Chile is one of the countries with the greatest potential for geothermal energy development in Latin America, but a lack of incentives for investment in the sector has kept it from moving past the exploratory phase. A strategic partnership with New Zealand aims to change that situation.
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| (Courtesy CIA.gov) |
This long, narrow South American country stretches 4,270 kilometres along the slopes of the Andes Mountains, the world's longest volcanic chain, according to the Andean Geothermal Center of Excellence at the University of Chile.
Ten percent of all of the world's volcanoes are found in Chile, "which represents significant potential in geological terms," Gonzalo Salgado of the Chilean Geothermal Energy Association (ACHEGEO) told Tierramérica.
Chile forms part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a belt of volcanoes and earthquake epicentres that in the Americas also encompasses Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Central America, Mexico and parts of Argentina, Bolivia, the United States and Canada. This belt contains numerous virgin territories for thermal energy exploration, said Salgado.
Geothermal energy offers a means of achieving greater energy self-sufficiency in Chile, which currently depends on imports for 70 percent of its energy needs.
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Ten percent of all of the world's volcanoes are found in Chile, "which represents significant potential in geological terms," Gonzalo Salgado of the Chilean Geothermal Energy Association (ACHEGEO) told Tierramérica.
Chile forms part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a belt of volcanoes and earthquake epicentres that in the Americas also encompasses Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Central America, Mexico and parts of Argentina, Bolivia, the United States and Canada. This belt contains numerous virgin territories for thermal energy exploration, said Salgado.
Geothermal energy offers a means of achieving greater energy self-sufficiency in Chile, which currently depends on imports for 70 percent of its energy needs.
Read More.....