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Chile launching new concession scheme for direct use of geothermal energy

Chile launching new concession scheme for direct use of geothermal energy Parliament building in Santiago/ Chile (source: flickr/ Boris Kasimov, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 21 Mar 2019

Chile's Minister of Energy, Susana Jiménez, announced that her government is about to send a new bill to the legislature that aims to introduce a new geothermal concession system facilitating development of projects of direct uses of geothermal.

As a way to optimize the process related to the development of geothermal projects, Chile’s Minister of Energy, Susana Jiménez, announced that during this year they will develop a national strategy that identifies the main issues and actions that must be addressed to allow effective and clean development. of thermal consumption in industries and households.

For this, he said, they are close to sending a bill that will improve and facilitate the generation of geothermal-based initiatives: “In the next few days we will introduce a bill that will perfect the geothermal concession system, facilitating the development of projects of direct uses of the heat of the earth, which will have visible benefits for schools, hospitals, public buildings, and industrial items such as tourism, agroindustry and mining. ”

The announcement was made by the Minister Susana Jiménez, within the framework of the VI version of the Annual Renewable Energy Dinner, held last Tuesday, before an audience that included Claudia Schmidt and Baldo Prokurica, Ministers of Environment and Mining respectively; and representatives of various associations of renewable energy, such as Gerónimo Carcelén, of the Geothermal Council, and Fernando González, president of the Association of Solar Power Concentration, ACSP.

Environmental actions

On the other hand, the minister indicated that they seek to carry out new procedures in the area of green tax, migrating from a purely tax collection instrument to a cost-effective instrument by offsetting emissions.

Moreover, she explained, “by the end of this year we will be the first country in the world to connect with the World Bank’s emissions trading platform, providing new incentives for environmental improvements. As a government and as a country, we have set high goals. It is everyone’s responsibility to promote this energy transition, constituting once again a model of sustainable development for the world. ”

Source: Reporte Sosstenible