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Chile represents one of the largest undeveloped geothermal areas of the world.〔Fabián Sepúlveda, Alfredo Lahsen, Klaus Dorsch, Carlos Palacios and Steffen Bender (Geothermal Exploration in the Cordón Caulle Region, Southern Chile ). Proceedings World Geothermal Congress 2005.〕 Despite Chile's good economic performance in the late 1980s and 1990s, geothermal energy did not develop, and Chile has been surpassed by other Latin American countries such as El Salvador and Costa Rica in terms of geothermal development and technology. Currently Chile does not produce any geothermal power. The first geothermal explorations in Chile were carried out by Italians living in the city of Antofagasta in 1908 but it was not until 1968 that systematic exploration started at in the north of the country. These later explorations occurred amidst a global wave of research and development of the geothermal power. The exploration were carried out after an agreement between the Government of Chile and United Nations Development Programme were state agency CORFO (Production Development Corporation) created a comité to direct and carry out exploration in the northern regions of Chile.〔Alfredo Lahsen Azar. (LA ENERGIA GEOTERMICA: POSIBILIDADES DE DESARROLLO EN CHILE ). Universidad de Chile〕 These explorations did however end in 1976 when the military government headed by Pinochet withdrew Chile from the cooperation program. High prices of oil, 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. New interest in geothermal energy resulted in 2000 in the promulgation of the Law of Geothermal Concessions that regulates exploitation and exploration of geothermal resources.〔Alfredo Lahsen, Fabián Sepúlveda, Juan Rojas and Carlos Palacios (Present Status of Geothermal Exploration in Chile ). Proceedings World Geothermal Congress 2005〕〔(LEY SOBRE CONCESIONES DE ENERGIA GEOTERMICA )〕 ==Exploration and projects== Chile's main areas of geothermal activity are located in the Andes of the Far North and in the south-central areas of the country. 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.〔 In 2005 the National Commission of Energy was considering the dtsrting of three 100 MWe projects in the next 10 years,〔 and in 2011 Energy Minister Rodrigo Alvarez Zenteno said Chile had the potential to produce between 6,000 and 112,000 megawatts of geothermal energy.〔(Chile Investigates Geothermal Power "Chilean Geothermal Co. Submits Plans for a 70MW Power Plant" ), March 1, 2012, "Global Geothermal News"〕 A project located in the concession area called San Gregorio, which is being explored by Geoglobal Energy Chile (GGE), is likely to be the first geothermal project to be completed in Chile. The site has potential for 75 MW, and the company submitted it's EIA in March 2012, with a plan to come online in early 2016.〔()〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Geothermal power in Chile」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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