- PS3: Pollution prevention and abatement

During Unit 1 construction, CTA will require the EPC contractor to comply with the EIA findings and environmental permit conditions (including associated monitoring requirements), IMP requirements, IFC’s Performance Standard 3 and the applicable construction phase aspects of the World Bank Group’s General EHS Guidelines to address the generation of emissions (i.e. fugitive dust from earth moving activities, and noise and exhaust from construction machinery), sanitary effluents from worker facilities, and non-hazardous and hazardous solids wastes. Construction wastes, primarily consisting of non-hazardous construction site debris, will be disposed of at a permitted municipal solid waste landfill together with any household type wastes. Hazardous wastes will be managed by licensed transport contractors and treated or disposed of in licensed facilities, which are located outside of the project region.

- Management of resources including energy, water, hazardous and other materials:

The project will use a fluidized bed combustion (FBC) technology that allows the facility to operate with a variety of solid fuels including coal, petroleum coke (petcoke, a waste by-product of petroleum refining), and biomass fuels such as wood processing waste. Flue gas treatment will be achieved through the injection of limestone in the circulating fluidized bed, which helps control SO2 emissions and the project will therefore require the use of up to 54 tons per hour of limestone. Limestone will be sourced from a mine whose location is yet to be determined.

Due to unavailability of groundwater or surface water resources in the region, the project will rely on a sea-water desalination plant to meet its entire boiler make-up and other process and domestic water needs. During construction, Unit 1 will be supplied by the Edelnor desalinization facility and during operation by its own facility.

Fuel oil for start-up and auxiliary purposes (including the limestone drier) will be off-loaded from an off-shore sea terminal and transferred via a conduction duct to Edelnor’s existing 4,000m3 above ground storage tank which is located inside an HDPE-lined containment area with a capacity to hold a release of twice the tank contents. Unit 1 will be serviced by a new 80m3 day storage tank also to be located in a lined containment area. The Environmental Management Plan (EMP) provisions for storage and handling of hazardous and other materials associated with the existing and new installations will include a detailed spill prevention and countermeasure plan (SPCC Plan) to address potential accidental releases in the ocean and land.

- Management of emission and discharges:

Maximum emissions of particulate matter (PM10), nitrogen dioxides (NOx), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) will comply with Chilean requirements and the World Bank Group Guidelines. Particulate matter emissions will be controlled by the use of an electrostatic precipitator (ESP). NO2 emissions will be minimized due to the relatively low combustion temperature of the selected technology, while SO2 emissions will be controlled through the use of limestone injection into the combustion process.

Particulate matter emissions will be controlled by the use of an electrostatic precipitator (ESP). NO2 emissions will be minimized due to the relatively low combustion temperature of the selected technology, while SO2 emissions will be controlled through the use of limestone injection into the combustion process.

Coal and petcoke will be off-loaded from the adjacent port of Mejillones, through which Edelnor already imports its feedstock. The port of Mejillones will not require any enhancements or modifications due to the proposed project. A new petcoke and coal storage facility will be built alongside the proposed power generation facilities and the Port of Mejillones.
Emissions of fugitive dust from these and the limestone storage areas will be controlled through the combined installation of wind fencing and the use of chemical or moisture controls.

The project will use a once through sea water cooling system with designed seawater intake capacity of 26,500 m3/hr per unit (including the amount required for the desalination plant) and thermal discharge with elevated temperature. The condenser cooling discharge water temperature will meet IFC’s thermal discharge guidelines (up to 3 Celsius at the edge of the mixing zone). The company will ensure that residual chlorine and/or other biocides used to treat sea water, remain within local permit and IFC EHS guideline levels. Treated waste water will be reused in the process or discharged on-land for irrigation of green belt as is current practice at the Edelnor facility. There will be no discharge of treated effluents into the marine environment.

The combustion process will generate for the reference fuels specified under the EPC contract, approximately 16.5 tons of a combination of non-hazardous bottom ash, purge material, and fly ash per unit per day which will be initially disposed at a facility currently in use by Edelnor and situated approximately 6 km from the project site. As such, the disposal practice will consist of earthen disposal cells with compacted layers of ash and native materials backfill. Ash materials will be tested regularly during the operational phase to confirm their non-hazardous composition. If the materials are re-classified as hazardous waste at any time during the operational phase, the company will manage them accordingly following Chilean regulations and World Bank Group EHS Guidelines. A new ash disposal site could be established about 20 km from the project at the request of municipal authorities.

