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Enel Green Power to invest more than $570 million in Chile

Enel Green Power to invest more than $570 million in Chile Copper Mine Radomiro Tomic, Region II at Antofagasta, Chile (source: flickr/ matt.hintsa, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 18 Aug 2011

Enel Green Power announces investment plans of up to US$570 million for renewable energy projects in Chile, among them geothermal projects.

Reported the other day, the renewable energy arm of Italian utility giant, Enel Green Power has announced it will invest around EUR 400 million (US$570) in renewable energy projects in Chile. Among them will be wind power, solar PV, geothermal and small hydro projects.

The development of this portfolio is one of the main objectives, that the company has outlined for its activities in Chile for the next five years.

“Chile has a very interesting combination of geothermal power, solar energy and wind energy, a huge hydro potential, a growing demand for electricity and a reliable regulatory framework. There are not many places in the world that combine all these elements, so we see in this country a great opportunity to invest in interesting projects and class, ” said Francesco Starace, Director and CEO of Enel Green Power, a company active in Chile since 2001, that two months ago moved its headquarters to the Southern Cone to Chile to manage the entire region, except Brazil.

Among the initiatives promoted by the company is the exploration and evaluation of geothermal energy in northern Chile, which could have a potential capacity exceeding 100 MW. The project is in its stage of processing environment for your next start and could make way for the construction of the first plant of its kind in South America.

The investments by Enel Green Power have increased by over 300% between 2010 and 2011 worldwide. In this context, the coming years the company plans to invest around US$ 9 billion, of which US$2.1 billion will be invested only in Latin America.

“We were able to continue to invest in projects without suffering the impact of volatile markets. So in the coming years we will continue and if we see new business opportunities and development of good projects are ready to increase our resources, especially in Chile, Brazil and Mexico, “forward Starace.”

Source: EV Wind