Port of Huasco Coal Terminal
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The Port of Huasco Coal Terminal, also known as the Guacolda 1 Coal Terminal, is a coal import terminal located in Huasco Bay in Chile's Atacama region. The terminal supplies thermal coal for electricity generation at the nearby Guacolda power station.
Location
Background
The Port of Huasco handles breakbulk cargo, bulk coal, tankers, and iron ore pellets.[1][2] The port has two terminals, known as Guacolda 1 and Guacolda 2.[3] The Guacolda 1 import terminal, operated by Guacolda Energía SpA[4][5] (formerly Empresa Eléctrica Guacolda S.A.[6]), is reponsible for imports of petroleum and coal, while Guacolda 2 handles exports, primarily of iron ore pellets.[3] The port is located in the city of Huasco, often referred to as one of Chile's notorious "sacrifice zones" due to the high concentration of polluting industries in the area.[7]
Coal imported through the Guacolda 1 terminal is largely used to supply electricity generation at the Guacolda power station in Huasco.[8]
The coal terminal's future will likely be impacted by Chile's decision to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2040.[9] As of 2026, the Guacolda power station remained one of the few Chilean coal plants without a fixed retirement date[10], and the terminal's operating permit had already been extended through June 30, 2034.[4]
The Guacolda 1 terminal reportedly has the capacity to receive vessels of up to 75,000 tonnes, and to process 1500 tonnes of coal per hour.[11] According to Ember's shipping dashboard, the Port of Huasco imported 1.73 megatonnes of coal in 2020, almost all of which was thermal coal.[12] In 2024, the Guacolda 1 terminal imported 1,049,213 tonnes of coal.[5]
Most of the coal imported through the Guacolda 1 terminal comes from Colombia, Australia, Canada and the United States.[12][13] From 2017 through 2020, Ciénaga (Colombia) was the terminal's top single source of coal.[12]
Construction of the Guacolda 1 terminal began in 1959, and coal from the terminal started supplying electricity generation at Endesa's Huasco power station in 1963.[14]
Coal Terminal Details
- Operator: Guacolda Energía SpA[4][5]
- Location: Calle Concheria 104, Huasco 111 Region, Chile[15]
- Annual Coal Capacity (Tonnes):
- Status: Operating
- Start year: 1963[14]
- Type: Imports[5]
- Coal source: Colombia, Australia, Canada, United States[12][13]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ "Huasco". Find a Port. 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Information for Port HUASCO, Chile". www.shiplocation.com. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Huasco Port". SHIPNEXT. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Decreto 289 Renovación de Concesión Marítima Mayor". Ley Chile - Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional. 2025-02-15. Retrieved 2026-09-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Descartan daños en instalaciones portuarias de Huasco tras sismo". PortalPortuario. 2026-03-13. Retrieved 2026-09-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Boletín Estadístico Marítimo" (PDF). Armada de Chile Directemar. 2026-05-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Natalia A. Ramos Miranda. "In Chile's polluted 'sacrifice zones,' residents seek respite in new constitution". U.S. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ↑ "Estudio Antecedentes para la Revisión del Plan de Prevención de Huasco y Revisión de la Norma de Calidad del Aire para Material Particulado Sedimentable en la Cuenca del Río Huasco (p 310)" (PDF). Subsecretaría del Medio Ambiente. 2023-10-19.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Plan de Descarbonización". Ministerio de Energía. 2025-10-02. Retrieved 2026-09-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Boom and Bust Coal 2026 (p 72)" (PDF). Global Energy Monitor. 2026-05-21.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Valuación y Caracterización del Polvo Negro en la Comuna de Huasco e Implementación de Medidas de Mitigación" (PDF). Centro Nacional de Medio Ambiente (CENMA). 2017-08-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 "Ember Shipping Dashboard - Ember". Ember. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Flexibilización de la Unidad 2 de Central Guacolda" (PDF). Guacolda Energía • Inodú. 2023-11-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 14.0 14.1 "PLADECO Huasco 2019-2022 (p 15)" (PDF). Municipalidad de Huasco. 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ SeaRates. "Information and Characteristics about Huasco Port Chile – Searates". SeaRates. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
