IDB would finance Hydro projects for 250 MW
Institution dismissed criticism for funding participation in Alto Maipo.
Financing renewable energy projects both conventional as conventionally will be the focus of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in the coming years in Chile.
This was stated by Koldo Echabarría, Chilean representative of the financial institution, who said the country’s potential in the field made it an interesting market.
“Chile has a very large potential for growth and development of Non Conventional Renewable Energy (NCRE), which would help to relativize its dependence on foreign prices and fossil fuels”, he said.
In this regard, says the executive, the focus will be on assisting the development of technologies where the country has advantages, such as solar and geothermal energy, and to a lesser extent wind projects.
Echabarría notes that the financial institution is also interested in concrete subsidizing conventional energy projects such as the hydropower-, for which he is talking to various developers, which together could reach 250 MW.
“We are seeing some projects from the Maule to Biobío, and further south, for between 150 MW and 250 MW. We are going to fund projects that have met the technical feasibility and social and environmental conditions, “he explained.
This is not the first experience for the IDB in financing hydropower projects. The institution also provided resources for Alto Maipo project AES Gener, which includes the installation of two passing plants with a capacity of 531 MW. In this regard, the executive said that the initiative – criticized by opponents met “all the IDB’s strict environmental and social standards, ensuring that these projects are done, and Alto Maipo meets those requirements.”
The expertise
Last week the Pozo Almonte (26.5 MW) solar project, from the Spanish Solar Pack, where the IDB, together with a investment fund dependent on the Canadian government contributed almost half of the funding, about $ 40,7 million, was inaugurated.
In this regard, the Canadian Ambassador in Chile, Patricia Fuller, noted that her government has a fund of about $ 250 million to promote the development of technologies for environmentally friendly generation. “Supporting NCRE projects is in the context of the fund managed by the IDB, which supports environmentally friendly initiatives that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases,” she said.
Source: Diario Financiero
