Basic design project for automated well system at the San Isidro gas-fuelled power plant in Atacama, Chile.
The cooling water at the Atacama-San Isidro power plant, which is drawn from the local aquifer, is contaminated with sulphites. This makes the cooling systems less efficient and requires the company to buy fresh water. CESI has developed a way to optimise the water supply through a system that allows the pumping flow rate of each individual well to be modulated according to the concentration of sulphates and the electrical conductivity of the groundwater. This enables the plant to use less fresh water and to remove sulphates from the groundwater to create a supply of water that can be used in the plant.