Colombia's Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development announced on July 28 it has accepted guidelines by which to prepare environmental impact studies (EIS) for the construction and operation of hydroelectric plants.
Information from Autoridad Nacional de Licencias Ambientales (ANLA), Colombia's environmental regulator, spells out what is required when conducting EIS for application to develop hydro facilities. As Colombia’s governmental technical body, ANLA is responsible for granting or rejecting applications for environmental licenses, permits and procedures.
In January, HydroWorld.com reported ANLA denied, for the second time, a license to Isagen to build the US$5 billion 960-MW Canafisto hydro project. However, four small hydro plants began operating in Colombia in the first four months of 2017, adding more than 60 MW of capacity.
Isagen is a Colombian public utility company primarily dedicated to generating and selling electrical energy. The company purchased rights to develop the Sogamoso project from Electrificadora de Santander S.A. in 2007.