Project Description
The Project under consideration is the construction and operation of the 531 MW Alto Maipo hydropower plants, with a total estimated cost of approximately US$1.9 billion and an estimated output in excess of 2,100 GWh per year. The Project consists of two separate high-head, run-of-river hydropower facilities located about 50 km southeast of Santiago, the load center of Chile’s power grid. Construction of the Project will take place over an approximately five-year period and will require the excavation of about 67 km of tunnels; approximately 90% of total Project civil works are expected to be underground. The Project will have a relatively short 17 km transmission line of to connect it with existing electricity transmission infrastructure, and will not require the construction of dams or reservoirs, or the resettlement of population.