Endesa seeks to add 152MW to Ralco capacity

Chilean generator Endesa (NYSE: EOC) has submitted plans to the country's environment commission Conama to increase capacity at its 570MW Ralco plant in Region VIII by 152MW through two different projects. The first project is to increase Ralco's water flow to 452 cubic meters/second from 368 cubic meters/second, and in doing so increase the plant's maximum capacity to 690MW from 570MW. Endesa's water rights for Ralco, issued by Chile's water department DGA, stipulate that the plant can use 255 cubic meters/second as an annual average, and up to 480 cubic meters/second at any given time. The increase would be made through adjusting existing equipment, and requires neither civil works nor investment of note. Independently of that project, Endesa has submitted plans to Conama for the US$33mn, 32MW Palmucho project that would generate 250GWh/year from Ralco's "ecological channel;" waters that do not pass through the power house and instead bypass the dam and return to the BioBío river downstream of the existing plant. The projecta would use one Francis turbine.