrity they’ve attained as artists, for noble causes,” said Orrego, head of a Santiago-based environmental NGO called Ecosistemas.

DiCapprio and Diaz would by no means be the first celebrities to oppose the dams. Starting with ex-La Ley front man Beto Cuevas, numerous Chilean celebrities have joined the opposition. The growing list of famous dam critics includes musicians Joe Vasconcellos and Javiera Parra, Juanita Parra of the group Los Jaivas (The Crabs) and the legendary Chilean folk-rock group Inti Illimani, among others. Celebrity attention to the issue has really “snowballed,” said Orrego, who once enjoyed his own share of artistic fame as a member of the successful 1970s band Los Blops.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr will be rafting on Chile's Futaleufu River, site of the Geocom-Kinross gold mine, next week

Whether or not Chile’s Patagonia will be rolling out the red carpet for the “Gangs of New York” costars, it will definitely play host to representatives from both the NRDC and the California-based environmental NGO International Rivers (RN), formerly the International Rivers Network.

Starting this coming weekend, the RN will be leading a fact-finding expedition to some of Region XI’s more remote locales. Led by Patagonia campaign leader Aaron Sanger and campaign coordinator Aviva Imhof, the group will also include U.S. country singer Dana Lyons. Among other things, the RN team plans to visit the Pascua River, which because of its relative isolation tends to not receive as much attention as the more accessible Baker.

“(The RN trip) is a way of making this river more visible. Because it’s further away and more isolated, the Pascua – in terms of this whole conflict – has remained somewhat hidden. There’s a lot of talk about the Baker, because it’s visible. The Carreterra Austral (Southern Highway) goes near it at various points… It’s interesting that the Pascua is less visible, because it is actually the more pristine of the two,” said Orrego.

Also expected to travel to Patagonia is NRDC senior attorney Robert Kennedy Jr., whose father was assassinated in 1968 while running for the U.S. presidency. The RN and NRDC delegates, meanwhile, plan to meet this week with researchers from the Universidad de Chile to discuss possible energy alternatives.

According to the companies behind the project, the HidroAysén dams will go a long way toward meeting Chile’s increasing appetite for electricity, which is growing by an estimated 6 percent annually. Backers of the dam project question how a developing country such as Chile can continue growing without major new sources of electricity.

HidroAysén critics, however, argue that rather than sacrifice its Patagonian wilderness, Chile ought instead to invest in non-conventional, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy. Spain, for example, currently produces nearly 12,000 MW of wind electricity, while Germany’s total wind electricity production is more than 20,000 MW. In contrast, Chile’s total energy matrix – primarily made up of hydroelectric and thermal-electric (fossil fuel burning) facilities – produces just 12,700 MW. (Ed. Note: Please see today’s related feature story.)

Here is the full article.

HidroAysen issues Corporate & Social Responsibility Data On Studies for Five Plants in Chile

[14 January 2008] The HidroAysen venture today issued the data on its corporate and social responsibility (CSR) (have they seen the protests?) studies for its proposed five hydropower projects in Chile that would have combined installed capacity of 2,750MW.

More than US$6M was spend on the CSR studies by HidroAysen, which is a joint venture of two leading energy companies in the country – Endesa Chile (51%) and Colbun (49%).

The studies were undertaken over 2006-7 and approximately 187,000 hours of work were investigated in the research undertaken by 370 specialists to investigate socio-environmental and economic issues, it said in a statement.

(See the details regarding Endesa's social responsibility in its last large hydroelectric project in Chile:

Endesa Strategy & Tactics I – Revisiting the Ralco & Pangue Hydroelectric Projects on the Rio Bio Bio

Switch Off - 2004 Documentary of the Mapuche struggle against the international energy conglomerate, Endesa SA

Damming the Biobio River - Journeyman Pictures )

Public review of the information, data and methodology will be possible at a series of centres already set up for public consultation on the scheme. HidroAysen hopes to commence the procurement process from 2009 and construction is targeted to be completed eight years later.

(Vistors to these same centers are complaining they have no access to the documents:

Hydroaysen Keeping Public in the Dark, Say Chile Dam Critics )

The overall scheme consists of five plants on two rivers – two on the Baker river and three on the Pascua river – with annual average electricity production of 18,430GWh. All five schemes would require reservoirs to be built.

(More on HydroAysen here:
http://patagonia-under-siege.blogspot.com/2007/11/damming-rio-baker-pascua-in-patagonia.html )

Here is the full article.

Hydroaysen Keeping Public in the Dark, Say Chile Dam Critics

(Jan. 9, 2008) Endesa and Colbún, the companies behind the high-profile HidroAysén dam project in Patagonia, have failed to make good on promises to publicly share information about the possible environmental impacts of the venture, opponents of the controversial plan claimed this week.

