Comité ratifica dos proyectos energéticos millonarios

Chile’s Committee of Ministers upheld the environmental permits for two energy projects on April 27: Hidrógeno Verde Bahía Quintero and Nueva Lagunas–Kimal. (revistaei.cl) (sea.gob.cl) The body ratified the Resolución de Calificación Ambiental, Chile’s main environmental approval, after reviewing appeals tied to both projects. The session was the fifth ordinary meeting of the committee in 2026. (sea.gob.cl) (revistaei.cl) The Quintero project carries an estimated investment of US$30 million and would build a 10-megawatt green hydrogen plant inside the GNL Quintero regasification site in Valparaíso region. The plant is designed to produce about 1,600 tons of hydrogen a year for industrial customers in central Chile. (latercera.com) (observador.cl) Green hydrogen is made by using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen in a device called an electrolyzer. In Quintero, GNL Quintero and Acciona Energía have said that fuel would go to industrial users in the Quintero-Puchuncaví area and elsewhere in central Chile. (observador.cl) (latercera.com) The second project, Nueva Lagunas–Kimal, is a US$195 million transmission work promoted by Interconexiones del Norte S.A. It includes a new switching substation and a new 2x500 kilovolt power line between Pozo Almonte in Tarapacá and María Elena in Antofagasta. (revistaei.cl) (sea.gob.cl) Transmission lines work like highways for electricity, moving power from where it is generated to where it is needed. La Tercera reported before the meeting that Nueva Lagunas–Kimal is meant to strengthen the national grid and help move renewable power out of northern Chile. (latercera.com) Both cases reached the committee through reclamaciones, or formal appeals, including participation claims from citizens; the transmission line also faced an appeal from the project owner. The committee’s decision leaves both environmental approvals in force. (sea.gob.cl) (latercera.com) (revistaei.cl) Environment Minister Francisca Toledo said the Kast government had convened the committee three times in less than two months and was seeking to speed up reviews without lowering environmental standards. SEA director Arturo Farías said the agency was aiming for technical rigor and faster decisions. (revistaei.cl) By April 28, the committee had reviewed seven initiatives worth more than US$3.3 billion under the new administration, according to the government’s own account of the meeting. For these two projects, the next step is no longer the appeal stage inside the committee, but whether developers move ahead with construction and financing. (revistaei.cl)