says Sergio Carmona, PMP, senior specialist in
transmission projects at electric company Endesa
Chile, Santiago, Chile. Training programs for
aspiring project managers are largely more aca-
demic than practical, he says, “far from the reality
of the projects and their di;culties.”
For now, the relative scarcity of real-world
project management experience in the industry
means that renewable project developers must
either import talent via foreign partnerships or
press ahead with no clear management structure
CHILE’S POWER PLAY
While many countries inch toward renewable energy goals, Chile is sprinting. Determined to decrease its reliance on fossil fuel imports, last year the
country’s legislature took a step hard to imagine in most countries: It passed
a law requiring utilities to source 20 percent of their energy from renewable
resources by 2025—double what the companies previously had to obtain
from solar, wind and other renewable sources by 2024. To make its intentions
crystal clear, Chile’s government is expected later this year to pass a carbon
tax—South America’s ;rst—on power plants, new automobiles and industrial
facilities that emit certain pollutants.
;e major regulatory shift aims to make new renewable energy projects in
the country economically viable, and it’s working. More than half the energy
projects currently awaiting government approval are solar projects,
says Edgar van der Meer, an analyst at NRG Expert, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada. But with a lengthy coastline (nearly 4,000 miles, or 6,440 kilometers, of real estate ready for wind turbines), Andean highlands sloping
toward the sea (mountainous topography optimal for hydropower) and
one of the sunniest, driest regions on Earth (ripe for solar projects), Chile has
an array of options. Its position on the Paci;c Rim even allows for geothermal
power stations.
With such renewable resources at its disposal, Chile is poised to become South
America’s renewable energy leader and a global model for how to kick the fossil
fuel habit. But ;rst the country’s energy sector has to address a major problem: It
has very little local project management talent to lead the way forward.
“;e challenge is that the project management knowledge has to be
imported,” Mr. Van der Meer says. “A lot of the projects that are being
approved now are with foreign partners.”
Short-Term Needs, Long-Term Goals
;at’s not to say that Chile is devoid of project management talent—it just
isn’t in the part of the economy that would sustain the renewable energy boom
sought by the government.
“;e energy industry is not as mature in project management as industries
such as mining and IT, so there’s a lack of professionals to lead these projects,”
HIDROAYSÉN HYDROPOWER DAMS
The controversial HidroAysén project calls for five
megadams on the fast-moving Baker and Pascua
rivers in Patagonia that would flood 15,000 acres
( 6,070 hectares) of land and generate 2,750
megawatts (MWs) of electricity. But the US$8
billion project—which would sit astride important
ecosystems and require transmission lines to run
through indigenous communities and protected
lands—has experienced severe public backlash.
In June, a special ministerial committee canceled
the project’s permit, but the companies comprising the HidroAysén joint venture can tweak the
proposal or appeal the decision in court.
LALACKAMA AND CHAÑARES SOLAR PLANTS
Italian utility Enel Green Power broke ground on
two solar energy facilities in the Atacama Desert
in May, one of which will be among Chile’s largest
solar generation facilities. The US$110 million
60-MW Lalackama plant will be able to power
90,000 households. The smaller US$70 million
40-MW Chañares plant will reside next to Enel’s
first Chilean solar facility, Diego de Almagro, a
36-MW farm that is near completion. Chañares is
scheduled to come online by 2016.
CERRO DOMINADOR SOLAR PLANT
Enel’s solar dominance might not be long-lived.
Abengoa Solar’s proposed Cerro Dominador
solar thermal plant in the Atacama Desert would
employ a solar tower and thermal salt setup
to retain solar heat even during non-daylight
hours. At 110 MWs, it would overtake SunEdison’s
Llanos de Llampos installation as Chile’s largest
solar plant when it comes online in 2017.
POWER UP Three Projects in the Works
SunEdison’s Llanos de Llampos installation
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