Endesa Eco, a subsidiary of Endesa Chile, has submitted an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the 9MW Ojos de Agua hydro plant on the Cipreses river in Chile’s Region VII.
The US$15.5M scheme, the first project of the recently created Endesa Eco, will have an average annual production of 60GWh. The project is being developed to supply the growing power demand in the region, and to help reduce Chile’s dependence on natural gas imports from Argentina.
Work is expected to start in May 2006, with a maximum construction period of 23 months. One completed, the company intends to classify the plant as a clean development mechanism project under the Kyoto Protocol.