Chile’s Patagonia Seeks Small-Scale Energy Autonomy
Chile’s Patagonia Seeks Small-Scale Energy Autonomy
By Marianela Jarroud
[font size=1]
The beauty of the snowy streets of Coyhaique, the capital of the Patagonia region of Aysén, hide the fact that it is Chile’s
most polluted city, mainly due to the use of wet firewood to heat homes, in an area where temperatures are below zero
for much of the year. Credit: Marianela Jarroud/IPS[/font]
COYHAIQUE, Chile , Aug 12 2014 (IPS) - The southern region of Aysén in Chile’s Patagonian wilderness has the highest energy costs in the entire country. And the regional capital, Coyhaique, is the most polluted city in the nation, even though it has huge potential for hydroelectricity and wind power.
Most of the population opposed the construction of the HidroAysén hydropower dams, and the public pressure helped bring about the Jun. 10 cancellation of the project by the administration of [font color=red]socialist [/font] President Michelle Bachelet.
Now that the battle has been won, the region is looking for a way to reach energy autonomy.
“Aysén is Chile’s hydropower mecca. Nevertheless there is a monopoly over electricity here that continues to use diesel for 28 percent of power generation,” activist Peter Hartmann, a member of the Patagonia Defence Council and creator of the concept Aysén Reserve of Life, told IPS.
More:
http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/08/chiles-patagonia-seeks-small-scale-energy-autonomy/
(Run for your life, the elected President of Chile (who was tortured with her mother, and father, (father tortured until he died) in one of fascist Gen. Pinochet's torture centers) is a (OMG) Socialist.)