Cerro Pabellón: the team that conquered the desert

“I’ve dealt with geothermal energy for this company since 1990. I always ask myself: what is the most beautiful plant that you’ve started up? Until a few days ago, I always said ‘the next one’, but now I say Cerro Pabellón”. Simone Villani arrived in Chile one year ago, went up to 4,600 metres of elevation to become the commissioning leader of the project for the first geothermal plant in Latin America, which we built in the region of Antofagasta. “At this altitude, there are no telephones and the Internet connection is very weak. We’re in the middle of nowhere, but the March 31 achievement is so important because of that”, explains Villani, remembering the day when, after an exhausting wait and many hours of work behind them, our team saw Cerro Pabellón produce its first kWh of energy. A few days ago, Cerro Pabellón started to feed power into the Interconectado del Norte Grande System (SING) which provides power to northern Chile, but once fully operational it will be able to produce about 340 GWh a year, enough to meet the energy needs of more than 165,000 Chilean households. “It was like seeing the birth of a baby, it was an immense joy that I’ll never forget”, adds Villani, who left a piece of his heart in that dusty area of the Atacama Desert. Humans, Technology and the Forces of Nature Every day at Cerro Pabellón, nature throws a new formidable challenge at whoever finds themselves in that expanse of rocks and salt lakes in the region of Antofagasta. The plant incorporates the most advanced geothermal technology, making it perfectly suited to the extreme conditions in an area like the desert, characterised by strong temperature fluctuations, strong winds and high altitudes. "The machines are specifically designed to withstand conditions that are like none other in the world – space agencies test their vehicles for exploring Mars in this corner of Chile." Humans, however, need time to discover the secrets of living with a context that can prove hostile on more than one occasion. None of the more than 1,000 people working at the Cerro Pabellón geothermal project was able to avoid this confrontation with nature – a nature from which humans can only emerge victorious by listening, understanding and respecting the environment around them. A Family at Work “It might seem banal, but this team is really like a family. There may be disagreements sometimes, but each of us is aware of the importance of every other colleague. We worked day and night to make this shared dream a reality. And we did it”, says Villani. "The first geothermal plant in Latin America is the result of a perfect mix between vision, innovation and technology. But without the people who worked at Cerro Pabellón every day, it wouldn’t have been possible." “From my team I have to thank Giuseppe Esposto, the youngest Commissioning Manager for Enel Green Power worldwide, 28 years old but with lots of experience behind him, and the fantastic Senior Commissioning Manager Gianluca Mancini. Without their enormous contribution to the project, the commissioning of Cerro Pabellón would not have reached the same results”. The Cerro Pabellón project also has a feminine side. Like in more and more areas in Enel Green Power, the team working in the Atacama Desert can count on Marianna Zeppieri, Project Engineer and the only woman employed on the Chilean geothermal project. After months of working side by side, Simone Villani has no doubts: “Her contribution was fundamental and she brought significant added value. Marianna has proven to be a crucial element and also managed to put up with us for all this time!”.

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Cerro Pabellón: the team that conquered the desert

Cerro Pabellón: the team that conquered the desert