(Unfortunately these enviromentlists have not learned from Endesa's last project on the Bio Bio River: Endesa Strategy & Tactics I – Revisiting the Ralco & Pangue Hydroelectric Projects on the Rio Bio Bio )

The two companies, working through a joint entity called HidroAysén, plan to build five massive dams in Region XI, an area of far southern Chile also known as Aysén. Slated for the area’s two largest rivers, the Baker and the Pascua, the dams would together generate some 2,750 MW of electricity – roughly equivalent to about 20 percent of the electricity Chile currently produces.

Before breaking ground on the estimated US$2.5 billion project, Spanish-Italian owned Endesa and Colbún, a Chilean company, must first gain approval from Chile’s National Environmental Commission. The companies are expected to file a requisite Environmental Impact Report (EIR) some time this year.

(Probably only a formality here. As when CELCO altered the scientific report presented to the Chilean Supreme Court, after its toxic pulp mill spill in Valdivia. "Although the Court recognised the ploy, it did not change its ruling." See: Revisiting the Valdivia CELCO industrial spill of 2005 )

In the meantime, HidroAysén ought to be forthcoming with the general public about the potential impacts the five dams would have on the pristine Patagonian region, insisted the project’s many critics.

(More forth coming than Barrick Gold Corporation's initial IES that left out the destruction of the glaciers? The farmers had to bring this to the attention of CONAMA. (See: Pascua Lama Gold Mine, a Threat to Sustainability )


Last October, HidroAysén General Manger Hernán Salazar agreed to do just that during a meeting attended by Energy Minister Marcelo Tokman, former Aysén Regional Governor Viviana Betancourt and members of the Chilean Patagonian Defense Council (CDCP), an umbrella organization of numerous groups and individuals opposing the controversial plan

But according to the CDCP, HidroAysén has not lived up to its promise. In recent months the company hosted a number of “open houses” during which officials offered slide shows focused primarily on the benefits of the five-dam project. The endeavor, the company claims, will provide jobs, bring down energy costs, and go a long way toward helping Chile meet its growing appetite for electricity. Open house visitors were also welcome to browse several volumes of technical information related to the project and its impacts.

Access to the voluminous materials, however, is severely limited, meaning that in practical terms, it’s still being withheld from the public, claimed the CDCP. “The information is available in the open houses, but it’s so extensive and so difficult to access. You can’t take it out, or photocopy it,” the organization’s executive secretary, Patricio Rodrigo, told the Patagonia Times.

(This is a pretty hydroelectric industry typical tactic. See: Australian dam proponents try an end run around environmental impact statement )

The CDCP recently asked HidroAysén to make the information available electronically, so that people might “study it calmly,” explained Rodrigo. “The company denied the request. They said ‘No, go to the open houses.’ But without photocopying or taking the material out of the office. And we’re talking about 15 volumes that are each 5,000 pages. So it’s not possible to go over (the information) or even really look at it.”

“The Defense Council of Chilean Patagonia condemns this move and considers it an open contradiction to the type of transparency and citizen participation that HidroAysén promised. (Naive? See: Endesa Strategy & Tactics I – Revisiting the Ralco & Pangue Hydroelectric Projects on the Rio Bio Bio ) This just goes to show that the open houses… are no more than a dressed up marketing strategy designed to sell the project,” the CDCP stated in a public declaration released this week.

Here is the full article.

Brookfield Asset Management - Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board - that owns Transelec (Hydro Aysen Transmission Line Company) Sets Spin-Off Date

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Jan 03, 2008 -- Brookfield Asset Management Inc. ("Brookfield") today announced that its Board of Directors has set January 14, 2008 as the record date for the previously announced spin-off of a newly created publicly-traded partnership named Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. ("the Partnership", and together with its related entities, "Brookfield Infrastructure"). The spin-off will be implemented by way of a special dividend of a 60% interest in Brookfield Infrastructure to holders of Brookfield's Class A and Class B limited voting shares as of the record date. Each holder of Brookfield shares on the record date will receive one unit of the Partnership for each 25 Brookfield shares held. The special dividend will be subject to applicable withholding tax, and cash will be distributed in lieu of fractional units.

"We remain focused on enhancing shareholder value and building out each of our operating platforms to enable us to achieve our long-term goals," said Bruce Flatt, Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield Asset Management. "The spin-off of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is another step in this direction, as it will provide investors with an attractive, focused infrastructure vehicle, facilitating access to the capital markets to fund our infrastructure growth plans."

Initially, Brookfield Infrastructure will own interests in five high-quality electricity transmission and timber operations in North America, Chile and Brazil. Going forward, Brookfield Infrastructure will serve as the primary vehicle through which Brookfield will own and operate certain infrastructure assets on a global basis. Brookfield Infrastructure will focus on high quality, long-life assets that generate stable cash flows, require relatively minimal maintenance capital expenditures and, by virtue of barriers to entry and other characteristics, tend to appreciate in value over time. Brookfield Infrastructure will seek acquisition opportunities where Brookfield's operations-oriented approach can be deployed to add value.

