SANTIAGO — Once again, Chilean students have taken to the streets to protest the…
Nuclear discussions throw Obama’s visit to Chile into focus
By Elias Alcantara US President Barack Obama’s visit to Chile next week marks the climax in the ongoing nuclear energy relationship both nations have been developing since 2009. Chile has embarked on a quest to make nuclear energy a significant part of their country’s energy infrastructure. Next week, the United States and Chile are due [...]
Government sends bills to Congress to protect against rising fuel prices
Yesterday, President Piñera announced plans to send a bill to Congress that intends to protect consumers from rises of the fuel prices. Shortly after, he called on Congress to approve the project “as quickly as possible that it could be in force already in the next week”. He affirmed, that “the Minister of Finance as [...]
Chileans asked to save energy as government considers bringing in gas from Argentina
As Chile continues to suffer from drought, Laurence Golborne, Minister for Mining and Energy, yesterday did not rule out the idea of importing gas from Argentina. Cristina Fernandez’ administration made the offer shortly after the Chilean Government announced a power rationing statue, which aims to reduce voltage in order to save energy. Both Coquimbo and [...]
Refill stations for electric cars introduced while Piñera promotes clean energy
The first refill station for electric cars in Chile “Electrolinera” will be presented at this year’s automobile exhibition, The Santiago Car Show, Salón Internacional del Automóvil de Santiago. A fully electric car will also be exhibited, available for purchase in early 2011. A refill worth 1000 Chilean Pesos will last for about 100 km, an [...]
Chile continues quest to attract international geothermal energy investors
The Ministry of Energy announced yesterday that it will start the bidding process for 21 geothermal energy exploration licenses in Chile, between the regions of Tarapacá and Los Ríos. This is the latest of a series of attempts to make Chile the main destination of international geothermal investment. Minister of energy, Ricardo Raineri explained that [...]
Major blackout over seven Chilean regions
A power outage this morning brought darkness over Chile, from Taltal in the north to Chiloé in the south. The generalized power cut affected the national electric grid called, the Sistema Interconectado Central (SIC), just before 11am. Most likely, the blackout was the result of a power breakdown at the Polpaico power station, at the [...]
Alstrom installs desulphurizer in polluted area of Ventanas
French company Alstrom installed a device to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions for its thermoelectric power plant in their factory in Ventanas, near Valparaiso. This is the first installment of this type in Latin America. The owner of the plant, AES Gener, a national company, signed a US$50 million contract to develop this project. The device [...]
Electric company Edelnor may be sold to aid reconstruction efforts
President Piñera has announced intentions by the Chilean Government to sell their 40% share in the electric company Edelnor in order to finance post-earthquake reconstruction. Edelnor specializes in the production, transportation, distribution and supply of electric energy; the purchase, sale and transportation of liquid, solid or gaseous fuels; providing engineering and management consulting services; and [...]
Chile’s Power Suply Remains Fragile
After the blackout which occurred in Chile on Sunday, March 14th and left more than 70% of the country without electricity, Chile’s new Energy Minister Ricardo Raineri said the country’s electricity supply may not normalize for another six months. The government quickly blamed the outage on a fault with a 500-kilowatt transformer in the central-south [...]