Global experience shows that mitigating exploration and drilling costs and risks can unlock the investment needed to take geothermal to scale.In 2013, the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) launched the Global Geothermal Development Plan (GGDP). The initiative works with partners to mobilize concessional funding for upstream development and in turn, catalyze significant investment across the entire value chain.
In just five years, the GGDP has managed to spur an important shift in the sector. It has raised $235 million in concessional funding through the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), which has been made available to multilateral development banks (MDBs), including the World Bank to support upstream geothermal activities.
As a result, the mindset in these institutions shifted. Multilateral financing for upstream activities in 2013-2017 averaged around US$100 million per year with projects in at least 33 countries. This represents at least a four-fold increase in the share of MDB financing for early stage development, from only 6.7% in 1978-2012 to 29.2% in 2013-2017. Projects undertaken are expected to mobilize an additional $1.5 billion from other sources.