Tuesday, 10 June 2008
California Energy Commission member John Wilson and UK Energy Research Center director John Loughead traveled to Chile this week to confer with Chile’s energy minister Marcelo Tokman at an Energy Commission seminar held in Santiago. Both Wilson and Loughead spearheaded energy policies in their countries promoting renewable energy production.
Tokman is tasked with meeting Chile's growing energy demands (up a brisk 6 percent a year) with sustainable, renewable energy that delivers energy at the lowest economic and environmental costs.
The centerpiece of the energy experts’ discussion is the HydroAisén dam construction project, a controversial effort to develop five dams on two of Patagonia’s most important rivers.
Wilson last visited Chile in 2007 as part of a fact-finding mission with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), investigating the HydroAisèn project – a visit that was sponsored by NRDC head Robert Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy later wrote a letter in the New York Times calling the Patagonia dam construction “shortsighted” and urging stronger consideration for renewable energy alternatives. Kennedy’s letter caused a great deal of controversy in the La Moneda presidential offices.
A year after visiting Patagonia, Wilson is both personally and professionally opposed to the HydroAisén dam project. “Patagonia is one of the most beautiful places in the world, so constructing a dam there would definitely be a scar on this country," he said. The California energy commissioner advised that choosing the best method includes evaluating every possible option, then choosing the most efficient one that is least detrimental to the environment.
Diversity and forward thinking is vital, added Loughead, because hydroelectricity might seem like an effective idea now, but may not be one in the future. “The hydroelectric choice is not the only choice for Chile,” he said. “There’s no such thing as a magic alternative in energy."
“If there is a lesson we have learned, it’s that you can’t put all your eggs in the same basket,” said Tokman after meeting with the two international energy experts. On Tuesday Tokman travels to California to accompany President Michelle Bachelet in search of new sustainable energy methods for Chile. On their whirlwind energy tour they will familiarize themselves with Wilson's California Energy Commission, which pioneered public policies promoting cheap, efficient renewable energy, most especially wind and solar.
When planning for energy diversification, efficiency is the first and foremost issue to tackle, said Wilson, who successfully shrank California's annual energy demand growth down to 2 percent each year -- a third of Chile's rate – without sacrificing quality of life. The second priority, he said, is to find ways to generate renewable energy with available resources. This is also an area where California has reduced costs enormously.
Renewable energy investment has begun to snowball in the United States only recently, Wilson added.
All three energy experts agreed that atomic energy shouldn’t even be part of Chile's debate. An atomic plant requires at least 15 years of planning, including three years of studies. Tokman added that the current government policy should be consistent with President Bachelet’s campaign promise to reject nuclear energy.
SOURCE: EL MERCURIO - By Elaine Ramirez ( editor@santiagotimes.clThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )