Environmental impact assessment (EIA) for electrical infrastructure

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a tool with the aim to identify, predict, evaluate, and prevent or, if necessary, correct and communicate the impacts of a project on the environment [1]. The EIA is regulated by the environmental laws of each country, where commonly an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required to obtain an environmental license. Colombian legislation, as in several other countries, does not determine what EIA methodology is used (rather it is limited to suggesting a few parameters). Ultimately, the decision is left to the work group responsible for developing the EIS. For this reason, many methodologies and variants are created, thereby affecting the process quality. It was determined that the best option is to adjust an already established methodology, taking advantage of its experience. The Qualitative Methodology was selected based on criteria such as legislation, technical aspects, methods comparison and background. Adjustments to qualitative evaluation are proposed based on careful consideration of every aspect affecting the importance of an impact. These components were aligned with the suggestions of the Colombian legislation. Finally, they were checked with a focus on the environmental impacts of the electrical sector. This paper presents the main results of the development of a master thesis.