The Finis Terrae solar PV field, set to become the country’s largest, and Cerro Pabellόn, the first geothermal plant in Latin America and the first binary cycle built at a 4,500 metre altitude. Two sites that turn Chile into a record-breaker on the continent for Enel Green Power
Two worksites for two plants and many more. In a few days, Enel Green Power will launch the construction in Chile of the Cerro Pabellόn geothermal plant and the Finis Terrae solar field. These new plants are included on the long list of ‘renewable factories’ that EGP is completing in Latin America in particular, but not only. However, the two facilities to be built in the northern region of Antofagasta stand apart from others under construction because they turn Chile into a country in which EGP’s renewables have broken records
The Cerro Pabellόn geothermal plant, whose construction began on July 14, has broken two records: it’s the first facility using this renewable technology in the whole of Latin America and also the first in the world that was built at 4,500 metres above sea level. Additionally, Cerro Pabellόn marks the beginning of a new age for Chile, whose estimated geothermal potential amounts to 3,600MW, which is still untapped. EGP will build the plant together with the Empresa Nacional del Petróleo (ENAP), and the expertise it has gained, combined with experiences leading up to the opening of the Chilean worksite show that the company is the only geothermal operator that is capable of covering the entire project cycle, from exploration to plant construction and management.
The Finis Terrae solar PV field, on the other hand,is set to become the largest in Chile, with a total installed capacity of 160 MW. Under construction in an area that ensures up to 2,380 hours of solar exposure and a radiation percentage higher than that of the Sahara, Finis Terrae will be able to generate, when put into service, more than 400GWh per year, equivalent to the annual needs of almost 198,000 Chilean families, thus avoiding more than 198,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
Chile is a bustling worksite in which EGP is also working on, besides the record-breaking Cerro Pabellόn and Finis Terrae facilities, a long list of other projects: the 97MW Carrera Pinto solar PV field, the 24MW Los Buenos Aires and 19MW Pampa Norte wind farms and the off-grid system at the Ollagüe village. The irony is that the two record-breaking plants use two technologies that until now were not among Enel Green Power’s main renewable sources in Chile. In fact, in this Latin American country, EGP currently manages a facility portfolio with a total capacity of 600MW, 340MW of which from wind, 154MW from solar and 92MW from hydro. But, as demonstrated by the worksites that have opened and the activities that are being carried out at Cerro Pabellόn and Finis Terrae, EGP is in the process of implementing projects that will generate some 600MW, which will allow it to reach a total installed capacity of around 1,200MW in this country.
