Energía Austral will start the process of obtaining environmental approval for the Blanco hydroelectric plant during 2012. The Knight Piésold consulting company prepared its study under the supervision of Energía Austral.

As in the case of Energía Austral’s other projects, the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) for Blanco adheres strictly to Chilean legislation, World Bank guidelines and the highest international standards.

For the preparation of the EIS, a variety of technical, environmental and social studies were carried out in an area of 40,000 hectares in order to ensure the best possible project in relation to its surroundings. The EIS was also subjected to detailed independent auditing in order to ensure its rigour and compliance with the regulation in force.