Los Rulos power station

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Los Rulos power station (Termoeléctrica Los Rulos) is a shelved power station in Limache, Valparaíso, Chile.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Los Rulos power station Limache, Valparaíso, Chile -33.0013932, -71.2981632 (approximate)[1]

The map below shows the approximate location of the power station.

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Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology CHP Start year Retired year
Unit 1 shelved[2][3][4] fossil gas - natural gas[1] 540[1] combined cycle[1]

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 Inkia Energy [100%] I Squared Capital

Project-level captive use details

  • Captive industry use (heat or power): other metals & mining[1]
  • Captive industry: Power[1]

Background

The Los Rulos power station is projected to be located to Limache, Chile, to receive LNG from a nearby gas pipeline from Quintero, and to connect with 500 kV transmission lines.[5] As of July 2021 the project was still undergoing environmental assessments.[5]

In February 2022, construction of the Los Rulos power station was approved by a ministerial committee of the Chilean government, despite the opposition of Chile's Minister of the Environment, Javier Naranjo.[6]

In October 2022, the news outlet Radio Bío Bío reported that the plant's developers had decided not to move forward with the Los Rulos project.[7] Local elected officials celebrated the decision as a victory for citizens' groups who have long opposed the plant on health and environmental grounds.[8]

Opposition

Protestors speak out against Los Rulos power station (Source: Diario UChile)

Chile's Minister of the Environment, Javier Naranjo, has expressed opposition to the Los Rulos project due to the adverse health and environmental effects of natural gas, and the fact that the plant's environmental impact assessment did not take into account the combined impact of Los Rulos operating alongside other nearby power plants such as the San Isidro, Nehuenco and Los Vientos power stations.[9] Chile's Minister of the Environment, Javier Naranjo, has expressed opposition to the Los Rulos project due to the adverse health and environmental effects of natural gas, and the fact that the plant's environmental impact assessment did not take into account the combined impact of Los Rulos operating alongside other nearby power plants such as the San Isidro, Nehuenco and Los Vientos power stations.[6]

Local elected officials and concerned citizens have also spoken out against the plant due to its anticipated negative environmental impact on the Marga Marga Valley and the surrounding La Campana-Peñuelas Biosphere Reserve. Limache's mayor Daniel Morales has vowed to oppose the Los Rulos project all the way to Chile's Supreme Court if necessary, noting that construction of the plant would transform the biosphere reserve into a sacrifice zone and would increase demand on scarce water supplies at a time when Limache is already suffering from drought conditions.[10]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 https://web.archive.org/web/20210504001215/https://centrallosrulos.cl/proyecto-los-rulos/resumen-ejecutivo/. {{cite web}}: Check |archive-url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20240125105334/https://www.biobiochile.cl/especial/aqui-tierra/noticias/2022/10/22/los-rulos-autoridades-regionales-celebran-decision-la-empresa-de-no-ejecutar-la-termoelectrica.shtml. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20240125105335/https://www.biobiochile.cl/especial/aqui-tierra/noticias/2022/10/21/empresa-de-central-los-rulos-renuncia-a-permiso-ambiental-y-proyecto-termoelectrico-no-se-concretara.shtml. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/20240125105230/https://www.terram.cl/2023/01/cierre-de-termoelectricas-y-fin-de-proyecto-los-rulos-como-hitos-del-2022-segun-terram/. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Proyersa Energía". www.proyersa.cl. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Comité de Ministros aprueba la construcción de la central termoeléctrica de Los Rulos con el voto en contra del ministro de Medio Ambiente". Diario y Radio Universidad Chile. February 23, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. https://web.archive.org/web/20221031092631/https://www.biobiochile.cl/especial/aqui-tierra/noticias/2022/10/21/empresa-de-central-los-rulos-renuncia-a-permiso-ambiental-y-proyecto-termoelectrico-no-se-concretara.shtml. {{cite web}}: |archive-url= requires |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. https://web.archive.org/web/20221105011311/https://www.biobiochile.cl/especial/aqui-tierra/noticias/2022/10/22/los-rulos-autoridades-regionales-celebran-decision-la-empresa-de-no-ejecutar-la-termoelectrica.shtml. {{cite web}}: |archive-url= requires |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :1
  10. "Alcalde de Limache, por aprobación de termoeléctrica Los Rulos: "Ya es una región la que se está definiendo como una zona de sacrificio" « Diario y Radio Universidad Chile". radio.uchile.cl (in español). Retrieved 2023-06-30.

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.