Search

In Chile, the concept of sacrifice zones corresponds to those land surfaces in which industrial development was prioritized over the environmental impact that it caused. A high number of industries that emit pollutants into the environment are concentrated in these zones. This paper studies the atmospheric component of the Environmental Impact Declaration and Assessment's (EID and EIA, respectively) environmental assessment instruments of the thermoelectric power plants in northern Chile, based on their consistency with current environmental quality regulations. We specify concepts on air quality, atmospheric emission regulations, and the critical parameters and factors to be considered when carrying out an environmental impact assessment. Finally, we end by presenting possible alternatives to replace the current methodologies and criteria for atmospheric regulation in areas identified as saturated or of environmental sacrifice, with an emphasis on both population health and an environmental approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have recently developed a unique monitoring system for photovoltaic power plants and have gradually improved it in recent years. The system is installed at about 80 power plants in several European countries and at one power plant in Chile. We collect and evaluate all data in our laboratory. In this paper we describe the unique design of a photovoltaic power plant in the southern hemisphere in Chile with photovoltaic panels installed on tracking stands. We present the evaluated data and we discuss their comparison with photovoltaic power plants installed in Europe. We also discuss different solar conditions of these locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive exploitation of freshwater systems for hydropower generation in developing countries is challenging sustainability due to cumulative environmental impacts in regions with high endemism. Habitat fragmentation is recognized as a major impact on river ecosystems. The nature and magnitude of connectivity loss depend on characteristics of the hydropower projects, and of the threatened fish communities. In areas where appropriate mitigation technology is lacking, there is a need to identify the fish species that are most at risk to better concentrate efforts. This paper aimed to set conservation priorities for sustainable hydropower development by analyzing native fish species and project characteristics. The Chilean ichthyogeographic province, an ecoregion with high endemism and massive hydropower projects development, has been considered as a case study. By using overlapping information on the characteristics of 1124 hydropower projects and distribution of native fish species, we identified three project categories of projects based on their need for mitigation. These were projects where mitigation was considered: a) not required (15%), b) required and feasible (35%), and c) required but challenging (50%). Projects where mitigation was not required were located at sites where native fish were absent and/or where water intakes allowed fish to pass. Interestingly, projects where mitigation was feasible were inhabited by a species assemblage that comprised the genus Trichomycterus, Diplomystes and Percilia, and the species Ch. pisciculus and B. maldonadoi. This finding emphasizes the need to develop a multispecific fishway that can accommodate this group. Projects where mitigation would be difficult to achieve were located at sites with a variety of different assemblages, thus making a standard fish pass solution challenging and site-specific. This study advances understanding for the need to develop mitigation strategies and technologies in ecoregions of high endemism threatened by hydropower and to prioritize the construction of planned projects., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper presents a case study on power control and energy management for a 60 apartments' residential building with solar generation and energy storage tied to the grid in Santiago, Chile. A new energy management algorithm based on energy homeostasis is designed for a small electro thermal generation system (nanogrid), with smart metering. The test bed employs supervisory control with energy management that regulates the temperature inside a large room by the action of an HVAC (Heating/Ventilating/Air Conditioning) unit. The main objective of supervisory control is to allow temperature comfort for residents while evaluating the decrease in energy cost. The study considers a room with rooftop grid-tie nanogrid with a photovoltaic and wind turbine generation plant, working in parallel. It also has an external weather station that allows predictive analysis and control of the temperature inside the abode. The electrical system can be disconnected from the local network, working independently (islanding) and with voltage regulation executed by the photovoltaic generation system. Additionally, the system has a battery bank that allows the energy management by means of the supervisory control system. Under this scenario, a set of coordination and supervisory control strategies, adapted for the needs defined in the energy management program and considering the infrastructure conditions of the network and the abode, are applied with the aim of efficiently managing the supply and consumption of energy, considering Electricity Distribution Net Billing Laws 20.571 and 21.118 in Chile (https://www.bcn.cl/historiadelaley/historia-de-la-ley/vista-expandida/7596/), the electricity tariffs established by the distribution company and the option of incorporating an energy storage system and temperature control inside the room. The results show the advantage of the proposed tariffs and the overall energy homeostasis management strategy for the integration of distributed power generation and distribution within the smart grid transformation agenda in Chile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chile suffers significant pollution from large industrial emitters associated with the mining, metal processing, paper production, and energy industries. The aim of this research was to determine whether the presence of large industrial facilities ( i.e. coal- and oil-fired power plants, pulp and paper mills, mining facilities, and smelters) affects mortality and morbidity rates in Chile. For this, we conducted an ecological study that used Chilean communes as small-area observation units to assess mortality and morbidity. Public databases provided information on large pollution sources relevant to Chile. The large sources studied were oil- and coal-fired power plants, copper smelters, pulp and paper mills, and large mining facilities. Large sources were filtered by first year of production, type of process, and size. Mortality and morbidity data were acquired from public national databases, with morbidity being estimated from hospitalization records. Cause-specific rates were calculated for the main outcomes: cardiovascular, respiratory, cancer; and other more specific health outcomes. The impact of the large pollution sources was estimated using Bayesian models that included spatial correlation, overdispersion, and other covariates. Large and significant increases in health risks (around 20%–100%) were found for communes with power plants and smelters for total, cardiovascular, respiratory, all-cancer, and lung cancer mortality. Higher hospitalization rates for cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, cancer, and pneumonia (20–100%) were also found for communes with power plants and smelters. The impacts were larger for men than women in terms of both mortality and hospitalizations. The impacts were also larger when the sources were analyzed as continuous (production volume) rather than dichotomous (presence/absence) variables. In conclusion, significantly higher rates of total cardiovascular, respiratory, all-cancer and lung cancer mortality and cardiovascular, respiratory, cancer and pneumonia hospitalizations were observed in communes with power plants and smelters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate projections under the high-emission representative concentration pathway "RCP-8.5" scenario are used to show the effects of global warming on the energy production of two similar concentrated solar tower power plants in Spain and Chile from 2025 to 2060. Results show a reduction of the annual energy production of almost 1.8% for Chile and an increase of almost 6% in the Spanish plant, but an increase of 10% water consumption due to both the increase in dry- and wet-bulb temperatures and changes in the direct normal irradiation caused by climate change. When the effect of water restrictions is included in the model caused by the foreseen reduction in water availability in Spain, the increase of the annual energy production is only 2%. Finally, the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) calculated during the whole power plant lifetime (35 years) with respect to the LCOE obtained at the beginning of the project is increased by 1.1% in the Chilean plant, whereas in the Spanish plant, it can be reduced more than 2.5% if there are no water restrictions, while a reduction of 0.4% is expected in a scenario with water restrictions. Results show that careful consideration of climate projections should be considered to properly estimate the economic viability of solar tower plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the potential of copper tailing deposits in Chile for the sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) via ex-situ mineral carbonation integrating the recovery of valuable metals was assessed. An inventory of tailing deposits and CO2 sources existing in Chile was constructed to determine the most suitable site for the installation of a future mineral carbonation plant and to evaluate the technical, economic, and environmental feasibility of CO2 capture, separation, and transport from the source to the mineral carbonation plant. The data of the inventory of tailings deposits in Chile were obtained from the National Service of Geology and Mining. For the thermoelectric plants installed in Chile, data of energy production were obtained from the Energy National Commission. Through the use of the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method and sensitivity analysis, the optimum location in the region of Antofagasta to install a mineral carbonation plant was identified. In addition, the results show that in the region of Antofagasta five tailing deposits have the potential to sequester between 66 to 99 Mt of CO2. Meanwhile, thermoelectric plants in 2018 produced about 9.4 Mt of CO2 that is available to be sequestered, with a maximum generation potential of 21.9 Mt of CO2eq per year. The methodology and the study presented can be considered as a preliminary study to identify tailings that require further analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]