Mark McCaughreanJan 25

Finally some good news.

You may have been aware of the green hydrogen & ammonia production facility, INNA, proposed for construction on the Chilean coast, very close to Paranal & Armazones, home to ESO's VLT, VLTI, VISTA, & ELT telescopes.

It posed an existential light & atmospheric pollution threat to those world-leading astronomical facilities.

Fortunately, the concerns of the scientific community have been heard & the project cancelled.

https://www.aesandes.com/en/press-release/aes-andes-focus-renewables-and-storage-discontinues-green-hydrogen-development

#science #astronomy

AES Andes Focuses on Renewables and Discontinues Green Hydrogen Development | AES Andes

AES Andes has announced that, following a detailed review of its project portfolio, it has decided to desist from the execution of the INNA project, an initiative designed to produce green hydrogen

AES Andes
Show thread*_jߍyrope
@Mark McCaughrean Okay, sounds like a win and a loss. Green hydrogen should be supported, and the reason why Kast rejects this is probably climate change denial. The scientific community should clearly distance itself from such politician(s), eventually by pointing out, where the cancelled project could find a better home. After all water vapour is nothing more than a cloud.
Jan 26 at 1:02pmWeb
Show threadMark McCaughreanJan 26

@jrp I fully understand the ambivalence & wider concerns – it's a victory for astronomy, but arguably in some ways not for science & evidence-based policy.

That said, I think most astronomers were well aware of the contradictions & tricky nuances in this case, arguing not against INNA & green energy per se, but rather the choice of siting the plant so close to a protected dark skies zone.

Chile's coastline is very long & it seems as though this plant could be constructed elsewhere.

Show thread*_jߍyropeJan 26
@Mark McCaughrean Right I did understand this. So is there an official distancing from the different rather right-wing position?
Show threadMark McCaughreanJan 26

@jrp I'm not sure – I haven't seen any official statement from ESO yet, & the AES Andes announcement was pretty anodyne, citing neither the scientific concerns or any possible political pressure. FWIW, AES Andes is almost entirely owned by a US corporation, AES.

So any thoughts I've posted in this thread are purely mine, & even though I have a very strong professional interest in preserving the dark skies over the VLT & ELT, I'm not speaking on behalf of anyone or any organisation here.

Show thread*_jߍyropeJan 26
@Mark McCaughrean Thank you for the background, it's appreciated.