Recently, the Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) of the Regional Government of Antofagasta has granted Enel Green Power (EGP), through Geotérmica del Norte (GDN), its joint venture with ENAP, the environmental license for a 50 MW geothermal site named Cerro Pabellón. This will be the first geothermal site to be developed by EGP in Chile and the first in all of South America.Cerro Pabellón is located in the “Pampa Apacheta”, Ollague district, in the Antofagasta region, 120 km North East of Calama city (4,300 meters above sea level).
This geothermal site has the potential to feed Chile’s Northern Interconnected System (SING) with approximately 375 GWh of reliable base load clean power each year, enough to meet the energy needs of 190,000 households. The plant will help diversify Chile’s energy mix, specifically the one of the Antofagasta region, and will cut down annual atmospheric emission by 250,000 tons of CO2 as well as avoid to import of 100,000 tons of diesel and 135,000 tons of coal.Enel Green Power already has a geothermal installed capacity of about 769 MW between Italy and North America, and is developing further geothermal projects in Italy, US, Central America and, Turkey