Here is the full article.

Previous related story:

Canadian pensioners to pave Patagonia – Canada retirees secure comfortable future by exploiting Chilean lands, environment and people.

ANI or DINA? Environmental organizations protest espionage and infiltration by Chilean Intelligence Agency

ENVIROS DETECT HYPOCRISY IN CONAMA’S SUPPORT OF ANI INVESTIGATION

(Dec. 13, 2007) Leaders of the Chilean environmental movement spoke out Wednesday against the National Environmental Commission’s (CONAMA) support of the government’s monitoring of environmental NGO campaigns. This comes after the Chilean daily La Tercera disclosed last Friday that Chile’s National Intelligence Agency (ANI) has increased oversight of environmental campaigns against three of the country’s most controversial environmental undertakings – the Aysén dam, the Pascua Lama gold mine, and Celulosa Arauco’s (CELCO) proposed waste duct into the sea.

(MICHELE BACHELET & PETER MUNK: Until we hear otherwise, we can infer that Michele Bachelet holds the same opinion of Environmental NGOs as Peter Munk, Chairman of the Barrick Gold Corporation. They both attended the Davos Conference in Switzerland where Chairman Munk had this to say: Barrick Gold Chairman, Peter Munk complains rogue Environmental NGOs are Destroying the Mining Industry Apparently Bachelet was listening and took action?)

Various environmental activists have claimed that ANI’s methods include unnecessary measures like espionage and infiltration (ST, Dec. 10, 11). They are particularly upset by CONAMA’s support of the ANI investigation.

Director of Greenpeace Chile, Rodrigo Hererra, commented on CONAMA’s position Wednesday. “ANI’s report has very grave implications for freedom of expression in the environmentalist movement,” he told the Santiago Times. “I absolutely reject CONAMA’s support of their investigation. It is clear that CONAMA has no idea what methods the ANI is using.”

Lucio Cuenca, director of the Latin American Observatory on Environmental Conflicts (Olca), said that his organization – which campaigns against the Pascua Lama gold mine among other things – has been monitored by ANI since 2005 and has had negative experience with ANI’s questionable investigation tactics.

“It is legitimate within a democracy for the government to gather information on organizations,” he said. “It is not legitimate to deny people their liberty, intimidate them, and intervene in their civic participation as ANI has done.”

Cuenca said he was dissatisfied, though not entirely surprised, that CONAMA supports ANI’s investigation. He called on CONAMA to better fulfill its role as a facilitator of public opinion in projects affecting the environment.

CONAMA Director Ana Lya Uriarte has defended the ANI investigation. Her spokesperson, Jaime Ugalde, said, “It is necessary that in the democratic system that there exist investigation into the operations of organizations. But that does not necessarily imply infiltration or unnecessary persecution of said organizations.”

When asked about ANI’s supposed intimidation tactics, Ugalde said, “CONAMA does not have information that infiltration is one of the methods that ANI is employing. But if it is, then that is an issue that has to do with security, and should be left to the Ministry of the Interior. CONAMA does not have an opinion (on these allegations).”

CONAMA’s support of the investigation comes as the organization aims encourage more civic participation in its Environmental Impact Evaluation System (SEIA).

Urirate has launched a series of workshops set to last four months with the intention of surveying Chileans’ perception of the SEIA. Preliminary findings show that the general public believes there is not enough consideration of public opinion in CONAMA’s evaluation processes.

Uriarte says the survey of public opinion of the SEIA is part of a larger effort to restructure CONAMA to incorporate more avenues for the public to influence new projects.

But environmentalists are still dubious of CONAMA’s commitment to public participation. As Cuenca said, “CONAMA’s role should be to support free expression and ensure that people have all the information necessary to take part in the environmental impact evaluation process. But they do not do that. Instead, CONAMA misinforms the public by withholding necessary information on a given project.”

(This type of duplicity and corruption is characteristic of Chile and goes back a least a decade or more: Endesa Strategy & Tactics I – Revisiting the Ralco & Pangue Hydroelectric Projects on the Rio Bio Bio )

Here is the full article.

Legislators angered by Chile Intelligence Agency monitoring of environmental organizations - investigation demanded

CHILE LEGISLATORS ANGERED BY INTELLIGENCE MONITORING OF GREEN NGOs

“Actions Like This Cannot Be Allowed To Happen Here”

(Dec. 14, 2007) Party for Democracy (PPD) Dep. Guido Girardi said Thursday that the Chamber of Deputies’ Natural Resources Commission will meet next Tuesday to discuss reports that Chile’s National Intelligence Agency (ANI) has increased its monitoring of environmental NGOs. This news comes as Chilean environmentalists and politicians continue to express their concern over the Agency’s increasingly draconian tactics.

