7/31/2019 PT 2009 07 Chile Inaugurated New Italian Hydro Plant

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nergy Minister MarceloTokman, along with theItalian AmbassadorPaolo Casardi, has in-

augurated the Hydro-Electric Plant“Lircay” in the Talca Province.The Plant, with 20 MW rated power,has required an investment of 30 mil-lion dollars with a project financing operation developed by the Sorgent.eGroup of Padua, Italy, leader in the

Renewable Energy field, with the ac-tual plant realizationdone by the Hidro-maule SA, companydeveloped for the pur-pose. Construction,perfectly on scheduleand actually evenfaster, was also donewith a major contribu-tion of S.T.E. Energy,one of the most impor-

tant Italian companiesfor overseas plant con-struction.The plant is an ex-traordinary example of environmentallyfriendly energy projects, with its pro-duction of 130 million kWh of elec-trical energy, i.e. the equivalent of theneeds of a 100,000 citizen town con-suming 53,000 barrels of oil, avoiding the emission, in one year, of 52,000tons of carbon dioxide (CO

2

).The Lircay plant represents the first

 vestment branch of the Bank. Thisproject participates to the Kyoto Pro-tocol aims, with the relevant CDMs(Clean Development Mechanisms) re-lated to renewable energy.Located in the rio Maule valley, oneof the largest water courses in Chile,the hydro plant utilizes the irrigationwater managed by the relevant “As-sociation for the Maule IrrigationCanals” – which groups almost 3,000

water users that have provided sup-port for the plant realizationgaining in return the benefit of the presence of the hydro plant.The mainstream “high differencein elevation“ portion of the plant(107 m) starts in fact from the ir-rigation canal of the Associationand, after integration of a charg-ing canal (2,950 m) and passing through a pressurized pumpedpipeline, gets to the main hydro-

electric production building, withthe 2 hydro Francis turbines.The Lircay plant is part of a larg-er investment and constructionplan that the Sorgent.e Group iscarrying on in Chile and Brazil,

with the aim to provide a specific con-tribution to the ecological exploita-tion of the immense hydro potentialof South America.In Chile the construction of 2 otherhydro plants has started (inaugura-tion has foreseen by Spring 2011)which provide an overall power of 40

plant ever built in Chile that allowsmultiple water purpose usage (agri-culture, irrigation and hydropower),a highly innovative solution that hasbeen possible thanks to the expertiseof the Sorgent.e group in its Italyplants, particularly in the LombardiaRegion along the Adda, Oglio and Se-rio rivers as well as for many irriga-tion channels present in Italy.For the technical and environmen-

tally friendly peculiarities, the Lircay

hydro plant has been recognized fromthe World Bank as one of the most in-teresting international pilot projectsin terms of social impact and ecology:the World Bank expressed this withits participation to the project fi-nancing via the IFC (InternationalFinance Corporation), the private in-

E

38 Power 38 Power technology special edition Power-Gen 2009

Inauguration for the brand new plant built in Chile by Hidromaule

(Sorgent.e Group), which is also doing other 3 plants in South America

for an overall investment of 120 million dollars

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CHILE: INAUGURATED

NEW ITALIAN HYDRO PLANT

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Amerigo Rossi

7/31/2019 PT 2009 07 Chile Inaugurated New Italian Hydro Plant

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