Promote for geothermal energy project in the Elqui Valley
Energía Andina company found potential sites in the Baños del Toro of Vicuña sector. The company applied for a grant to the Ministry of Energy to prospect in the area.
Chile is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, with nearly 10% of the active volcanoes in the world. The most conservative data indicate that the country has about 3,500 MW awaiting to be exploited in a horizon of 20 years and, in that context, one of the most advanced projects are located in the Elqui Valley, in the area of Baños del Toro.
At 3,500 meters above sea level, the company Energía Andina began in 2012 surface exploration project. The project studies the existence of a geothermal resource, low to medium temperature (below 180 ° C) associated with a source of heat received in a deep geologic, unlike the known sites in volcanic fault.
With these results, the company requested the Ministry of Energy a concession to exploit the area. “This forces us to look for alternative resource exploitation, such as binary technology, which uses heat exchangers and it is a more expensive technology,” the company said.
In a first survey two zones with geothermal exploration potential is fixed. The most interesting would be the Toro Fault, which runs for eight kilometers.
In the coming months will start a new project phase. “At this stage the territory assigned concession regarding the granting of exploration is bounded. On the other hand, allows for drilling larger holes, yielding much more precise information on the technical and economic viability of the project”, says Energía Andina.
Source: La Tercera
