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| (Courtesy Enel Green Power) |
The plant at Cerro Pabellón, in the municipality of Ollagüe, will set a double record for Enel Group’s green company: not only will it be the first geothermal plant in South America, but also the first one to be built at 4,500 meters above sea level.
The construction of this facility started on 14 July 2015, after EGP signed a contract with Empresa Nacional del Petróleo (ENAP), the Chilean state company that operates in the hydrocarbon sector. Works will be completed in early 2017 with a total investment of around 320 million US dollars, financed through resources provided by the Enel Green Power.
The technologies that will be transferred to Chile include the cutting-edge drilling system called HH300 that was recently installed in Italy, at Larderello. HH300 is a highly automated hydraulic machine that has an installed capacity of 4 MW and 272 tonnes of hook load capacity and can drill up to 5,000 meters deep into the ground. The drilling structure has a new loading system and uses longer drilling pipes, thus reducing maneuver time and supply costs, achieving an innovative pipe racking management and adding new service platforms. This machine produces evident benefits in terms of safety for operating personnel, efficiency and environmental improvements, since with the same impact and a careful and focused environmental integration, better performances are achieved, while maintaining the balance of the renewable geothermal cycle.
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