According to a report published last week by La Tercera, the ANI is gathering information on how environmental NGOs function, who their principal members are, who provides them with funding, and how they respond to environmental issues nationwide. At least three ANI employees, including a former official from Chile’s National Environmental Commission (CONAMA), are known to be working full time on these issues. (ST, Dec 10.)

The La Tercera report specified that campaigns against the controversial Aysen dam project, the transnational Pascua Lama mining project, and Celulosa Arauco’s (CELCO) waste duct are receiving the greatest attention by the state’s intelligence officers.

“On one hand, this news surprises me. On the other hand, it really does not. There are economic powers that clearly do not want pro-environmental organizations to thrive,” Girardi told the Santiago Times. “For those economic organizations, the environmental movement does represent a threat to national security.”

(NGO's were at the top of Barrick Gold Corporation's agenda at the 2007 Davos Conference in Switzerland, a conference frequented by Michele Bachelet: Barrick Gold Chairman, Peter Munk complains rogue Environmental NGOs are Destroying the Mining Industry )

“In next Tuesday’s meeting of the Chamber of Deputies’ Natural Resources Commission, I am going to introduce a motion to respond to this news. It is very probable that we demand that the Interior Ministry respond to these report. We need answers from them,” he said.

“In the Commission, we usually share the same thinking, although we come from different political parties. We are all concerned about the environment. In a situation like this, when there is something as extreme as espionage, I do not think that anyone in the Commission is going to vote against taking action…we recognize that actions like this (espionage) cannot be allowed to happen in Chile.”

Independent Democratic Union (UDI) Dep. Alejandro García-Huidobro, another member of the Natural Resources Commission, echoed Girardi’s comments.

“Countries definitely need to have their intelligence services. But, this does not mean that they can interfere in the work of NGOs which clearly have the right to defend the environment,” he said. “This is a very shameful situation. We have made such progress in our democracy and freedom of expression, and I think that it is a shame that this is happening. Intelligence should be more so focused on combating problems like delinquency.”

Environmental activists reported this week that ANI’s methods include espionage and infiltration (ST, Dec. 10, 11). Activists are particularly upset by CONAMA’s support of the ANI investigations.

(Not unexpected, as the Chilean government's lack of concern for the environment and ardent support of the foreign owned extraction industry is notorious: Chile's Government fines itself for polluting the environment )

Greenpeace Chile director Rodrigo Hererra commented on CONAMA’s position Wednesday. “The report about ANI has very serious implications for freedom of expression in the environmentalist movement,” he told the Santiago Times. “I absolutely reject CONAMA’s support of their investigation. It is clear that CONAMA has no idea what methods the ANI is using.”

Lucio Cuenca, director of the Latin American Observatory on Environmental Conflicts (Olca), said his organization – which campaigns against the Pascua Lama gold mine among other things – has been monitored by ANI since 2005 and has had negative experience with ANI’s questionable investigation tactics.

“It is legitimate within a democracy for the government to gather information on organizations,” he said. “It is not legitimate to deny people their liberty, intimidate them, and intervene in their civic participation as ANI has done.”

Cuenca said he was dissatisfied, though not entirely surprised, that CONAMA supports ANI’s investigation. He called on CONAMA to better fulfill its role as a facilitator of public opinion in projects affecting the environment. (ST, Dec. 13)

In spite of repeated phone calls and e-mails from the Santiago Times, the ANI declined to comment on these allegations and delayed a requested interview with ANI director Gustavo Villalobos until sometime next year.

Here is the full article.

Chile Intelligence Agency Monitors Environmental NGOs

OLD FRIENDS: Endesa SA, Barrick Gold Corporation, Celulosa Arauco receive support from Chile's Intelligence Agency.

Environmental Activists Alarmed, But Not Surprised About The News

(Dec. 10, 2007) The Chilean daily La Tercera on Friday revealed that Chile’s National Intelligence Agency (ANI) has increased its monitoring of environmental NGO campaigns since the start of this year. The report specified that campaigns against the controversial Aysen dam project, the transnational Pascua Lama mining project, and Celulosa Arauco’s (CELCO) waste duct are receiving the most attention.

According to La Tercera, the ANI has been gathering information on how environmental NGOs function, who their principal members are, who provides them with funding, and how they respond to environmental issues nationwide. At least three ANI employees, including a former official from Chile’s National Environmental Commission (CONAMA), are known to be working full time on these issues.

Prominent environmentalists expressed no surprise, saying the news confirmed their belief that they had been placed under increased surveillance.

The Director of the Latin American Observatory on Environmental Conflicts Lucio Cuenca said he received several phone calls from ANI employees in 2005, looking for information about campaigns against Pasca Lama. Cuenca said he did not provide any information, but warned that officials continue to be very interested in the anti-Pasca Lama movement.

“They are keeping a close eye on our activities. But, we refuse to cooperate with them,” he said. “It is extremely worrying that, even though we are in a democracy, environmental movements are considered as a threat to the State.”

