Monday, December 8, 2014

Latin America:

Geothermal Development Facility for Latin America is Launched

Aims to develop geothermal power plants offering a combined generating capacity of 350 MW



The Geothermal Development Facility (GDF) for Latin America was officially launched today at the COP20 Sustainable Innovation Forum in Lima, Peru. Twelve development and financial institutions are participating in the organization, including the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. The agencies will work to improve policy frameworks necessary for promoting development in such countries as Costa Rica, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. They will also cultivate human resources and provide technology related to operating and maintaining geothermal facilities.

The project is intended to help stop global warming by introducing geothermal power as a base-load power source in Latin America, where power demand is rising accompanying economic growth and is projected to double by 2030. It will involve more than $1 billion in funding and include tests at seven candidate sites in five countries, including Bolivia and Chile, with the aim of developing geothermal power plants offering a combined generating capacity of 350 MW.