El Campesino power station
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El Campesino power station (Central Termoeléctrica El Campesino) is a shelved power station in Bulnes, Ñuble, Chile.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| El Campesino power station | Bulnes, Ñuble, Chile | -36.794264, -72.42031 (approximate)[1][2][3] |
The map below shows the approximate location of the power station.
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | shelved[4] | fossil gas - LNG[5][3] | 640[5][1][3] | combined cycle[6] | – | – | – |
CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Generadora Metropolitana SpA [100%] | Andes Mining & Energy SA [50.0%]; Electricité de France SA [50.0%] |
Financing
| Électricité de France (EDF) SA[50.0%]; Andes Mining & Energy (AME)[50.0%][7]
Background
The project's original owner, El Campesino S.A., began developing plans for the 640 MW El Campesino power station in 2014 after placing a successful bid with CNE (Chile's national energy commission) to supply electricity to the national grid.[8]
Construction of the plant began in December 2016 but was halted in January 2017, after Chile's Supreme Court invalidated the environmental permit of the Penco Lirquén LNG Terminal, which was supposed to supply the El Campesino plant with natural gas. Construction remained stalled over the next two years, while public opposition to the plant grew stronger.[9]
In January 2019, El Campesino's contract to supply electricity came into force, leading to a year-long dispute between the CNE and the project's owner, Generadora Metropolitana. The CNE argued that the prices agreed to in the original contract were unsustainable under current market conditions, and maintained that El Campesino's owners had failed to build the plant as promised. The CEO of Generadora Metropolitana countered that his company's existing power plants, such as the Nueva Renca power station, were fully capable of supplying the amount of electricity agreed to in the 2014 energy tender. However, the CNE continued to argue that a new contract was required.[8][9]
In September 2019, the two parties agreed to a compromise under which Generadora Metropolitana would build two new solar farms with a total capacity of 600 MW, to supply the energy that was originally supposed to have come from the El Campesino project.[10]
As of August 2020, the website of the plant's co-owner AME still showed a commissioning date of 2022 for the El Campesino gas plant[11], while a December 2020 report from Chile's Ministry of Energy continued to list the plant as an approved project.[12]
As of November 2022, Generadora Metropolitana and Generadoras de Chile still included El Campesino on their websites.[13][14] However, the project has showed no signs of progress for more than two years, and recent news reports refer to the power plant as having been abandoned[15], so it appears to have been definitively shelved.
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220608143056/https://generadora.cl/el-campesino/.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20200803182653/https://www.ame.cl/negocios/central-el-campesino/.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20200803182653/https://www.ame.cl/negocios/central-el-campesino.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240125105146/https://www.revistaei.cl/2020/09/02/duena-de-el-campesino-busca-nuevas-opciones-para-cumplir-con-contratos/. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240125091320/https://energia.gob.cl/sites/default/files/compendio_cartografico_diciembre_2022.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240125112726/https://santiagotimes.cl/2018/05/12/aes-gener-sells-750mw-chilean-power-plants-to-edf-ame/. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Latham & Watkins LLP - About Us - News - Latham & Watkins Advises Chilean Issuer, AME and EDF on Innovative US$980 Million Portfolio Financing". Archived from the original on July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "El Campesino: la central eléctrica "fantasma" que elevará en $120 por mes las cuentas de luz". Electricidad (in español). May 10, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Polémica por contrato de El Campesino: gobierno endurece críticas y empresa se defiende". La Tercera. May 10, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "El Campesino y gobierno logran acuerdo: firma instalará 600 MW renovables". Electricidad (in español). September 4, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Central El Campesino". AME. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
- ↑ "Compendio Cartográfico - Proyectos e Instalaciones de generación eléctrica en Chile" (PDF). Ministerio de Energía de Chile. December 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Proyecto El Campesino | Generadora Metropolitana". generadora.cl. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
- ↑ "AME". Generadoras de Chile. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Dueña de El Campesino busca nuevas opciones para cumplir con contratos". Electricidad. September 2, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of gas-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
