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Socioeconomic, Environmental, and Social Impacts of a Concentrated Solar Power Energy Project in Northern Chile

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Mediterranean Green Buildings & Renewable Energy

Abstract

Concentrated solar power deployment could play an important role in the sustainable development strategy of Chile, the country with the highest solar potential in the world. In this regard, besides electricity generation costs, it is also important to assess the socioeconomic, environmental, and social implications of energy investment projects. To shed some light on this issue, this chapter contributes to the existing body of knowledge by conducting a sustainability assessment of the installation, operation, and maintenance of a 110 MW concentrated solar power tower plant in Chile. Using an input–output methodology based on plant cost data, this chapter estimates the direct and indirect socioeconomic and environmental effects of the project in terms of economic activity, job creation, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions. Additionally, using the Social Hotspots Database, a preliminary social risk analysis in those economic sectors most stimulated by the project in terms of employment is performed. Assuming domestic provision of all goods and services, results show that the associated total socioeconomic impacts over the lifetime of the plant would amount to US $3124 million, a multiplier effect of 2.2, and a ratio of indirect per direct job creation of 1.21. Additionally, results also show that direct and indirect economic activities required by the project would generate 64.36 g CO2/kWh. Finally, a social assessment indicates the existence of a high unemployment risk in those sectors most stimulated; therefore the project could decrease these unemployment risks.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The categories are labor rights and decent work, healthy and safety, human rights, governance, and community infrastructure.

  2. 2.

    The complete economic sector titles can be found in Appendix 1 (United Nations database).

  3. 3.

    Comparing these results with the economic effects of the 17 MW Spanish plant, the total effect is €2230 M, with a multiplier effect of 2.3 [19].

  4. 4.

    The sectors that do not result indirectly stimulated are those which do not have data in the original IOT.

  5. 5.

    The induced effect is only estimated in the O&M phase due to personnel cost data lack associated to the investment phase.

  6. 6.

    Sectors that do not appear in figures is due to the insignificance of results

  7. 7.

    Some desegregation like “industry” was performed with the employment vector of Brazil because of a lack of data for Chile, and because labor productivity in Brazil in 2003 was smaller (World Bank database) [36], the employment results in some industrial sectors in Chile could be overestimated.

  8. 8.

    It is assumed that the plant would produce 27,300 GWh in the whole life time.

  9. 9.

    Some comparisons for this result have been done: 60.1 g CO2/kWh from a 50 MW parabolic trough plant without natural gas consumption [17]; 60 g CO2 eq./kWh [37] and 48 g CO2 eq./kWh [38] from a solar tower plant.

  10. 10.

    The corresponding sectors in the SHDB are Construction, Machinery and equipment n.e.c., Manufactures n.e.c., Metal products, and Mineral products n.e.c.

  11. 11.

    There are more social themes within the impact category Labor rights and decent work, but they are not explained because of a lack of data in the SHDB.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by a grant from CIEMAT for the training of research personnel.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Energy Systems Analysis Unit, Energy Department, CIEMAT (Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas), Madrid, Spain

    Irene Rodríguez, Natalia Caldés, Cristina De La Rúa & Yolanda Lechón

  2. CEIGRAM Research Centre for the Management of Agricultural and Environmental Risks, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Alberto Garrido

Authors
  1. Irene Rodríguez
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  2. Natalia Caldés
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  3. Alberto Garrido
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  4. Cristina De La Rúa
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  5. Yolanda Lechón
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Irene Rodríguez .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Flat 3, World Renewable Energy Congress, Brighton, UK

    Ali Sayigh

Appendix 1: Description of Chilean IOT (United Nations) [42]

Appendix 1: Description of Chilean IOT (United Nations) [42]

  • Sector 1: Agriculture, hunting, forestry, and fishing

  • Sector 2: Mining and quarrying

  • Sector 3: Food products, beverages, and tobacco

  • Sector 4: Textiles, textile products, leather, and footwear

  • Sector 5: Wood and products of wood and cork

  • Sector 6: Pulp, paper, paper products; printing and publishing

  • Sector 7: Coke, refined petroleum products and nuclear fuel

  • Sector 8: Chemicals and chemical products

  • Sector 9: Rubber and plastic products

  • Sector 10: Other nonmetallic mineral products

  • Sector 11: Basic metals

  • Sector 12: Fabricated metal products except machinery and equipment

  • Sector 13: Machinery and equipment n.e.c.

  • Sector 14: Office, accounting, and computing machinery

  • Sector 15: Electrical machinery and apparatus n.e.c.

  • Sector 16: Radio, television, and communication equipment

  • Sector 17: Medical, precision, and optical instruments

  • Sector 18: Motor vehicles, trailers, and semi-trailers

  • Sector 19: Other transport equipment

  • Sector 20: Manufacturing n.e.c.; recycling

  • Sector 21: Electricity, gas, and water supply

  • Sector 22: Construction

  • Sector 23: Wholesale and retail trade; repairs

  • Sector 24: Hotels and restaurants

  • Sector 25: Transport and storage

  • Sector 26: Postal and telecommunication services

  • Sector 27: Finance and insurance

  • Sector 28: Real estate activities

  • Sector 29: Renting of machinery and equipment

  • Sector 30: Computer and related activities

  • Sector 31: Research and development

  • Sector 32: Other business activities

  • Sector 33: Public administration and defence; compulsory social security

  • Sector 34: Education

  • Sector 35: Health and social work

  • Sector 36: Other community, social, and personal services

  • Sector 37: Private households with employed persons

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Rodríguez, I., Caldés, N., Garrido, A., De La Rúa, C., Lechón, Y. (2017). Socioeconomic, Environmental, and Social Impacts of a Concentrated Solar Power Energy Project in Northern Chile. In: Sayigh, A. (eds) Mediterranean Green Buildings & Renewable Energy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30746-6_68

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30746-6_68

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