A Ministerial Committee has upheld the environmental permit for the 640 MW Cuervo hydropower project in the Aysen regio of Chile. Energia Austral will be required to provide additional information about the operation of the project, and will need to receive the green light from the National Geological and Mining service before starting filling the dams with water.
The US$733m project received approval from the Aysén Environmental Evaluation Commission in September 2013 but was blocked by the Coyhaique court of appeals to weigh environmental appeals. The appeal court upheld the project, which was backed by the Supreme Court in August 2014.
The project is developed by Energia Austral, a joint venture between mining group Glencore (49%) and Australian power producer Origin Energy (51%). The plant will consist of two dams with a total installed capacity of 640 MW and will be the second largest hydropower project in Chile behind the proposed HidroAysén project. Rio Cuervo is part of the Energía Austral energy complex, which also includes the 360 MW Blanco and 54 MW Condor power projects.
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