Chile: Cerro Pabellón Geothermal Power Project Set to be Expanded by 33 MW

Cerro Pabellón: Taking Geothermal Power to New Heights (POWER magazine)

....The two-unit Cerro Pabellón project is set to be expanded. “After this first phase of development, the high geothermal characteristics of this reservoir in terms of temperature and permeability will allow an additional development with costs considerably lower than the previous one. Thus, it has been approved to build a third unit of 33 MW,” said Guido Cappetti, general manager of Geotermica del Norte S.A. (GDN).

After that project is completed, GDN may explore expanding the project to a massive 100 MW, “which is the capacity of the transmission line,” he said. “In the next few years, we will be working to develop the potential of the region,” and that will mean a continued flurry of activity at Cerro Pabellón.

For now, GDN won’t explore other areas in Chile, even though they exhibit promise, because power prices, especially of solar PV and wind power, in Chile have plunged dramatically following the country’s introduction of competitive auctions for renewable energy. Developing more power capacity at Cerro Pabellón currently makes economic sense because infrastructure to transmit power already exists. GDN remains enthusiastic about taking on the challenges. “For us, we are proud to deliver this project. For us it was a fantastic adventure,” Cappetti said.

Read More.........