The country’s government is upbeat about the economic prospects of the growing number of windfarms, solar parks and industrial complexes but others warn of ‘green colonialism’
F
or generations, Alfonso Campos’s family has raised sheep in the grasslands of San Gregorio, a tranquil area in Magallanes province, in the far south of Chile’s Patagonia region. Now, he says, his farm will be encircled by three massive containers of ammonia, a desalination plant, a hydrogen plant, gas pipelines and hundreds of wind turbines.
“If the ammonia leaks, it will poison everything,” he says. “The noise of the windmills will also upset the animals, and the landscape will be turned into an industrial desert.”
European and British firms are investing heavily in green hydrogen megaprojects in Chile, which will convert thousands of square kilometres into windfarms, solar parks and industrial infrastructure. More than 50 green hydrogen projects have been announced by companies across the country, primarily in the southern region of Patagonia and the Atacama desert in northern Chile.
