ENEL and ENAP 48 MW geothermal Power Plant connected to the grid

Cerro Pabellon South America’s first 48 MW Geothermal power plant Built by ENEL (Enel Green Power Chile Ltd.) and ENAP (Empresa Nacional del Petroleo) has started delivering electricity to Norte Grande Interconnected System that serves northern Chile.

The power plant is located in Ollague in the Antofagasta region, 4,500 metres above sea level in the Atacama Desert, and is the world’s first high enthalpy, utility-scale geothermal plant to be built at such a high altitude. The facility is comprised of two units each with a gross installed capacity of 24 MW and is owned by Geotermica del Norte S.A. (“GDN”), a joint venture controlled by EGPC (81.7%) and participated by ENAP (18.3%).

Once fully up and running, the plant will be able to produce about 340 GWh per year, equivalent to the consumption needs of over 165,000 Chilean households, while avoiding the annual emission into the atmosphere of more than 166,000 tonnes of CO2.

General Manager of GDN, Guido Cappetti said that Cerro Pabellon beginning to generate electricity is a major milestone for us in Chile. Thanks to their unique geothermal expertise, they have been able to harness part of Chile’s huge geothermal potential, strengthening Enel and Enap’s commitment to help with the diversification of the Chilean generation mix through a new renewable energy resource.