South America’s First Geothermal Plant Operating in Chile

South America’s first geothermal plant has begun operating at nearly 15,000 feet above sea level in the Atacama Desert, adding a new source of electricity to Chile’s growing renewables sector.

The Cerro Pabellon plant in northern Chile opened March 31. It has 48 megawatts of installed capacity and could produce around 340 gigawatt hours annually, enough to supply 165,000 Chilean homes, said plant owner Geotermica del Norte, a joint venture between Italy’s Enel Green Power (with a nearly 82 percent ownership share) and Chile’s state oil company ENAP.

With vast forests, blustery coasts and the year-round sunshine of the Atacama ...