(NGO's were at the top of Barrick Gold Corporation's agenda at the 2007 Davos Conference in Switzerland: Barrick Gold Chairman, Peter Munk complains rogue Environmental NGOs are Destroying the Mining Industry )

Juan Pablo Orrego, coordinator of the NGO Ecosistemas and one of the leaders of the campaign against the Aysen dam project, had a similar response.

“There are people who are not comfortable with our work,” he said. “I suppose that this has to do with the fact that we could be creating problems for the government or obstacles for big businesses.”

“Several of our computers have been stolen, but these crimes appear to be totally selective,” said Orrego. “Additionally, we have received phone calls saying that we should be careful about what we do. We are being investigated, but I have no idea why.”

Meanwhile, current CONAMA Director Ana Lya Uriarte defended ANI’s work.

“All of our country’s institutions—including environmental organizations—form part of the analysis for national security. I think that it is natural — and also quite obvious — that there exist intelligence reports about organizations in this area,” she said.

(Not unexpected, as the Chilean government's lack of concern for the environment and support of the foreign owned extraction industry is notorious: Chile's Government fines itself for polluting the environment )

The on-going citizen education campaigns against the Aysen dam project, Pascua Lama mining project, and CELCO’s waste duct are arguably the three best known environmental initiatives in Chile.

The dam proposal, known as HidroAysén, calls for five massive hydroelectric dams to be built in far southern Chile’s Region XI, an area also known as Aysén. The dams are slated for the region’s two most powerful rivers: the Baker and the Pascua. Together the five generating facilities would produce an estimated 2,750 MW of electricity – roughly equivalent to 20 percent of the country’s current overall generating capacity.

The dam project has attracted significant opposition from local residents and environmental groups who say the dams will be socially and ecologically devastating for the pristine region. A planned transmission line from Region XI to central Chile has been a particular lighting rod for criticism, with opponents insisting it will be a major blight on the country’s landscape (ST, Dec. 6).

The Pascua Lama gold mine is set to be built in the Andes Mountains in an area straddling the border between northern Chile's Region III and Argentina. This bi-national location has led to several disputes between the two countries, including prolonged discussions on how to divide tax revenues earned from the project (ST, Sept. 12).

Environmental activists have lambasted the construction since it was first proposed, claiming the mine will destroy nearby glaciers and pollute downstream water supplies with waste runoff (VT, June 10). Barrick’s deplorable track record for environmental abuse is well-known: U.S. Vice-President Al Gore insisted upon removing Barrick Gold as a sponsor of his May visit to Chile (ST, May 11).

(Here is another classic Barrick Gold Corporation missive: Barrick Gold Corporation Chairman asserts that gold mines create jobs and feed people. (so would dismantling the Pyramids of Egypt) and here is the truth: Mining Misery: Guatemala is one of many countries that has attracted the investment of Canadian Mining Companies – but at what cost to its people? )

Finally, CELCO has been at the center of environmental controversy since 1996 when it first proposed to build a waste disposal duct from its Valdivia plant through the tiny Region XIV fishing community of Mehuín. Resistance in the town was initially strong enough to make CELCO back out of the sea duct project, opting instead to dump its waste water into the nearby Cruces River. But in 2004 the newly inaugurated Valdivia plant leaked untreated waste water into the river, killing off the black-necked swan population and setting off a firestorm of local and international protests. (ST, Dec. 3)

CELCO announced in October it had reached an agreement with Mehuín’s fishermen’s unions - paying members US$8.9 million in exchange for their acquiescence in the company’s waste duct plan. Initial reports indicated that 99 of Mehuín’s nearly 250 unionized fishermen had signed the agreement.

But, community leader Eliab Viguera recently told the Santiago Times that the opposition to the Mehuín duct is stronger and more widespread than ever before.

“It is no longer an issue of just Mehuín,” he said. “The movement has gained strength in communities throughout the Valdivia area (ST, Dec. 6).

Here is the full article.

Endesa Chile to invest $1.2 bln in hydro plants

CANELA, Chile, Dec 6, Endesa Chile, the nation's largest electricity generator, plans to invest $1.2 billion through 2011 to build hydroelectric plants to feed the country's ravenous energy needs, the company said on Thursday.

Endesa Chile President Mario Valcarce said the investment would be part of a broader five-year plan to invest $2.5 billion in Chile's electrical sector, including thermoelectric and alternative sources of energy.

"Looking toward the next five years, Endesa is going to invest about $2.5 billion in Chile projects," Valcarce said after inaugurating a wind-generation plant in the northern Chilean town of Canela.

"Of those, $1.2 billion will go to additional hydro projects that we are building."

Valcarce said that figure did not include the $4 billion Hidroaysen project that is being planned by Endesa and generator Colbun COL.SN. (Reporting by Monica Vargas, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

Here is the full article.

