Chile:

The Race to Get Chiles First Geothermal Plant Online (Cross posted from ThinkGeoenergy)

El Tatio Geyser in the Antofasta region of Chile

(Courtesy ThinkGeoenergy)

Enel Green Power, GeoGlobal Energy, Energy Andean and Magma Energy are the four companies to compete for the first geothermal power plant in Chile.

The Cerro Pampa Hall-Barrow project, run by the North Geothermal Company, a subsidiary of Enel Green Power, is considered by many to be the best candidate to become the first geothermal power plant  in the country. The exploration stage has completed, indicating a feasibility of constructing a 50 MW plant, which would entail an investment of U.S. $ 180 million. The project is currently awaiting the resolution of environmental qualification (RCA).

But it is not the only one that moves in this race. The New Zealand Energy GeoGlobal Chile works for your project Curacautín become the first plant. According to general manager Rüdiger Trenkle, the geothermal plant would have a capacity of 70 MW, which will be supplied to the Central Interconnected System (SIC). “The total cost of investment in the plant would amount about $350 million,” he says.

Meanwhile, Andean Energy-controlled by Antofagasta Minerals, Luskic-group and partly owner NZ based Origin Energy, but has no pretensions of being the first, it does aspire to become the largest geothermal power generating country. To achieve this has eight projects with varying degrees of progress in five regions of Chile. “Our project Tinguiririca (Region VI), is the most advanced, but we hope that by the end of 2012 the others are at par at the perforations. In this way, we will evaluate which of all can be transformed into our first geothermal power plant, “says Jose Manuel Soffia, general manager bof the firm. The expected decision taken before 2015.

Finally Alterra Power (Magma Energy), a Canadian company, has a portfolio of geothermal exploration projects in Chile, Argentina, Nicaragua, Peru and the United States. Butterflies and Pellado their projects in Laguna del Maule, are possibly escalating into geothermal by 2015. “They are located within 120 KM of Talca and inferred potential is 300 MWe. We hope to start building in 2015 and in 2016 started the release of energy to the Central Interconnected System (SIC) “he says.