Dec 20 2010
Ormat Technologies proclaimed that its subsidiary, Ormat Andina Energia, had concluded the granting process for the San Pablo II geothermal exploration concession in northern Chile.
This concession situated to the north of the San Pedro/San Pablo twin volcanic quarter is in the vicinity of copper mines and access roads, who would probably be the potential customers for the electricity generated by the power unit. The company would begin testing and evaluation studies for assessing the feasibility of the location for the commercial development of the power plant. The results from the tests would help Ormat to decide the future possibilities and actions.
The government of Chile had raised a 20% target for renewable energy by 2020. Currently renewables account for only 3.5 % of the total energy in Chile. The government is also planning on new legislative initiatives, funds and allocation of resources for reducing the risks associated with geothermal explorations. They had announced public tenders for 20 new geothermal concessions the previous month in support of geothermal development. The results would be disclosed by February 2011 . If all goes well with this concession and the future projects, Ormat would increase its diverse portfolio in Latin America.
According to Yoram Broncki, COO and President of Ormat, the strong demand for electricity, supportive governmental measures and the huge untapped reserves of geothermal energy would definitely be the factors for the company’s expansion into the Latin American region. The company’s past experience in the geothermal technologies would be of great benefit for the Chilean development. Ormat with its four decades of experience in geothermal and recovered energy generation has also 75 US patents to its credit.