El British Council, una agencia de relaciones culturales más importante del gobierno británico, tiene como misión promover a nivel mundial un mayor conocimiento y ser contraparte en proyectos de colaboración internacional.

Una de las iniciativas de esta agencia es la Climate Generation, que apoya a jóvenes activistas climáticos (Climate Champions), apasionados y comprometidos que predican con el ejemplo e influencian a sus comodidades la problemática del cambio climático.

Climate Generation, es un proyecto abordado en 60 países del mundo, donde busca generar conciencia sobre el cambio climático, limitar sus impactos y modificar los hábitos y comportamiento de futuras generaciones.

Esta iniciativa tiene como objetivo la formación de una red internacional (International Climate Champions) y asistencia a diversos congresos y capacitaciones que tengan relación al cambio climático.

En la convocatoria 2010 dos integrantes del equipo del CGF-MDL Chile han sido nombrados como Climate Champion de Latinoamérica y el Caribe. Abriendo nuevas oportunidades para nuestros profesionales para entablar relaciones que se dedican netamente al tema del cambio climático.

Weekly News 30-06-2010

Methanex Finalizes their Wind Project with the Arrival of Turbines from Europe

22-06-2010

Mathanex has initiated the first stage of construction on their new Wind Farm, Cabo Negro, in the Magallanes region. The project began in December of 2009, with investments exceeding US$5 million. The wind farm will be the first of its kind and civil works are expected to conclude by April of next year, additionally operations are expected to commence in the second half of 2010.

The company has waited throughout June for the shipment of turbines from Europe, which will be traveling from Port Mardones to Cabo Negro. The three turbines were manufactured by the European company Vestas, under the design standard IEC Class I, considered the most demanding global standard for turbines.

Each of the turbines has been designed to operate within the specific conditions of the climate zone. They will have a normal potential of 850 KW and stand 49 meters tall, with three blades each and a rotor diameter of 52 meters.

Metanex currently uses natural gas and steam, generated during their production processes, as fuel for electricity production, an area in which the company is self-sufficient. The operation of the wind farm will allow them to increase energy production from 36 to 39 MW, releasing a small amount of natural gas which will be allocated to methane production.

The Cabo Negro wind park will be registered under the Clean Development Mecanism (CDM) of the United Nations, below the Kyoto Protocol. It is also the first high potential wind project developed in a region of Chile.

In accordance with studies carried out by the Center for Renewable Energy Studies (CRES), of the University of Magallanes in Cabo Negro over the past 5 years, wind conditions in this area will permit the use of the turbines at close to 50% capacity, indicating the wind potential of the Magallanes region.

Wind energy is a potentially profitable industry here in Chile. There are currently four wind parks under construction, such as Canela 2, with 40 additional turbines; Monte Redondo, of the Suez company; Totoral of Norwind and the generation plant in Punta Colorado, belonging to the mining company Barrick. All of these projects are situated in the fourth region. Further south, the Lebu wind park is located in the Arauco province.

Due to the National Energy Commission, there are several new projects that will generate a total of 1500 MW. Some still lack approved studies of environmental impact, while others have already overcome this barrier.

University Autónoma of Chile Inaugurates a New, Thermo-Electrically Sustainable Building

23-06-2010

The new building is located in the Llano Subercaseauz campus of the University Autónoma of Chile. The structure consists of eight floors (five above ground and three subterranean levels) and uses cutting edge technology to achieve thermal and electrical sustainability. It was designed by the architect Mauricio Cozzi, an academic of this university with postgraduate work in sustainable development.

The construction project is part of the plan to expand the University, which has now been operational for more than 20 years and caters to more than 18 thousand students in its headquarters at Temuco, Talca and Santiago.

The new building incorporates, similarly to the two previous structures in Talca and Temuco, thermal envelope, high energy efficiency electrical installation, air conditioning and active (aerothermal) and passive air renewal (the latter by taking advantage of cooler air from the basement, as an injection, especially for refrigeration and air renewal in the summer).

Other projects are currently under construction at the University, which consider the use of high energy conservation standards, apart from the thermal envelope, thermal panels, energy efficient aerothermal air conditioning and lighting, along with solar panels for hot water and heating.

The University Autónomia of Chile has plans to steadily increase the capacity of facilities at its headquarters, considering millionaire investments in infrastructure, looking for the sustainability necessary in order to save energy and avoid environmental contamination.

Singapore to Host the Largest Biodiesel Plant in the World

24-06-2010

Singapore, an island nation located between Malaysia and Indonesia, is one of the most successful of the Asian states. Within this country can be found an initiative to open the largest biodiesel plant in the world. The project is being taken on by the Finnish energy company Neste Oil.

Neste Oil chose Singapore based on its status as the third largest oil refiner, and for its location in the world’s central production zone for palm oil.

The Company recently announced the initiation of construction with an investment of 776 million dollars. The plant will hold a capacity of 800,000 tons anally and should be operational by the end of the year. The biodiesel produced will be exported primarily to the European Union, the United States, Japan and Korea.

The plant will use a technology called NExBTL which is the first in a new generation of biodiesel production processes and allows for the use of vegetable or animal oils. It produces high quality biodiesel for use in motors. Nevertheless the center will use primarily palm oil produced the neighboring countries of Malaysia and Indonesia, where the majority of production is centered.

NexBTl biodiesel is higher quality than traditional fossil fuels and recognized as a renewable resource; and reduces emissions of greenhouse gases by 40 to 60 percent.

This initiative could have a significant impact on the economies of neighboring countries, and above all on the economy in Singapore. It represents a part of the new generation of clean energies, standing amongst other innovative projects geared towards environmental protection.

Europe Could Put into Effect an Environmental Tax

25-06-2010

The carbon footprint is a good indication that Europe is already willing to put into place concrete measures to punish the excess production of CO2. Recently the possibility of creating a European environmental tax, an issue that has been stalled out for 20 years.

The goal is to introduce into the European Union (EU) a tax on the emissions of carbon dioxide CO2 for various sectors not included in the carbon trading system such as transportation and housing.

The Nordic countries already use this type of tax on a national level and others such as France have long considered its implementation, however history suggests that other countries such as the UK, Ireland and Poland would vote against a movement for adoption of such a measure by all Member States.

While the British and Irish have reluctantly repeated that taxation is an issue to be decided on the EU level rather than by individual nations, Poland fears the effect this tax could have on their industry, especially since coal, widely used in the country, would be one of the fuels most heavily penalized.

The European Commissioner for Taxation, Algirdas Semeta is optimistic about the reopening of this dialog as a means to regulate energy consumption and continue the fight against climate change.

El martes 25 de mayo en el Centro de Energías Renovables, CERE, de la Universidad de Magallanes se efectúo el taller “Bonos de carbono, oportunidades de proyectos en la región de Magallanes”

En el taller se realizó un análisis crítico de las oportunidades existentes para la potenciar proyectos MDL en la región de Magallanes. También se generaron instancias de acercamiento con los asistentes que en su mayoría representaban el sector productivo privado y público.

En esta oportunidad la empresa Forestal Russfin Ltda expuso su proyecto “Proyecto de Planta Cogeneración a partir de Biomasa, Russfin” que ha emitido hasta la fecha 37.405 tCO2 e.

Aquí se pueden descargar las presentaciones expuestas en el taller.

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