- Management of impact on ambient conditions:

The existing ambient air quality levels of the proposed project site and nearby Mejillones have been monitored by Edelnor for the last 6 years as a condition of Edelnor’s existing environmental license. Edelnor operates three air quality monitoring stations, one of which is located within the residential area of the town of Mejillones and two others located in areas of highest expected ground level impacts from Edelnor plant emissions (located about 2 km outside of the town of Mejillones). The information collected at these stations has been used to establish baseline air quality levels for particulate matter (PM), NOx, and SO2 and to estimate the resulting ambient air quality levels following the projects incremental impacts. The monitoring program includes testing for vanadium and nickel which is emitted in compliance with permit requirements by the operation of Edelnor’s pulverized coal facilities (CTM1 and CTM2) which use a combination of sub-bitumous coal and petcoke. Baseline air quality has been determined to be well below Chile’s Primary Air Quality Standards (PAQSs) at the three air quality monitoring stations.

The project’s EIA has estimated potential impacts from operation of the proposed project, consisting of two 165MWe units and a limestone dryer. The air quality impact assessment conducted as part of the EIA has conservatively assumed the operation of two units, each with a nominal capacity of 200 MWe, both fueled by 100% petcoke. The cumulative assessment included worst case scenario emissions assumptions of the following additional sources located in the industrial area of Mejillones:

- Edelnor’s CTM1 and CTM2 facilities;
- ENAEX nitric acid and ammonium nitrate manufacturing facility (including current capacity and projected future expansion);
- FRM foundry facility (including current capacity and projected future expansion);
- Port of Mejillones and Mejillones Port Complex; and
- Small boilers from fishing companies located in the area.

Estimated incremental impacts from emissions of the proposed project and these additional sources were added to the baseline air quality levels based on monitoring information gathered between the years 2002 and 2005 from Edelnor’s air quality monitoring network. The results of the assessment indicate that the impacts from the project at the residential areas of the Town of Mejillones and at the point of highest potential impact (located about 2 km from the town) are predicted to be within Chile’s Primary Air Quality Standards (PAQSs). The incremental impacts of NO2, SO2 and PM are well below the relevant PAQSs. The conclusions of the above-referenced cumulative impact assessment were confirmed by the results of a more resent air quality impact study conducted as part of the environmental permit application for a proposed 600 MWe coal plant (known as the Angamos project) that will be located in the Mejillones Industrial area.

Ambient noise levels are predicted to meet IFC’s ambient noise level standards. Estimated levels based on the baseline assessment 65 dB(A) at plant boundary at day time and 55 dB(A) at night-time (57 dB(A) at sea side boundary), except in case of safety valve operation or filter pulse noise

- Management of GHG emission:

The circulating fluidized bed combustion technology selected for the project provides flexibility in the selection and use of a variety of fuels, including the use of biomass. The project has the technical possibility to operate up to 10% (calculated on energy content) with biomass (which may be applied following the required environmental authorization) in combination with coal or a mix of petcoke with coal in any proportion. The biomass fuels may be sourced from Chilean wood processing or other renewable resources which may therefore have the added benefit of off-setting potential emissions associated with coal and petcoke combustion. CO2 emission of Unit 1 are estimated at 1,217 million ton CO2 per unit per year (assuming a 100% plant load factor and the consumption of 50% coal and 50% petcoke), although actual emissions will depend on the mix of coal, petcoke, and whether biomass is used. The use of biomass from renewable sources may reduce total emissions by up to 34,500 ton CO2 per unit per year.

- PS6: Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Natural Resource Management

The EIA has identified the project area as a migratory route for several avian species, including two marine bird species which are listed as "Endangered" under Chilean law (gaviotín chico (Sterna lorata) and gaviota garuma (Larus modestus)). The EIA indicates that the project will not occupy or impact nesting or roosting areas for these avian species which have been identified to be located within the Mejillones Industrial area. Principal nesting and roosting areas for these species are reported to be located further north from Mejillones Bay, along the Chilean and Peruvian Coast.

The project area has also been identified as a migration route and feeding area for two species of marine turtles (golfita turtle and green turtle) a group of which settled for extended periods in the warmer waters adjacent to the thermal discharges of Edelnor’s and Endesa’s power generation facilities. The thermal discharge of the project is expected to further contribute as an attraction to these species. The through-screen intake velocity of the cooling water intake will be designed to avoid impingement or entrainment of aquatic organisms, including sea turtles. CTA will require the EPC contractor to implement protective measures of the turtles during construction activities