Regional News - Latin America

Latin American INforSE meeting in June

The founding meeting of INforSE Latin America is postponed till the last week of June to coincide with the ELAN/FLEA meeting (Latin American Anti Nuclear and Alternative Energy Network). Limited support is available for INforSE member organizations.

Program and further information: IED, att. Emilio Rovere, c/o Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Bloco C, Sala 211, C.P. 68565, Ilha do Fundao' ,21945 Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil, ph: +55-21-2709995/9662, fax: +5521-290 6626.

Renewable Energy Campaign in Uruguay

REDES, one of the regional focal points of INforSE and the Uruguayan part of Friends of the Earth, is now planning a renewable energy campaign for Uruguay. The campaign will be carried through in cooperation with other NGOs including cooperative organizations. Major elements in the campaign will be:

· construction of a permanent exhibition of sustainable energy solutions in the REDES Eco-Comunidad (an ecological village project), production of brochures and other publications in order to systematize existing information and new results,

· a test station for solar collectors for water heating at the Uruguayan market.

Information: REDES, att. Martin Prieto, Avenida Millan 4113, Montevideo, Uruguay, ph: +598-2-356265, fax: +598-2-381640, e-mail: redesur@ chasque.apc.org

Windturbines and hydropower in Costa Rica

The Inter-American Development Bank and European Investment Bank will give loans with a total of USD 515 mill. for the power sector in Costa Rica. The loans will fund the construction of a 177 MW hydropower plant in the Reventazon River basin and a 20 MW wind power project in Tejona near Lake Arenal. The wind turbine park will be the first of its kind in Central America. Other uses of the loan will be network construction and an energy conservation program.

Source: Inter American Development Bank newsletter, Jan-Feb. 1994.

Hydropower in Venezuela

The Inter-American Development Bank will provide a loan of USD 500 mill., the largest in the Banks history, to the construction of a 2,160 MW hydro power plant in the eastern Venezuelan state of Guayana on the Caroni river. The project with a total cost of USD 2.13 billion includes financing for 13 projects to minimize adverse environmental effects of the works. The project also supports the government's electrical sector reform program to establish a regulatory framework and a pricing policy to encourage more efficient use of energy resources. Source: Inter-American Development Bank newsletter Jan-Feb. 1994.