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Ambitious Green-Energy Overhaul Taking Root In Nicaragua, Benjamin Witte-Lebhar
Ambitious Green-Energy Overhaul Taking Root In Nicaragua, Benjamin Witte-Lebhar
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
A spate of new power projects, surging foreign investment, and a welcome dose of positive press coverage are helping transform Nicaraguas gogetter energy goals from pipe dream to reality. In 2009, Nicaraguan authorities unveiled an ambitious sevenyear plan that called for expanding overall electricity supply by 70%. Furthermore, the Ministerio de Energía y Minas (MEM) boldly predicted that, by 2017, nearly all of the country's electricity (90%) would come from renewableenergy sources.'
President Felipe Calderón Releases Comprehensive Energy Plan For 2012-2026, Carlos Navarro
President Felipe Calderón Releases Comprehensive Energy Plan For 2012-2026, Carlos Navarro
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
President Felipe Calderón has submitted a longterm energy plan that proposes to increase to 35% the percentage of electricity obtained from nonfossil fuels by 2026. The ambitious goal, contained the Estrategia Nacional de Energía (ENE) 20122026, seeks to provide Mexicans with diversified, adequate, sustainable, highquality, and lowcost energy. In addition to raising the percentage of electrical power not obtained from hydrocarbons, the plan envisions actions to restore the countrys energy reserves, boost production of crude oil and natural gas, increase energy efficiency, and reduce the energy sector's impact on the environment.'
Panamas Indigenous Protestors Block Roads In Dispute To End Mineral Exploitation On Their Lands; Clashes Leave One Dead', Louisa Reynolds
Panamas Indigenous Protestors Block Roads In Dispute To End Mineral Exploitation On Their Lands; Clashes Leave One Dead', Louisa Reynolds
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
Anger against President Ricardo Martinelli's administration boiled over on Jan. 30, as members of the GnãbeBuglé indigenous tribe protested after the Asamblea Nacional (AN) took initial steps toward lifting a mining moratorium on their territories. The Coordinadora por la Defensa de los Recursos Naturales y el Derecho del Pueblo Gnãbe Buglé, which has called for all mining and hydroelectric projects on indigenous lands to be halted, decided to block a stretch of the InterAmerican Highway that joins Panama's western province of Chiriquí with Costa Rica. The next day, the protest had spread to the provinces of Boca del Toro and …
Energy-Stropped Nicaragua Leans Green In Effort To Power-Up, Benjamin Witte-Lebhar
Energy-Stropped Nicaragua Leans Green In Effort To Power-Up, Benjamin Witte-Lebhar
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
After long lagging behind its Central American neighbors in both electricity production and connectivity, Nicaragua, the largest country in the isthmus, is counting on ambitious--and green-oriented--expansion plans to leapfrog into a position of regional leadership
"Still Undecided" But Chile Leans Toward Nuclear Energy, Benjamin Witte-Lebhar
"Still Undecided" But Chile Leans Toward Nuclear Energy, Benjamin Witte-Lebhar
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
A revealing visit to France last month by President Sebastián Piñera has reignited a long smoldering debate in Chile over the "nuclear option." Careful not to endorse the possibility outright, the Chilean leader nevertheless make it clear during an Oct. 20 stopover in Paris that, with the benefit of some French know-how, nuclear power plants may eventually be in the cards for Chile." Chile has to prepare itself for the world of nuclear energy," Piñera said following a meeting with his French counterpart President Nicolas Sarkozy. "Our government has the obligation to prepare our engineers, scientists, and technical workers." The …
Brazil: President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva Goes To Bat For Belo Monte Dam Project, Notisur
Brazil: President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva Goes To Bat For Belo Monte Dam Project, Notisur
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
Unfazed by entrenched environmental opposition, a threat of war by local indigenous groups, and celebrity lobbying by a handful of Hollywood stars, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is putting the pedal to the metal on a controversial hydroelectric project slated for the country's Amazon jungle region.Planned for the Xingu River, a major tributary of the Amazon River, the Belo Monte dam project promises to add a staggering 11,200 megawatts of electricity to Brazil's grid. Once completed, it would be the world's third-largest hydroelectric complex after the Three Gorges Dam in China (21,500 MW) and the 14,000-MW Itaipú dam, …
Chile: President Sebastian Pinera's Green Leanings Unlikely To Bring Energy Overhaul, Notisur
