Innergex plans 154 MW run-of-river hydro plant in Chile

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Canadian renewable power producer Innergex has submitted plans to develop a 154 MW run-of-river hydro plant in Chile for environmental evaluation with environmental evaluation service SEA.

According to BNamericas, the San Carlos project, on the Biobío River in the Biobío Region, is slated to cost $420 million to develop. The plans were filed by Innergex unit Inversiones San Carlos. The power station would house three generators coupled to Kaplan-type turbines and connect to the national grid via a 0.65-km-long high-voltage line.

Construction of San Carlos is penciled planned to start early 2024, with the plant coming online in the first half of 2028 and entering the decommissioning phase in 2079. The plant would have three operating modes: normal, reduced water flow and increased water flow.

The country has experienced drought lasting more than a decade, reducing hydroelectric power output. In the Biobío river basin, climate change is expected to fuel a downward trend in precipitation, an increase in evaporation and a reduction in average flows, according to a water report filed with the application. During the period 2071 to 2100, a reduction in the average annual flow in the basin of 19% to 28% is forecast, the report states.

Innergex is an independent renewable power producer that develops, acquires, owns and operates hydroelectric facilities, wind farms, solar farms and energy storage facilities. The company conducts operations in Canada, the U.S., France and Chile. Last August, Innergex Renewable Energy acquired 100% of the shares of Empresa Eléctrica Licà¡n S.A., which owns and operates an 18 MW run-of-river hydro facility in Chile.

Chile’s installed capacity of 32 GW – taking into account both operating plants and those in the testing phase – comprises around 42% thermoelectric, 37% non-conventional renewable energy and 21% large-scale hydroelectric.

Outlining the objectives of the project, Inversiones San Carlos cited Chile’s commitment to retire some thermoelectric power stations and the need for solutions that mitigate the intermittency of wind and power generation – technologies that would play a central role in replacing lost thermoelectric capacity.

Chile is scheduled to fully retire its fleet of coal-fired power stations by 2040. However, discussion is under way about potentially bringing the deadline forward to 2030 and there is a bill in congress that calls for stopping fossil fuel-fired generation on the grid by 2030.

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