Canadian pensioners to pave Patagonia – Canada retirees secure comfortable future by exploiting Chilean lands, environment and people.

Canadian pensioners to pave Patagonia

[December 6, 2007] Douglas Tompkins, the acclaimed adventurer and multimillionaire clothing magnate, flew his private plane over British Columbia in 1992 and he was inspired–but not by B.C.'s beauty. Tompkins, the American founder of the North Face and Esprit brands, was so horrified by the province's clearcuts that he immediately exited the business world. He then flew to the other end of the planet and started to buy up large blocks of temperate rainforest in a region that still resembles British Columbia before the arrival of the Europeans.

Tompkins's first acquisition, a $50-million, 714,000-acre piece of pristine forest, cut Chile in two: industry to the north and nature to the south. Now called Pumalin Park, Tompkins's first nature reserve is an environmental roadblock that extends from southern Chile's eastern border with Argentina all the way west to the Pacific Ocean. There is no major road from Chile's central lake region to Patagonia–only a circuitous network of frequently washed-out gravel roads and an assortment of unreliable ferries.

Tourists who brave it into northern Patagonia stand in awe when confronted with the region's globally unique flora and fauna. Highlights include massive groves of alerce trees ( Fitzroya cupressoides , often referred to as the "redwoods of the Andes"), a tiny deer called the pudú, and the Rio Futaleufú, considered by many to be the most beautiful river on earth.

Tompkins's dream of conserving Patagonia's prodigious resources may soon be crushed. A Chilean utility, HQI Transelec Chile S.A., owned by a consortium led by Canada's Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (which includes major Canadian pension fund managers), is hoping to receive Chilean government approval next year to industrialize Patagonia for the first time.

(See what is planned for Patagonia, Chile: Rio Puelo dam, one of twenty-two planned for Southern Chile - Argentina fights back , The Looting of Patagonia Has Begun, Say Chile Dam Opponents , Chile's 21st Century Gold Rush , Xstrata & Transelec Negotiate Cuervo River Dam Project , Endesa SA plans 5 additional dams to coincide with the HydroAysen Project )

According to a news release issued on June 16, 2006, the Brookfield consortium's investors include a B.C. government-owned Crown corporation that invests money on behalf of every nurse, postsecondary instructor, and municipal and provincial employee, as well as firefighters, police officers, transit operators, and ICBC and BC Hydro workers. The pension funds of most public-sector workers in this province are backing a company that is–in the words of its critics–involved in the destruction of one of the planet's greatest environmental treasures.

The Brookfield consortium intends to build the world's longest (2,000 kilometres) high-tension power line from a series of as-yet-unapproved dams in Patagonia to Chile's central and northern industrial centres. Hundreds of transmission towers will be built alongside a superhighway that will open up Patagonia to the encroachment of industry for the first time.

"The dams are a big threat, but the power line and roads will do the most damage," Tompkins said during an interview earlier this year in Patagonia. "The Canadian power line is going to industrialize Patagonia, and it is going to discount the one economic card the region has to play, which is the tourism."

It is no secret that Chile's only major electrical transmission company, Transelec, was purchased by the Brookfield consortium last year for a sticker price of $1.55 billion. But do Canadian pensioners know that more than $500 million worth of pension funds were spent on the venture?

(Transelec was originally owned by Endesa: Background: Endesa Chile sells Transelec to Hydro Quebec International Inc. for US$ 1.076 billion )

Critics of the Canadian consortium's decision to buy Trans­elec claim that the Toronto-based Brookfield (formerly named Brascan Corp.) and its two partners, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, can look forward to a prolonged and expensive legal battle against one of the most powerful environmental alliances in world history.

EFFORTS TO LEARN MORE about how and why the Brookfield consortium chose to buy a company with such a controversial and expensive plan resulted in even more questions.

Chris Trumpy, the bcIMC's chairman of the board at the time of purchase, told the Georgia Straight in an e-mail that he wasn't even involved in the decision. Under the Public Sector Pension Plan Act, Trumpy and other board members are prohibited from participating in investment decisions made by the CEO and chief investment officer, Doug Pearce.

"The investment in Transelec did not come to the board or to me in my role as chair," Trumpy wrote.

According to bcIMC spokesperson Gwen-Ann Chittenden, bcIMC owns 26 percent of Transelec and has one seat on the nine-member board.

A representative for the other pension-fund manager in the deal, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, refused to comment. May Chong, a CPP spokesperson, admitted that the Canada Pension Plan Review Board (which invests Canadian pension funds not used to pay current dues) owns 27 percent of Transelec, but she directed any specific questions about the Patagonian power scheme to Brookfield, the consortium's lead in the investment.

Repeated attempts to reach Bruce Flatt, Brookfield's 42-year-old CEO, resulted in a telephone interview with the company's media chief, Denis Couture.

