Santiago Times

Frei, the candidate for the governing center-left Concertación coalition, would beat out rival independent candidate Marco Enríquez-Ominami in the first round of an election, 22.8 percent to 21.5 percent (within a statistical margin of error), but would fare worse in the eventual second round against leading conservative candidate Sebastián Piñera. In such a runoff, either candidate would lose to Piñera, but Enríquez-Ominami would capture more of the vote (40.3 percent) than Frei (38.1 percent).

The Escondida mine, located in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, will pay each of its workers a bonus of US$25,340, give them a 5 percent raise, increase their health and education benefits, and provide easy access to up to US$6,339 in loans. The union, which has roughly 2,250 members, voted to accept the offer with a 72 percent yes vote. The union contract was set to expire Dec. 5. (more…)

Wind Energy Is Emerging As Top Energy Prospect, Says Tokman

The quantity of renewable energy in Chile’s electric grid has more than doubled since the beginning of President Michelle Bachelet’s term, the state-run daily La Nación reported Monday.

The country’s capacity to produce energy labeled Non-Conventional Renewable Energy (ERNC) rose from 286 MW in 2005 – making up just 2.4 percent of the grid’s roughly 13,000 MW capacity – to an estimated 600 MW by the end of 2009, or 4 percent of the capacity.

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