Chile: President Sebastian Pinera's Green Leanings Unlikely To Bring Energy Overhaul, Notisur
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
Well-known for his business prowess, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera also enjoys a reputation as something of an environmentalist. Yet for all his ecological good works and pro-environment rhetoric, analysts say that, when it comes to energy, Chile is not likely to see a "green revolution" anytime soon.But in recent years, specifically through his Fundacion Futuro, the conservative leader has funded a number of conservation projects. The best known is Parque Tantauco, a huge nature reserve on the southern island of Chiloe that Pinera opened to the public in 2005.New energy minister backs old plan A month after being sworn in, …
Experts Appplaud President Felipe Calderon's Commitment To Renewable Energy, Sourcemex Writers
Experts Appplaud President Felipe Calderon's Commitment To Renewable Energy, Sourcemex Writers
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
President Felipe Calderon has pledged to ensure that 26% of all electricity produced in Mexico will come from renewable sources by the end of his administration in 2012. The president revealed this goal at the Global Forum on Renewable Energy in Leon, Guanajuato state, in October 2009. Environmental advocates and energy experts who attended the XVI Border Energy Forum in Houston a week later applauded that commitment but said Calderon's promise was misleading. They noted that Mexico lacks the financial resources to make this pledge a reality. Furthermore, they said, Calderon was counting hydroelectric power, which has a mixed impact …
Energy: Brazil And Neighbors Turn Tentatively Toward Renewables, Notisur
Energy: Brazil And Neighbors Turn Tentatively Toward Renewables, Notisur
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
For all their differences, Brazil and its Southern Cone neighbors share a common challenge as they struggle to balance rising energy demand against resource constraints and environmental concerns. Wind and other renewable-energy sources may well be part of the solution, but so far investment in green technologies has been cautious at best. In size, composition, and structure, the countries\' electricity sectors vary tremendously. Brazil, the largest country in the region, boasts what is by far the most extensive power grid in the region, with installed capacity of roughly 100,000 megawatts--more than twice the electricity available in nearby Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, …
Regional Governments Promote Renewable Energy Sources And Integration Projects For Sustainable Development, Notisur Writers
Regional Governments Promote Renewable Energy Sources And Integration Projects For Sustainable Development, Notisur Writers
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
One of the early efforts to develop a coordinated strategy on renewable energy in Latin America and the Caribbean occurred in August 1996, when representatives from 34 countries in the region met in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to discuss this issue. The conference discussions were aimed at hammering out an agenda for the Summit of the Americas, which was scheduled for Bolivia Dec. 7-8, 1996. The summit was to focus on promoting clean and renewable energy sources as a basis for sustainable development in the region.
Nicaragua, A Potential Alternative-Energy Hotspot, Noticen Writers
Nicaragua, A Potential Alternative-Energy Hotspot, Noticen Writers
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
As the price of oil bulged beyond the US$50 per barrel mark for the first time in 2005, Nicaragua again found itself lost in a conundrum. With its geothermal, hydroelectric, and wind resources, the country is a potential generator of renewable, nonpolluting energy economically within reach of every citizen. But Nicaragua also lacks the means to motivate that kind of development and, as a result, has spent so much of its meager treasure on imported oil that it plunges ever more deeply into crippling debt.
Guatemala Veers Toward The Traditional In Its Quest For Energy Independence, Noticen Writers
Guatemala Veers Toward The Traditional In Its Quest For Energy Independence, Noticen Writers
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
Guatemala's president announced a plan to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil. The initiative will depend instead on foreign investment, somewhere in the US$2 billion range. President Alvaro Colom said the investment would buy the generation of more than 920 megawatts of electricity, and would permit a medium-term revamp of the country's energy mix. At present, 46% of the electricity in Guatemala comes from bunker fuel, the heavy residue at the bottom of the barrel, after gasoline and diesel have been distilled away. But even this stuff has been subject to enormous increases in price.