"We've got risk-management measures in place and we work closely with our partners to make sure all standards are met," Couture said. "We never do things that are not welcome by the local populations. If we can't do it after the review process…we won't."

Juan Pablo Orrego, a prominent Chilean environmentalist, disagrees.

"This kind of project could never be implemented in a full-fledged democracy," he said. "Our country is still under a constitutional, political, and financial checkmate to democracy which was put in place during the military dictatorship and empowers the private sector." Orrego, who is leading the domestic fight to save Patagonia with the group Ecosistemas, says that industrial megaprojects in Chile do not operate under the same laws of transparency that exist in Canada.

(Sadly, Orrego is mistaken here: Thirst for Energy Fuels Controversial Hydroelectric Power Project in Quebec, Canada )

Couture defended Brookfield's industrial motives in Chile. "Nobody can accuse Brookfield of going to a developing country to take advantage of it," he said. "Isn't it preferable to have a Brookfield-sponsored initiative in Chile instead of something taken care of by a company from Russia or China?"

(Couture is correct. If Chile is to be raped it is preferable that Brookfield Consortium does the raping: Chinese 3.5 Billion “Hydroelectric – Iron Mine” complex slated for Africa’s Gabon National Park , China leaders petitioned on Burma dam projects )

Like Orrego, Tompkins was quick to react to Couture's assertions. Tompkins believes the preservation of Patagonia represents one of the last stands for the planet's biodiversity and that Brookfield is the kind of profit-driven entity that is pushing the planet to the point of ecological extinction.

"What we have here are insensitive businesspeople who work at growth for growth's sake…no energy-conservation consciousness or energy-efficiency efforts," he said in a recent interview.

(The evidence supports Tompkins: Lighting Up Europe - Are Enel, E.ON & Endesa serious about fighting global warming? , Green Power Pioneer, ENDESA granted permission to build two 430 MW Gas Turbine Plants in France , Endesa expands Carbon Footprint in Latin America - Inefficient and Cheap Open Cycle Gas Turbines to be installed in Peru )

Tompkins's point has been echoed and amplified by the New York–based Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group that has retained Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a lawyer. The NRDC has been lobbying the Chilean government to take simple steps toward energy efficiency. These include a requirement for insulation in Chilean homes and increased efficiency standards for Chilean industries.

"Chile needs to use the power they already have in a more efficient way before they consider destroying one of the world's last truly pristine places," said Hamlet Paoletti an NRDC spokesperson.

However, Bernardo Matte, a senior member of Chile's powerful Matte family and a minority investor in the power scheme, suggests that foreign environmentalists like Tompkins and Paoletti are hypocrites.

"How can you try to block us from building a hydroelectric power line when all of the power of Manhattan comes thousands of miles from Canada?" he asked members of the NRDC on a recent visit to New York.

(Sadly, Matte, an extraction industry mogul, ( Mining Giants Account For Fifty Percent Of All Corporate Profits in Chile ) is correct here: Cree leaders surrender the Rupert River to Hydro Quebec . However, who "us" is isn't the people of the Aysen region. It is the Matte Consortium that is being blocked.)

But one thing that Matte may not have considered during his visit to the U.S., the world's most wasteful consumer of electricity, is that things are changing. On the East Coast, the State of New York is well on its way to a greener future with a billion-dollar investment in wind and tide technologies. On the West Coast, Californians now use almost half the kilowatt-hours of electricity used annually by the average American, due in large part to energy-efficiency measures.

DESPITE EARLY SIGNS that the new Chilean government of President Michelle Bachelet would be open to the development of renewable-energy sources and the promotion of energy efficiency, it appears that Bachelet's young regime is ready to give Brookfield a green light. Criticized for not taking the necessary steps to resolve Chile's ongoing energy crisis, Bachelet's administration recently declared the Patagonian power line a project of national importance.

Due to a traditional overreliance on hydroelectric power, Chile's energy supply has been always been overtaxed in times of drought. But in the late '90s, Chilean industry was boosted by new pipelines bringing natural gas in from neighbouring Argentina. Gas-rich Argentina, however, soon suffered the greatest economic crisis in its history, and natural-gas exports to Chile were drastically curtailed. Unable to look north to gas-rich Bolivia (Bolivia still resents Chile for taking its only access to the Pacific Ocean in the War of 1879), Chile's current energy crisis was born.

(Also, by the fact that the foriegn owned mining industry in Chile consumes most of the electrical power. See the statistics here: Environmental impacts of the Endesa El Porton Dam in the Puelo River Basin )

Former Chilean president Ricardo Lagos has even suggested numerous times that the country might need to go nuclear if it didn't dam more rivers, and the Bachelet government is on the record as saying it will decide on the viability of nuclear power before its mandate ends in 2010.

