Friday, May 11, 2018

Latin America: Enormous, Largely Untapped Potential for Geothermal Market Growth

Five trends driving the LAC geothermal market (New Energy Events)

The Geothermal Resources Council is a partner and Global Geothermal News is a Lead Content Partner for the 5th Geothermal Congress for Latin America and the Caribbean, July 17-18, 2018  Mexico City, Mexico.

Crown of Fire, by Patricia Maria Rodriguez Rivera. Reservoirs of geothermal steam, San Jacinto Tizate Power Plant, Leon, Nicaragua, September 6th, 2016. GRC PHOTO CONTEST 2016.
The LAC geothermal market is heating up — but it’s a slow burn. With only one operating plant each in the Caribbean and South America, and a handful in Central America and Mexico, this region of the world still holds enormous, largely untapped potential for geothermal market growth. Financing, policy, and resource risk continue, however, to be hurdles in the race to the finish line.  

Challenges may abound, but there are promising indicators for what’s to come. We asked industry experts to weigh in on the trends driving the geothermal LAC markets, and what’s needed to move the needle.
  1. Markets that value baseload capacity will be quicker to develop
  2. Projects need support from the start
  3. International community is key for the Caribbean
  4. Countries transitioning to lower carbon and climate resilient energy matrix need to consider geothermal
  5. Capacity building is the way forward