Closing GEOLAC 2019: Cerro Pabellón Geothermal Plant Site Visit

From our Editorial Team

The 6th Geothermal Congress for Latin America and the Caribbean (GEOLAC) closed with a site visit to the Cerro Pabellón Geothermal Plant. Located 4,500 meters above sea level in the Atacama Desert, Cerro Pabellón is Chile’s only geothermal plant, and the highest in the world.

The tour, led by Guido Cappetti, CEO of Geotérmica del Norte S.A., offered delegates a chance to explore the design and management of this technologically advanced plant. Visitors included multilaterals, government officials, and representatives of energy companies from South America to Asia. As with previous GEOLAC site visits, Cerro Pabellón produced valuable insights that can only happen in context — deepening discussions begun at the conference.

“GEOLAC gives the unique opportunity to put together developers, regulators, country officials, and multilaterals. So we have all the financing, the permits, the people who want to develop the project, all in one place. That is a very unique situation,” said attendee Christiaan Gischler Blanco, Co-Leader of the Mining, Geothermal and Hydrocarbon Cluster for the IDB. “Adding to GEOLAC a phase where you can actually see and feel and smell and just live the geothermal plant is unique. And having the opportunity to come to the highest plant on Earth, it’s a privilege.”

Find presentations from GEOLAC 2019, including on Cerro Pabellón, here.