A geothermal greenhouse project that will allow the production of tomatoes all year round in Coz Coz, in the district of Panguipulli, Chile, has been completed. The project was promoted by the Center of Excellence in Geothermal Energy of the Andes (CEGA) and was developed between the years 2020 – 2022.
The geothermal system was installed on the property of Mario Aburto, a farmer and INDAP user from Coz Coz, who estimates that with this project, he will be able to grow tomatoes during the winter season, which will mean an additional annual production of more than ten thousand kilos of tomatoes.
The initiative was financed by the Regional Government's Innovation Fund for Competitiveness (FIC). The inauguration of the project was up to the Faculty of Sciences of the Austral University of Chile. On that occasion, CEGA Director Diego Morata stressed that "we have successfully seen how the Los Ríos region, thanks to public investment, has incorporated geothermal energy into its multiple possibilities, including its use for district heating, and that this would be the next step to take."
This is the first greenhouse in the region that operates with Geothermal Heat Pumps for climate-controlled greenhouse cultivation. Two geothermal heat pumps were used, along with two buffer tanks and two plate exchangers that make up the engine room that is connected by a pipe to the extraction well and the greenhouse. Inside the greenhouse, two circulation pumps and eight fan coils (convectors with fans) with their respective thermostats were installed, which allow the heating of the 600 m2 cultivation.
Read the complete article at www.thinkgeoenergy.com.