In Chile, a mammoth hydropower project is underway. The plans involve not just construction of five dams across Chile's two major rivers, the Pascua and the Baker, but also aim to build the biggest high-voltage power line in the world.

The project, which was approved by the Chilean government in May 2011, is called "HidroAysen" - and its success hinges on construction of a high-voltage power line 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) long. That link will transport power from southern Chile to the capital Santiago and copper mines farther north. Once completed, it would be the largest power line of its kind - running through fjords, jungles, earthquake zones and national parks.

If completed, the project would have an installed capacity of 2,750 megawatts, and would require an estimated total investment of over two billion euros ($3.2 billion).

Chile's rising energy needs

The project's sponsors have already invested $200 million (141 million euros) in the project - but they still need a building permit to begin construction.

"Chile doubled its energy consumption between 1987 and 1996, and again by 2000," said Daniel Fernandez, executive vice president of HidroAysen, in an interview with Deutsche Welle.

"I hope annual growth will reach four to five percent to give people more prospects. That requires a lot of energy - and demand will double again in 15 years at the latest."

However, as is often the case in such large-scale energy projects, the HidroAysen has been met with significant protest from some local residents. Recently, tens of thousands of Chileans protested in front of the governmental palace in Santiago.

"There was room for social protest against a development model that many citizens no longer want," said Patricion Rodriguez, spokesman for the advocacy group, Patagonia Without Dams, in an interview with Deutsche Welle.

"They just don't want more growth and waste, they want environmental protection, fraternity and happiness. But no one talks about that - this is also a rebellion against neo-liberalism, which has ruled here for more than 30 years," Rodriguez said.

Public protest

The public outrage stems not just from environmental concerns - it also stems from the legacy of Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship, more than two decades after he left the national political scene.

"From the very beginning, the project has been tainted by illegality," said Patricio Segura, a Chilean environmental journalist.

"10 days before Pinochet stepped down, he awarded water rights for 33-hundred cubic meters per second. That's a huge amount of water," Segura said. "In a time without democracy and public regulations, large parts of the Pascua and Baker rivers were handed to a private company, behind the people's backs."

Many activists view the energy project as a highly profitable land grab by large multi-national companies, and some of Chile's wealthiest entrepreneurs.

Endesa, the largest electrical power utility in Chile, owns a 51-percent stake in the HidroAysen project and now holds those water rights. One of the other major shareholders is Colbun, another Chilean utility company, of which the Matte family - one of Chile's wealthiest and most influential - is a minority shareholder.

A call for a new Chilean energy policy

"What happens if HidroAysen isn't built?" asked Miguel Marquez, an energy researcher at the University of Chile in Santiago. "Chile would finally be forced to develop an energy policy - to decide for whom and what we need more energy - and at what price."

Marquez says Chile could cut its energy needs in half by increasing efficiency. He cites the Atacama Desert as a huge potential source of solar power, and cites geothermal, biomass and 40,000 kilometers (25,000 miles) of coast that could be used for wind and wave power. Marquez says energy sector elites don't want a decentralized power market - because it could jeopardize their profits.

"The scandal here in Chile is that a small group of families controls the economy. Eighty percent of domestic production is run by about 100 companies," he told Deutsche Welle. "For me, that's the big issue with HidroAysen - the economic and political concentration of power. It's disastrous, because it promotes inequality in my country and threatens democracy."

Author: Thomas Nachtigall / cjf
Editor: Louisa Schaefer