Water to Energy // Electricity Generation from Irrigation Flow by Hidromaule, Chile
Hidromaule plants, located in the Maule Region, San Clemente, Chile, use the irrigation water to generate electricity, taking advantage of the natural course of the canals and the variations in the height of the land without negative impact on the environment.
Hidromaule develops clean energy projects, classified under Chilean law as Unconventional Renewable Energy projects (ERNC). This has allowed it to issue and transfer ERNC rights in the national electricity market. Its projects are registered under international standards for the reduction of polluting emissions, allowing it to participate in the national and international market of carbon credits, through its issuance and sale.
To date, there are three hydroelectric plants: Lircay, Mariposas and Providencia. All located in the San Clemente commune, Maule region, Chile, which have benefited Maule irrigators due to the canals improvement.
Carbon Bonds
the Lircay plant contributes to the preservation of the environment with the reduction of approximately 53 thousand tons of CO2 per year. For its part, the Providencia plant reduces, approximately, 37 thousand tons of CO2 per year.
Hidromaule has also registered the Central Mariposas under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). Unlike the CDM, the VCS is a voluntary international emission reduction standard that began to be implemented, in its first version, in March 2006. Today, it is one of the most widely used voluntary standards worldwide. This registration has allowed the Central Mariposas to contribute with the reduction of approximately 21 thousand tons of CO2.
Unconventional Renewable Energy Generation Certificates (ERNC)
In 2010, Chilean law 20.257 passed to allow for the development of Non-Conventional Renewable Energy (ERNC) in Chile. Within this framework, Hidromaule projects were recognised as ERNC projects.
This legislation gives Hidromaule the powers to issue and sell attributes of NCRE, with the aim of encouraging the inclusion of clean generation projects in the country's energy matrix.
This law stipulates that, in the case of electrical systems that have an installed capacity of more than 200 MW (SIC and SING), the generating companies that commercialize energy with customers with a contract (subscribed after August 31, 2007), must certify that at least 5% of said energy comes from ERNC generation means.
This fee starts at 5% for the period 2010-2014, increasing progressively per year, from 2015 to reach 10% in 2024.
As a whole, the three plants contribute to the fulfillment of the quota that the law imposes for the generation based on this type of energy, with attributes of NCRE equivalent to 231GWh per year.