General: Hydroelectric Projects In Brazilian Amazon Spark Concern Over Cross-Border Environmental Impacts, Notisur Writers
General: Hydroelectric Projects In Brazilian Amazon Spark Concern Over Cross-Border Environmental Impacts, Notisur Writers
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
Bolivian environmentalists have strong concerns over dams Brazil is planning to build along the Madeira River. "The consequences of the dams on the Madeira River will add to the process that has been destroying the Amazon for decades," said Bolivian public health specialist Pablo Villegas, researcher in the Foro Boliviano Sobre Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo (FOBOMADE). The impact caused by the Madeira River Hydroelectric Complex, according to environmentalists\' predictions, will be the greatest ever caused by an infrastructure project, giving all the more reason for alarm.
Petrocaribe Deal, A Lifesaver For Honduras, In Doubt, Noticen Writers
Petrocaribe Deal, A Lifesaver For Honduras, In Doubt, Noticen Writers
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
Honduras became the 17th member of Petrocaribe on Dec. 22. Petrocaribe is the program of Venezuelan state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) through which struggling Central American and Caribbean countries buy fuel products at favorable and deferred terms (see NotiCen, 2007-11-29). Honduras agreed to terms that would supply 100% of its bunker fuel and 30% of its gasoline and diesel for the next two years. The administration of President Manuel Zelaya has said repeatedly that the state would not be able to continue to subsidize fuel prices as it did during 2007 to keep the economy from stalling.
Brazil's President Finds Ethanol A Hard Sell In Central America, Noticen
Brazil's President Finds Ethanol A Hard Sell In Central America, Noticen
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited four Central American nations in a tour of northern Latin America that began in Mexico. It was, for the most part, a "biofuels diplomacy" trip that was played in the media as pitting Lula's ethanol against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's oil. By most accounts, oil won. Brazil is heavily invested in ethanol, and Lula has promoted the stuff as the future great source of the planet's energy and of the region's well-being.He met the greatest resistance to his message in Nicaragua, where President Daniel Ortega conditioned the expansion of ethanol production on …
Region's Ministers Meet Under Plan Puebla-Panama Banner To Avert Energy Crisis, Noticen Writers
Region's Ministers Meet Under Plan Puebla-Panama Banner To Avert Energy Crisis, Noticen Writers
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
The region's energy ministers met this month in Guatemala to confront spiking energy prices. Electricity and fuel costs have come to be regarded as threats to the stability of regional governments as these costs are passed on to an increasingly resistant public.
Argentine Energy Crisis Reveals Region's Weak Power Network, Notisur Writers
Argentine Energy Crisis Reveals Region's Weak Power Network, Notisur Writers
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
An energy crisis in Argentina is having a region-wide impact, exposing the risks of interdependent power delivery systems in the southern cone region of South America. As Argentina and Chile face the possibility of widespread blackouts, analysts fear that the power outages and increases in energy costs could slow Argentina's economic recovery and tie up other regional economies.
Colombia: Indians Win Round Against Oil Giant, Notisur Writers
Colombia: Indians Win Round Against Oil Giant, Notisur Writers
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
A Bogota Circuit Court on March 31 ordered a halt to US- based Occidental Petroleum's drilling near a reservation of the U\'wa Indians. Despite the ruling, protests against exploitation on Indian lands continue, including a hunger strike by Indian congressional representatives. U\'wa Roberto Perez said after the court ruling that the tribe still sees a long battle ahead. "This fight has not been won," Perez said in Washington, where he had been meeting with members of Congress and activists. "While the court ruled to stop Occidental's drilling, the appeal could easily be against us. That is why we must keep …
Central American Countries Plan A Regionally Integrated System Of Electricity Generation & Distribution, Ecocentral Writers
Central American Countries Plan A Regionally Integrated System Of Electricity Generation & Distribution, Ecocentral Writers
NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America
In mid-August, the heads of Central America's electricity institutes met in Managua to review progress on plans to integrate the region's electric generation and distribution systems into one massive electricity grid. The project, which aims to provide all the Central American countries with a constant flow of electricity derived from cheap and sustainable energy sources, will be completed by the year 2001 at a cost of about US$500 million. The six Central American governments--including Panama but excluding Belize--began drawing up plans to integrate their electricity systems after regional dependence on petroleum-generated electricity surged to unprecedented levels during the first half …