en.Wedoany.com Reported - On July 12, Chile's Parque Eólico Viento Pacífico Verde (Green Pacific Wind Farm) submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), planning an investment of $150 million with an installed capacity of 154 MW, located in the Maule Region.
The project plans to construct a wind farm consisting of 22 wind turbines, each with a maximum unit capacity of 7 MW, distributed across two areas approximately 10 kilometers apart. The northern area, Estancia La Flora, is located in the municipality of Constitución, north of the Río Pinotalca, and plans 9 turbines; the southern area, Pahuil, is located in the municipality of Chanco, south of the town of Loanco, and plans 13 turbines. The total height of the wind turbines can reach 226 meters, with a tower height to the hub center of 140 meters and blade lengths of 84.4 meters.
Supporting electrical infrastructure includes a 33 kV underground medium-voltage collector line, laid parallel to internal roads. The line in the northern area is approximately 8.9 kilometers long, and in the southern area approximately 12.1 kilometers, with an additional underground connecting line approximately 6 kilometers long linking the two areas, including an overhead bridge structure approximately 60 meters long crossing the Río Pinotalca. The generated electricity will be transmitted to a 33/220 kV step-up substation located in the southern Pahuil area. The 220 kV transmission line required to deliver power to the National Electric System (SEN) in the future is not within the scope of this project and will undergo a separate, independent environmental assessment.
The total project area covers 55.3 hectares, of which 21.2 hectares are for temporary works and 34.1 hectares for permanent works. Permanent works include the northern and southern generation areas, the step-up substation, two operations and maintenance buildings, internal roads, three spoil disposal sites, and one meteorological mast in the southern area. During construction, two construction camps, two aggregate processing plants, construction access roads, and turbine installation platforms are planned; temporary facilities will be dismantled after the respective phases are completed.
The project lifespan is estimated at 27.8 years, comprising a 19-month construction period, a 25-year operational period, and a 13-month closure period. In terms of employment, the construction phase will employ an average of 167 workers, with a peak of 320; the operational phase an average of 5, with a peak of 15; and the closure phase an average of 30, with a peak of 33. Access to both areas is via the M-50-K road.
The project was submitted through an EIA because it may generate significant adverse impacts on renewable natural resources, particularly the loss of individual birds under protected categories due to collisions during the operational phase, rated by the project developer as a medium-to-high significant impact. The EIA establishes monitoring measures for this impact, including an adaptive management and effectiveness verification plan related to all 22 turbines.
The emergency prevention plan identifies natural risks (earthquakes, gully activity triggered by heavy rainfall, landslides, extreme weather events) and anthropogenic risks (waste management, hazardous substance spills, archaeological or paleontological discoveries, wildlife collisions, impacts on terrestrial animals and birds, equipment failure, occupational accidents, fires at facilities or plantations).
The project objective is to generate electricity using wind energy as a non-conventional renewable energy source (ERNC), with a total installed capacity of 154 MW. The scope of construction and operation ends at the 33/220 kV step-up substation; the transmission infrastructure required to deliver power to the SEN will be assessed separately by another owner.
