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Hydro-Transitions: an Environmental History of Chilean Electrification

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Hydro-Transitions: an Environmental History of Chilean Electrification HYDRO-TRANSITIONS: AN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY OF CHILEAN ELECTRIFICATION by Peter B. de Montmollin B.A., Syracuse University, 2009 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Geography) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) January 2021 © Peter B. de Montmollin, 2021 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the thesis entitled: Hydro-Transitions: An Environmental History of Chilean Electrification submitted by Peter B. de Montmollin in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography Examining Committee: Matthew Evenden, Geography Department, UBC Supervisor Juanita Sundberg, Geography Department, UBC Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract This thesis examines the history of electrification and hydropower in Chile during the 20th century. Drawing from environmental history, technology history, and science and technology studies, it asks three central questions: How did technology, nature and society interact and shape the hydro-electrification of Chile? What were the economic, environmental and political consequences of damming Chilean rivers for power? And, more broadly, how did rivers, hydroelectric stations and power lines influence territorial and developmental imaginaries and policies over this period? The empirical foundations of the research are primary documents consulted at various archives and libraries in Santiago, Chile, as well as some online repositories. The thesis is structured loosely around the 1943 national electrification plan, which set the terms for constructing a large technological system to exploit Chile’s rivers for power. It explores the origins and creation of the plan, the execution of a key project on the Laja River in south-central Chile, and the failure of another project in Aysén in southern Patagonia. Using these case studies, the thesis makes three main arguments about the history of electricity and hydro power in Chile: 1) that electrification was a key component of the mid-century development project of state-led industrialization; 2) that the construction of the national grid, which is defined as a large envirotechnical system, reveals the limitations to technology’s capacity to capture and control the environment; and 3) that the process of national electrification was a bridge to nation-building processes initiated in the 19th century, as well as to environmental conflicts and energy politics that occurred during and after the Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990). iv Lay Summary This thesis tells the story of hydropower and electricity in Chile during the 20th century. Using archival sources, it seeks to understand how the environment and technology intersected with the politics and history of dams and power grids in South America. By exploring these connections, the thesis examines an underappreciated side of Chile’s modern political and economic history. It also highlights some limits to technology-based development and the different ways that the past matters for contemporary debates about energy and the environment. v Preface This thesis is original, unpublished, independent work by the author, Peter B. de Montmollin. vi Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................... iii Lay Summary ............................................................................................................................................. iv Preface .......................................................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................ vii List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................... viii A Note on Orthography and Terminology .............................................................................................. ix Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................... xi Ch. 1 – Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 The Nature of the Grid .............................................................................................................................. 4 Rivers and Power in Chilean Historiography ............................................................................................ 7 Methods and Sources .............................................................................................................................. 13 Ch. 2 – The Environmental Origins of El Plan ...................................................................................... 17 Early Visions and Early Failures............................................................................................................. 20 Riparian Cartographies ........................................................................................................................... 24 A Chilean Policy for Chile ...................................................................................................................... 27 A National Plan ....................................................................................................................................... 32 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 38 Ch. 3 – Taming the Laja River ................................................................................................................ 41 Origins of a Lake and a Region .............................................................................................................. 43 The State in the Upper Basin .................................................................................................................. 45 The First Multi-Use Agreement .............................................................................................................. 49 Electrifying the Greater Bío-Bío Region ................................................................................................ 52 Diverging Development Paths ................................................................................................................ 56 A Battery in the High Andes ................................................................................................................... 59 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 64 Ch. 4 – Hydro-Legacies in Patagonia ...................................................................................................... 71 Southern Waterpowers ............................................................................................................................ 73 Geostrategic Rivers ................................................................................................................................. 79 Factories at the End of the World ........................................................................................................... 84 Southern Waterpowers Revisited ............................................................................................................ 86 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 92 Ch. 5 – Final Remarks .............................................................................................................................. 98 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................ 106 Appendix: Historical GIS ....................................................................................................................... 120 vii List of Figures Figure 1 – Power Generation, 1960-1975 ................................................................................................... 15 Figure 2 – Chile & the Electrical Regions .................................................................................................. 16 Figure 3 – ENDESA’s Hydro Projects ....................................................................................................... 40 Figure 4 – Contrasting Demand Curves ...................................................................................................... 66 Figure 5 – Region 4 & Abanico .................................................................................................................. 67 Figure 6 – Abanico, front view (c. 1950) .................................................................................................... 68 Figure 7 – ENDESA Line Crew, near Abanico (c. 1950) ..........................................................................
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