Thirteen companies, including the Chilean unit of Italian power utility Enel SpA (ENEL.MI), power generator Colbun (COLBUN.SN) and mining company Minera Escondida, which runs the world's largest copper mine, bid for twenty new geothermal concessions in Chile, the nation's Energy Minister said on Wednesday.

To promote the development of geothermal energy exploration and production in the Andean nation, the government opened a tender process for twenty new geothermal concessions in September.

That process came to a close Tuesday with 13 companies making 70 bids for the 20 concessions, Energy Minister Ricardo Raineri said, adding that "best bids" will be awarded the concessions by the end of February.

"We're pleasantly surprised with the good showing this [tender] process received. It goes to show that the development of geothermal energy has a promising future," Raineri said.

Minera Escondida is controlled and operated by diversified global mining company BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP, BHP.AU), with a 57.5% stake, while Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto PLC (RTP, RIO.LN) holds 30% and a Japanese consortium led by Mitsubishi Corp. (MSBHY, 8058.TO) owns 12.5%.

The government has said it expects to see more than $200 million in investments in geothermal energy exploration and development over the next two years.

The Andean nation's most advanced geothermal project is being developed by the Chilean unit of Enel.

The so-called Apacheta geothermal project in northern Chile is aiming to provide 40-megawatts of geothermal electricity by the end of 2013 or early 2014 to the northern SING power grid.

The Apacheta project is being developed in a joint-venture called Geotermica del Norte S.A., with Enel holding 51%, Chilean state oil and gas company Empresa Nacional del Petroleo SA, or ENAP, holding 46%, and state copper-mining company Corporacion Nacional del Cobre, or Codelco holding the remaining 3%.

Nearly three-fourths of the new geothermal concessions are located in Chile's arid north, where the vast majority of the nation's booming copper mining industry is located.

Geothermal energy development is part of the government's efforts to assure future power supply to the local mining industry, said Raineri, adding that within ten years some 1,000 megawatts of geothermal energy will likely be harnessed from the heat trapped underneath Chile's surface.

The government has said it aims to have 20% of Chile's power coming from non-conventional energy sources, which include geothermal, solar and wind energy, by 2020, as the Andean nation needs to incorporate more than 10,000 megawatts of new capacity over the next 10 years to keep up with demand.

As of December 2009, the central SIC grid, which provides power to over 90% of the country's population, had an installed capacity of 11,352 megawatts.

-By Anthony Esposito, Dow Jones Newswires; 56-2-715-8929; anthony.esposito@dowjones.com

 
 
Encore Energy Partners Lp (NYSE:ENP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Encore Energy Partners Lp Charts.
Encore Energy Partners Lp (NYSE:ENP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Encore Energy Partners Lp Charts.