The long anticipated 48 MW geothermal power plant Cerro Pabellon has started commercial operation supplying electricity to Northern Chile.
The Cerro Pabellón plant is located at an elevation of 4,500 meters above sea level in the Ollagüe commune in the Atacama Desert. The plant is the first geothermal installation in all of South America, and the first large-scale high enthalpy geothermal plant in the world built at such high altitude.
Built by Enel Green Power Chile Ltda. (EGPC), the Chilean subsidiary for renewable energies of the Enel Group, and the Hydrocarbons National Petroleum Company (“ENAP”), began supplying electricity to the Northern Interconnected System (SING) serving northern Chile.
The facility is composed of two units with a gross installed capacity of 24 MW each and is owned by Geotérmica del Norte SA (“GDN”), a joint venture controlled by EGPC (81.7%) and in which ENAP 18.3%). The plant was built by Ormat Technologies.
“Cerro Pabellón starts generating electricity is a very important milestone for us in Chile,” said Guido Cappetti, General Manager of GDN. “Thanks to our unique geothermal experience we have been able to take advantage of Chile’s enormous geothermal potential, strengthening Enel’s and Enap’s commitment to diversifying the Chilean generation matrix through a new source of renewable energy.”
