Chorreritas Hydropower Project in Colombia receives Silver certification under the Hydropower Sustainability Standard
The Chorreritas Hydropower Project has earned Silver certification under the Hydropower Sustainability Standard (HSS) following a rigorous assessment process. It becomes the 10th hydropower project worldwide to achieve Silver certification or higher.
Developed by Energo-Pro on the San Andrés River in Colombia's northern Antioquia region, the project stands out for its performance in areas such as resettlement and biodiversity management.
The project was previously assessed in 2022 using the HESG tool, a predecessor to the HSS. Energo-Pro has since implemented an action plan to close gaps identified in the original assessment and achieve Silver HSS certification.
Water quality monitoring of surface sources in the area of influence
Joerg Hartmann, the project's lead assessor, said: “The Chorreritas project shows how smaller hydropower projects, if well located and designed, can have a minimal footprint.
“This project has been developed in an existing cascade, directly next to a highway, with only a few hectares of land required. And in a country where hydropower is often contentious, the developer team established very respectful and mutually supportive community relations.”
Meeting to disseminate the progress of the work and activities to comply with the EMP.
Silver certification is awarded to projects that meet all baseline requirements and at least 30% of the advanced requirements of the HSS.
The Chorreritas project is scheduled to be commissioned next year, contributing 19.9MW of installed hydropower capacity to the San Andrés municipality.
You can find out more on the Chorreritas Hydropower Project assessment profile.
