Salgado, N. (2015). Many Small vs. a Few Big: Alternatives to Megadams in the Chilean Patagonia. Solutions 6(1): 34-39. https://thesolutionsjournal.com/article/many-small-vs-a-few-big-alternatives-to-megadams-in-the-chilean-patagonia/
Perspectives Many Small vs a Few Big: Alternatives to Megadams in the Chilean Patagonia By Nicolas Salgado
International Rivers
On March 13, 2011, activists gathered at El Manzano on the Río Baker in Patagonia, Chile for the International Day of Action Against Dams and For Rivers.
I
n recent years, the performance of large dams has been challenged in different regions of the world especially due to their environmental and social impacts. Extensive conversion of land, major alteration of the hydrological systems, and disruption of freshwater ecosystems are some of the identified effects of megadams on natural resources.1 In Chile, the government has recently rejected the ‘HidroAysen’ project, a megadam proposal in the southern territory. The project intended to construct five
dams in the Aysen Region with a total flooding area of 5,910 hectares and a transmission line of 2,000 kilometers.2 The likely environmental impact of the project was the subject of a strong dispute between the government and civil society because of the potential hazards imposed on the valuable biodiversity of the Chilean Patagonia.3,4 Yet, the growing energy consumption of Chile has led the government to continue its efforts to find energy sources with low environmental impacts.5 Chile has an enormous
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hydropower potential estimated at more than 16,000 megawatts (MW) due to its particular geography of mountains and valleys,6 which represents a clear opportunity for future energy policies. Because the implementation of several small-scale hydroelectric schemes (SHS) rather than megadams has not been explored as a possible alternative in Chile, I would like to present a groundbreaking approach comparing large versus small hydropower performance in order to inform present and future water resource management.