Astronomers are celebrating the cancellation of a $10bn green hydrogen and ammonia facility in Chile's Atacama Desert that would have endangered the world's clearest skies for ground-based astronomy. The INNA project, proposed by AES Andes, a subsidiary of US energy company AES Corporation, was formally withdrawn after almost a year of environmental evaluation.
The 3,000-hectare facility would have included a port, transport links to the coast and three solar power plants, located just 11.6km from the Paranal Observatory. Astronomers warned it would have irreparably damaged observations by raising light pollution, causing tiny earth vibrations, dust deposition on telescope mirrors, and increased atmospheric turbulence.
Itziar de Gregorio, the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) representative in Chile, said: 'This cancellation means that the INNA project will no longer have a negative impact on the Paranal Observatory. However, what this megaproject has brought to the table is the urgent need for clear protection measures around the sites where professional astronomy is carried out in Chile.'
The Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Paranal, built 2,600 metres above sea level, has contributed to three Nobel prize-winning discoveries. Nearby, the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is under construction and will be the most powerful telescope ever built, capable of studying distant galaxies and Earth-like exoplanets.
An open letter led by Nobel laureate Reinhard Genzel in December urged the Chilean government to reject the project. AES Andes declined to comment but stated in a press release that it had decided to cease the project after a detailed portfolio analysis, adding it was 'absolutely compatible' with other activities in the area.
