Nicaragua will enhance its renewable energy generation capacity and improve its power transmission system under a $103.4 million project with financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
In 2015, 50.6 percent of the country’s energy generation came from renewable sources, of which 30% was geothermal. Nicaragua’s estimated geothermal potential is 1,500 MW, of which only 10 percent have been developed. Meanwhile, energy demand has been on the rise in recent years, growing 2.6 percent in 2014 and 4.6 percent in 2015.
The project will support site investigation to help determine the technical viability of exploiting the geothermal potential of the Cosigüina field in northwestern Nicaragua, including activities such as commercial-width well exploration. It will also develop mechanisms to attract private investment in order to help stimulate the country’s geothermal generation.
