The consortium, which includes Italian companies Scotta and Idroenergia, along with Chile’s Idroaustral, plans to build the plants in Chile’s administrative Region X, the Lakes District of Chile, which lies at the northern end of Patagonia and the Punta Arenas and Magallanes regions.
Engineering and feasibility studies have been carried out and three of the new 15 are due to become operational by the end of 2007, with the remainder scheduled for a year later. The total cost of building the plants is estimated as US$80M.