Industrial project in the Atacama Desert canceled, astronomers relieved

Normally, the announcement of building a wind and solar farm is good news. In the case of Inna, however, the good news is that the project will not be implemented. The facility in Chile could have interfered with the work of astronomers.

Inna was intended to be a facility for the production of green hydrogen and ammonia, which the US company AES Andes wanted to build in the Atacama Desert in Chile, just a few kilometers away from the Paranal Observatory of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Inna was to include, among other things, a solar farm and a wind farm.

This will not happen: The Chilean subsidiary of the US energy group AES has abandoned the project. After thorough review of the project portfolio, it was decided to "discontinue the implementation of the Inna project, an initiative for the production of green hydrogen and green ammonia," AES Andes announced.

Light Pollution and Vibrations

Astronomers worldwide had protested against the project. They received support from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier: The project would have meant significantly more light pollution in the remote area, as a study by ESO has shown.

In addition, the wind turbines would have disturbed astronomical observations at the Very Large Telescope (VLT), the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA), and in the future the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT): On the one hand, wind turbines stir up air, which is very calm at the site. They also generate vibrations that could be transmitted to the ground and then to the precisely aligned telescopes. Both affect observations.

Powerful Telescopes in the Atacama

The telescopes of the Paranal Observatory on Cerro Paranal and Cerro Armazones are among the most powerful in the world. The ELT, costing over a billion euros and currently being built on Cerro Armazones, will be the world's largest optical telescope with its 39-meter main mirror. Completion is planned for the early 2030s.

The Atacama Desert is considered one of the driest regions in the world. There are about 350 clear nights a year. In addition, the region is so remote that there is hardly any air and light pollution that could disturb observations.

The astronomy community is pleased with AES Andes' decision not to implement Inna. The Paranal night sky is secured, commented the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE). "I am very pleased that our efforts have been successful and that the planned industrial complex will now be realized at another location," said Reinhard Genzel, Nobel laureate and director of the Infrared Group at MPE. It was never about "science versus sustainability" for the researchers. "The only problem with the planned facility was always its spatial proximity to the telescopes."

(wpl)