"That's pure blackmail," said Antonio Horvath in an article in NRDC's OnEarth Magazine . "Throw a scare into people and get them to say yes to the dams." Horvath, a provincial senator in Patagonia, a political conservative, and a previous champion of Patagonian development.

Yvon Chouinard, a global environmental icon whose company, Patagonia Inc., is a world leader in sustainable business practices, agrees with Horvath's statement.

"Chile, more than any other country on the planet, is in a position to capitalize on the advancing technologies of solar, wind, geothermal, and wave power," said Chouinard, the son of a French-Canadian who first visited Patagonia with his good friend Tompkins back in 1968. "These technologies are just being developed, so it would be shortsighted for the Chileans to destroy Patagonia."

(See: Geothermal Exploration in Chile's Chillan Hot Springs )

Just one government decree from Bachelet could change the situation dramatically. The two main players in the project to dam Patagonia, Endesa Chile (one of the largest electricity-generation companies in Latin America) and Brookfield, have a great deal of experience in other power-generating techniques. Enel, the Italian co-owner of dam builder Endesa, is a world leader in geothermal power (useful in a volcano-filled country like Chile), and Brookfield owns the Prince Wind Farm in Ontario. But given that faster money can be made in Chile with hydroelectricity, it appears that international power companies won't explore other options until they are mandated to do so.

(These companies have a great deal of experience: Wind Power for Europe: Italy to build 500 new wind plants - Enel & Endesa to Participate ,Wind Energy for Chile’s Mines. BHP Billiton and Pacific Hydro to develop 100 megawatt windfarm in Northern Chile – BHP has first option to buy. , Enel SpA, Europe's second largetst utility and Endesa S.A. owner, ready to develop nuclear power across Europe with EdF Energy of France )

It is still not known when the power companies will be allowed to break ground on the project, but Ontario's Ministry of Business Development reported last year that the companies will "conclude the studies and engineering of the project in June 2008, when it will launch the construction tender."

If the Chilean government gives Brookfield the nod to break ground, Brookfield CEO Flatt will go down in history as the man who industrialized one of the last untouched regions on the planet.

"Our shareholders are paying us to produce a high risk-adjusted return but not take a lot of risk for it," he told the Globe and Mail last year. "We want to earn a very good return, not take very many risks, and never get into something where we bet the company."

But is Flatt overestimating what his clients are willing to support to make a buck?

"Of course I want my pension to earn higher interest, but I had no idea that my investments would help industrialize Patagonia," said Derek Johnston, a Vancouver resident who contributes to the Canada Pension Plan. "I've heard about Patagonia, and I want to go there one day. This world is already trashed enough to see a place like that destroyed."

Orrego, the Chilean environmentalist, was shocked when he learned that Canadian pensioners are paying for the industrial advance into Patagonia.

"Canada is a country with an environmentally conscious reputation," he said. "Canadians should act now to stop the Brookfield consortium from participating in a venture that a vast majority of Chileans consider an aberration."

(Sadly, Orrego does not know Canada. Canada has a very sorry reputation when it comes to the environment: 10 Things Canada Does Best - What Canada doesn't do best is hold domestic mining companies accountable for the damage they do abroad. , Mining Misery: Guatemala is one of many countries that has attracted the investment of Canadian Mining Companies – but at what cost to its people? , Thirst for Energy Fuels Controversial Hydroelectric Power Project in Quebec, Canada )

Paula Christensen, a Patagonian who owns a small lodge with her family on Patagonia's picturesque Lake General Carrera, says that the pendulum of Chilean public opinion will soon swing against the Patagonian power scheme.

Christensen's assertion is supported by the fact that Chilean politicians, businesspeople, and Patagonians have joined the green side of the fight against Brookfield. It was no surprise when socialist politicians such as Rene Alinco spoke out against the power scheme, but business insiders were shocked when the powerful Víctor Hugo Puchi, the kingpin of Chile's billion-dollar salmon-farming industry, joined the fight as well. Puchi's conversion is an indication that Brookfield's opposition is growing in both political clout and financial muscle.

Carlos Munoz, a legendary Patagonian fly fisherman, said the power project means that Chileans will lose while foreigners gain. "Like many other Patagonians, I don't think the power is for the Chilean people," he said. "It's mostly for the mining and industrial companies who need power to increase their production and shareholders' prosperity. Only five percent of their sales go to wages and less than five percent of their income to taxes."

Christensen described a television interview she saw with a different type of Chilean: an old, iron-tough Patagonian. She said the nameless man's simple but thought-provoking words about the Patagonian power scheme made the television interviewer so speechless that he was forced to take a commercial break.

"I might be able to buy another piece of land and start all over again, build a small house and buy some cattle," the old man said. "But for sure the ducks, the geese, the fish, the fox, the huemules, the pumas, and the woodpeckers will never come back, and this is a situation that you, sir, who are a rich and cultured man, and the Chilean government will never be able to revert."

Here is the full article by Rick Montgomery.