Geothermal power in Chile

State agency CORFO (Production Development Corporation) created a comité to direct and carry out explorations in Chile's northern regions.

High oil prices, unreliability in gas imports from Argentina and a continuously growing electricity demand have led the Chilean governments to further promote new energy sources in the late 1990s and 2000s.

[5] Cerro Pabellón is owned by Geotérmica del Norte, a joint venture between Enel Green Power Chile —the local unit of the Italian corporation Enel— and Chilean state-owned oil and gas company Enap.

Geothermal systems in Chile are associated with volcanoes, so areas lacking significant volcanism like Magallanes Region or Norte Chico have limited power producing capacity.

The main areas with potential are, from north to south: Puchuldiza, Apacheta, El Tatio-La Torta, Calabozos, Nevados de Chillán and Cordón Caulle.

[8] In September 2009, a failed prospecting drill for geothermal exploitation in the (1960's) Nº 10 well near the El Tatio area, by the Geotérmica del Norte consortium - formed by the Chilean state owned ENAP and Codelco Mining companies in association with Italian state owned ENEL - caused a 60-meter high artificial fumarole to develop, with the company unable to seal it for several weeks.

[9] Since 2007 the Chilean company of American capital Geotermia del Pacífico is exploring a concession right near the town of Curacautín for building a geothermal power plant with support of CORFO.

Geotermia del Pacífico's studies show that two geothermal fields near Curacautín could be used for energy production with combined capacity of supplying 36,000 homes in 2010.